Wild Pacific Salmon

This post contains three experimental recipes:

1. Steamed Lemon Dill Salmon
2. Brown Sugar Soy Baked Salmon Sandwich
3. Baked Pesto Salmon

A few days ago I purchased a fillet of Wild Pacific Sockeye Salmon from Whole Foods as it was on sale.

Sockeye Salmon in it's true form :)

First, I want to make a point that the salmon was MSC certified. MSC (Marine Stewardship Council) is a third party eco-labeling program that can confirm the fish or any other kind of seafood was caught in a sustainable manner. For more info check out: http://www.msc.org/

My fillet with dill I put on top to infuse some flavour.

The state of the world's fisheries is dim as the world's fisheries are collapsing due to overfishing. As a huge seafood lover, I don't want the world to run out of it. This is just my little individual effort in being a good citizen of Earth by buying fish that was caught in a sustainable manner. * And yes, I am aware individual efforts alone are not enough and doesn't truly solve the problem, but it is a step on doing something right in my opinion.

Anyway, with my piece of fillet, I got a decent slice for only $5 and it fed me for 3 different meals. Don't forget to ask your fish monger to descale your fish! Because I forgot and I had to descale it myself :( #firstworldpains. If that happens to you, don't worry, it is actually quite simple. All you have to do is take a knife and rub it against the scales (so from the back of the fish to where it's head would normally be).

*It has come to my attention that some people leave the scale on so it would be easier to peel off the skin. I didn't know some people preferred the salmon without the skin, so with my advice above, disregard it if you don't like the skin :)

 My first approach was Steamed Lemon Dill Salmon. I used:

• fresh dill and parsley (4:1 ratio)
• lemon
• pepper
• dash of salt
• dash of garlic powder (fresh garlic probably would have been better, but I was lazy and starving)
• vegetable of your choice - I chose zucchini since it was in the fridge. 

Before steaming

I simply put my salmon in a metal dish skin side down and squeezed lemon juice on top. I think took the herbs, rolled and squished it into a ballish-roll shape and started chopping. This method helps you chop more of the herbs at one time. I put the herbs and seasoning on top and some herbs that are not chopped on top as well.  I also added some sliced zucchini. I steamed it for about 10 minutes. *The length of time depends on the size of your fish. You usually can't go wrong with 10 mins. 15 minutes for larger size. I'm no expert at timing, as I usually guesstimate. If you want a more accurate time, try the internet or asking your fish monger :P

Steamed, flaky goodness~

The salmon retained a bright orange colour (though the camera could not capture it). And the taste? AMAZING! It had such an amazing salmon flavour, probably the best tasting cooked salmon I've ever had! The texture was also incredible! I highly recommend people trying a wild sockeye salmon (MSC certified would be great too!). I was quite happy with the turnout of this experimental recipe.

When cooking seafoods, dill is one of the best herb to season it with, it's something you can't go wrong with. If you are super interested other herb choices, check out: http://www.simplyseafood.com/newsletters/0708/freshherbsandfish.html