Crispy Salmon Bowl With Crunchy Peanut Sauce & Caramelized Pineapple

Plus how to get your salmon skin SUPER crispy.

Colorful chefs - happy Thursday 🧡

Ok I need to learn to plate this one better because the sauce is WAY better than it looks

• Crispy Salmon Bowl With Crunchy Peanut Sauce & Caramelized Pineapple: I’ve been making variations on this bowl for years, but it finally feels complete with the addition of caramelized pineapple. It hits all the notes—acid, fat, heat, and just a touch of sweet—for a crispy-skin salmon bowl that tastes better than it looks, I need to work on my plating skills….

Note: My Real Kitchen tour issue + Substack live replay with Mia Rigden will be dropping TOMORROW. It also includes a free Broiled Flank Steak with Italian Salsa Verde recipe. 😋

I make a salmon bowl variation like this probably 3x a week

This bowl started with a technique I picked up from Molly Baz that you all must know: you cook salmon skin-side down in a cold pan to get crispy skin. WHAT! Sounds counterintuitive, but it’s truly the best way to get crispy skin without overcooking the fish. You don’t need a fancy nonstick either—I do this in my cast iron and it works fabulous.

This recipe is what I always want in a bowl: acid, fat, heat, and a little sweet, but not too sweet. Not in a textbook way (although, love that book Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat) —just in a “this tastes complete” kind of way. You get acid from the quick-pickled cucumber and/or radish, fat from the salmon and coco-nutty cauliflower rice, heat from the spicy peanut sauce, and sweetness from caramelized pineapple.

I used Seatopia salmon, which I keep stocked in my freezer at all times. It’s the cleanest, most delicious regeneratively farmed salmon I’ve found—rich in omega-3s, mercury-safe, no microplastics, and SO flavorful. Best price for the quality too. Code: COOKINGINCOLOR

I’ll be honest the hardest part of this recipe is that it takes three pans….don’t hate me. One for the salmon, one for the rice, one for the pineapple + the sauce. But everything cooks quickly, and the layering of textures and flavors makes it feel way more impressive and complicated than it really is!! I promise!!

RECIPE HERE

If you want to join the Color Club and make this recipe but the $5/month price is a barrier, I get it. Just respond to this email and I’ll set you up for free no questions asked.

If you make these recipes (or ANY of my recipes!), I’d love nothing more than to hear how it turned out and any feedback you have! Comment below or on the recipe in the Color Club, and if you are on IG share it and tag me @sonjakmanning.

Chefs kisses XOXO

Sonja