Teriyaki Salmon with Sriracha Cream Sauce

I'm always looking for fun recipes that are easy enough for a weeknight, post-work zombie allIwannadoissitdown kind of mood... and this sure did deliver. The steps are simple and leave you with a lot of time to relax and/or get a head start on dishes and/or whine loudly so that someone else does your dishes for you.

I don't cook a lot of fish. I can do shrimp, fish... not so much. Preparing fish scares me for some reason. It's probably because the only fish we ate as kids were tiny little brook trout that my dad caught - he'd just throw them on the grill with a little butter and NO seasoning. Boy were they fishy...I always went to bed hungry that night, I was not a fan. As an adult, though, I've slowly been reintroducing myself to fish and this dish is a winner even for the folks that aren't typically fans of fish.

INGREDIENTS  

Teriyaki Salmon

1 tablespoon cornstarch
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup brown sugar, packed
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
2 tablespoons honey
2 salmon fillets

Cooked rice, for serving
Sesame seeds, for garnish
Sliced green onions, for garnish

Sriracha Cream Sauce

1/2 cup mayonnaise
2-3 tablespoons Sriracha
1 1/2 tablespoons sweetened condensed milk

DIRECTIONS

In a small bowl, whisk together the cornstarch and 1/4 cup water; set aside.

In a small saucepan over medium heat, add the soy sauce, brown sugar, ginger, garlic powder, honey and 1 cup water; bring to a simmer.

Stir in the cornstarch mixture until thickened enough to coat the back of a spoon, about 2 minutes. Let cool to room temperature (I put mine in the freezer for about 10 minutes to speed up the process).

While your teriyaki sauce is cooking you should have time to make the Sriracha cream sauce: Combine the mayonnaise, 2-3 tablespoons Sriracha and condensed milk in a small bowl. Taste for spiciness and add more Sriracha as needed. Refrigerate until needed.

Pour the teriyaki marinade over salmon fillets (I used my glass baking pan and then there was no need to transfer to another dish for baking); marinate 30 minutes. This is the point in which I change out of my scrubs and open up a cold beer.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Bake until the fish flakes easily with a fork, about 20 minutes.

Serve the salmon immediately with rice and a drizzle of the Sriracha cream sauce (It's SOOOOOO yummy... don't be shy with this stuff). Garnished with sesame seeds and green onions if desired.