Recipe: Oven-Baked Salmon

The Husband is a fan of salmon. At Ikea's cafe, our default order is two sets of salmon steak plus a pair of fried chicken wings to share.  At Sushi Tei, we always order sashimi salad and request to change all the sashimi to salmon. Another must order in Sushi Tei is the salmon skin. Then over at Ichiban Sushi, our must-order is the grilled salmon head. Now, I'm about to divulge one of our best kept secret: The salmon head at Ichiban is a steal! At $10 (from what I recall though we haven't been there for a year now because the nearest outlet to us always has a snaking queue that parents with young kids like us avoid like plague), you get a humongous half salmon head with ample meat and it goes really well with rice! Never mind that you have to wait 20 minutes for it to be grilled to perfection!

Come to think of it, whenever we enter a Japanese eatery, there is a 95% likelihood that you will find some sort of salmon dish on our table. Anyway, you get the point: The Husband loves salmon. So, being the loving wifey that I am (or so I say), I have been on the lookout for a salmon recipe that is not too complicated for a amateur cook like me. Over the couple of years, I tried out a few and after rounds of modification, I think I have gotten something that goes well with our tastebuds. Hope you'll like it too! :)

(Serves 3)
Ingredients
3 salmon steaks (around 200gms each)
half Australian Tahiti lime, juice only
3 teaspoons of olive oil
2 teaspoons of yellow mustard
1 tablespoon of grated ginger
Dash of salt
Dash of cayenne pepper powder (optional for a spicy kick)
1 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
3 teaspoons of minced garlic


(Actually, I did not measure accurately the amount of seasonings as above. For most of the seasonings like pepper and rosemary are sprinkled directly from the bottle. So the above amount is really just a guideline of the relative proportions. And of course, if you favour one seasoning over another (e.g. pepper over ginger, feel free to wallop more pepper!)



Directions

1. With the exception of the minced garlic, sprinkle and smear the rest of the seasonings evenly on both sides of the 3 salmon steaks. For the grated ginger, I usually squeeze out the juice and drip it evenly over the salmon before smearing the ginger pulp on the surface. Leave the marinate to stand in the fridge for an hour. 
2. Add another two teaspoon of olive oil into heated pan / wok. Add minced garlic when oil is heated.  At medium heat, stir garlic till garlic turns slightly browned and you can smell the fragrance. Turn off heat and leave garlic aside.
3. Preheat oven at 175 degrees Celsius. Brush a layer of olive oil on a baking tray's surface. Place salmon steaks with skin facing up on the baking tray. Sprinkle minced garlic on top. 
4. Bake for 20-30 minutes or until fish flakes easily with a fork. 

Before going into the oven.

Ready to be served!

P.S. If you enjoy organising your own BBQ party, this recipe will do will over the grill too! Just be sure to turn both sides for crispy grilled perfection.