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Pan-roasted Wild Salmon with Lemongrass and Basil

Pan‑roasted wild salmon filets marinated with lemongrass, lime, basil, soy sauce, coconut milk, wine, and stock, served with sauce.

From the Recipes Wiki (Fandom) · 4 ingredients
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Why it works: Pepper and lime match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 2% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 3,491 recipes. Both carry beta-phellandrene, which smells minty, terpene. The science ↓

Pan-roasted Wild Salmon with Lemongrass and Basil

Oven425°F

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare

  1. Combine the marination ingredients in a blender or food processor and mix well.

  2. Coat the salmon well and refrigerate for at least 4 hours and up to 24 hours.

  3. Preheat the oven to 425°F.

  4. Heat your largest skillet or sauté pan over a medium‑high burner.

  5. If all of the salmon will not fit in your largest pan, heat two skillets.

  6. Season the salmon with salt and pepper.

  7. Add the vegetable oil to the skillet.

Sear and roast

  1. Place the salmon skin‑side up in the skillet.

  2. Sear the filets for two minutes or until they are a deep golden color.

  3. Flip the filets over.

  4. Place the skillet in the oven.

  5. Roast the salmon approximately 10 minutes per inch of thickness of the filet for well done, approximately six minutes per inch for medium well.

  6. Remove the salmon from the skillet.

Make the sauce

  1. Return the skillet to the medium‑high burner.

  2. Add wine and quickly reduce to nearly dry.

  3. Add stock and reduce it by half.

  4. Add coconut milk and reduce it by a third.

  5. Finish with basil and soy sauce.

  6. Taste for seasoning.

  7. Add salt and pepper if needed.

  8. Spoon the sauce over the filets.

Serve

  1. Cut the limes into wedges for each plate.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

344Calories
20 gProtein
27 gFat
5 gCarbs
What these numbers assume: 5 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Salmon100g cooked208
Olive Oil1 tbsp (14g)119
Limejuice of 1 lime (44ml)11
Black Pepper1 tsp ground (2.3g)6
Salt1 tsp (6g)0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

Recipe from the Recipes Wiki (Fandom).

Steps grouped into stages for easier reading; the method is the source's own.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Pepper + limetop 2% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together3,491 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).

  2. Salmon + limetop 26% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together569 recipes

    Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).

  3. Salmon + peppertop 27% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together5,446 recipes

    Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Wild alaska salmon filets
Forms the main protein, cooked by searing then roasting to set the flesh.
Coconut milk (in the method)
Adds fat and body to the sauce, giving it a rich, smooth texture as it reduces.
Stock (in the method)
Provides savoury depth to the sauce as it reduces to concentrate flavour.
Wine (in the method)
Adds acidity and aroma to the sauce while it reduces nearly dry.
Vegetable oil
Conducts heat in the pan and helps the salmon brown during the initial sear.
Soy sauce (in the method)
Adds salty, savoury umami flavour to the finished sauce.

The step that matters

Sear, then roast to the right doneness. Searing first browns the surface and builds flavour, while the oven finishes the center gently. Judging thickness matters because salmon keeps cooking from residual heat and dries out if overdone.

Swap the lime

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (salmon, pepper):

  1. Lemonfits about as well
  2. Limethe original
  3. Avocadofits less well
  4. Mangofits less well

Fit is the average pairing score against salmon, pepper. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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