20-Minute Chili Brown Sugar Salmon

This chili brown sugar salmon recipe is moist, zesty, with just the right amount of spice! Paired with the garlic and soy sauce, this fish has an incredible flavor that took only 20 minutes in the oven! Totally an easy weeknight dinner for the family!

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Alright folks, this oven-baked chili brown sugar salmon recipe is one you definitely need in your recipe collection! With 7 key ingredients, you have just created a flavorful dish that is not by any means basic!

For all my salmon lovers out there, this recipe technique will be very similar to my Filipino Baked Salmon Recipe with Mayonnaise, as this is a family cooking technique to keep your fish as moist as possible when baked!

Once you have this technique down, salmon recipes will be a piece of cake as you will get a perfectly cooked fish each time.

This post will go over everything you need to know to create this chili brown sugar salmon recipe.

Recipe difficulty: Obviously beginner status
7 key ingredients are all you need for this brown sugar salmon recipe! There is also limited prepping, meaning dicing and mincing is kept to a minimum! With the right equipment, cooks can easily cook their salmon in the oven without drying out their fish.

Sam’s Pro Tips for this Chili Brown Sugar Salmon

Equipment Needed

• Have a BROILER PAN! Again, this is similar to what was discussed in my Filipino Baked Salmon Recipe with Mayonnaise, but this is the secret sauce! By baking your salmon on the tray with the water underneath, keeps your salmon nice and moist in the oven. The beauty of this brown sugar salmon recipe is that there is another insulating layer of sauce on top of the salmon that is tented with aluminum foil. All in all, this keeps this fish extra juicy!

Keeping the Salmon Moist

• Score and baste the salmon: This is another trick to trap all that flavored juice in the salmon when it bakes. First, by cutting slits into the salmon (you want to cut just deep enough without cutting the skin), this will prep the salmon for the sauce. You can see mine in the picture below looks like large cubes by the time I’m done. Secondly, while the oven is preheating, baste the salmon with the prepared sauce every couple minutes. Depending how long it takes for your oven to preheat, you should get at least a couple basting steps for your fish. This is very important!

• Continue to baste the salmon in the oven: You will see in the recipe instructions for this baked salmon recipe that at the 10-minute mark, the salmon needs to be basted with the sauce from the aluminum foil. The easiest way I have done this is instead of pulling the broiler tray out of the oven, to just pull the oven rack far enough for me to baste the salmon in the oven. The reason for this is that it can be a little scary pulling the broiler tray out of the oven to just stick it back in where there is literally boiling water on the bottom of the pan that can burn you! For this reason, I find it way easier to just baste the salmon in the oven. Some of you may be thinking, if you do this, won’t all the heat escape from the oven and now your salmon won’t cook properly? No! The cooking time is dependent on preference, I like mine at the 20-minute mark, but you can easily leave it in a couple minutes longer if desired. (I don’t recommend this as the 20-minute mark is perfect!)

Key Ingredients – Chili Brown Sugar Salmon

Below are some key ingredients for this recipe:

Fish and Sauce

• Salmon: Obviously the main ingredient here! We love that salmon is healthy for you and is a good source of omega-3 fatty acids and vitamins B and D! We get the Fresh Atlantic salmon from Trader Joe’s. Please give your salmon a quick wash before cooking to remove any foreign particles.

• Chili sesame oil: You all know this is one of my favorite products! I use this spicy oil for a lot of my dishes like my Chicken and String Beans Recipe | Ginisang Sitaw. A tablespoon is all you need for a pound of salmon for an incredible zesty flavor.

• Brown sugar: The brown sugar in the recipe sweetens the flavor in the salmon brown sugar soy sauce mix. This sauce gets into the slits of the salmon and really infuses the fish as the salmon bakes. Don’t worry, don’t expect this dish to be sweet as the chili sesame oil gives you a kick!

• Soy sauce: Similar to my Filipino Baked Salmon Recipe with Mayonnaise, I use the Knorr Original Liquid Seasoning in combination with the salmon for the best flavor. Honestly, if it’s a salmon recipe I will most likely be using this type of soy sauce. In other words, this type of soy sauce gives the best flavor and is a darker soy sauce.

• Lemon: The tablespoon of lemon juice further cuts down the sweetness of the brown sugar as well. It’s also a great seasoning enhancer to the chili sesame oil and brown sugar. Of course, lemon also pairs so well with salmon!

Herbs

• Garlic: For this brown sugar salmon recipe, minced garlic in the sauce brings a nice, herbed flavor to the salmon. With the minced garlic, this also gets into the slits of the salmon when basting and cooks beautifully in the oven.

• Cilantro: Adding the chopped cilantro after the salmon bakes gives a beautiful finish to the fish packed with a nice, herbed flavor! I think this is what makes the fish look picture perfect and will have the family wowing!

More Variations to this Recipe

There are a few ways you can variate this chili brown sugar salmon recipe. Here’s how:

• Exchange the cilantro with parsley: If you don’t have cilantro or don’t wish to use it, a great alternative is chopped parsley to finish off the salmon. The chopped parsley will still give a nice, fresh flavor to the salmon especially with the lemon. Have lemon wedges on the side for plating!

• What can I pair with this dish? Salmon dishes are so versatile as you can serve with vegetables or rice. Of course, I naturally love this dish with white rice on the side. When serving this dish with white rice, make sure to spoon the sauce from the aluminum foil over the rice. If I want to eat lighter, sometimes I have salmon with sliced avocado on the side and it becomes super filling! On the other hand, for a heavier option to pair with the salmon like potatoes, we have a Simple Herb Roasted Potatoes Recipe perfect on the side!

• Filipino Baked Salmon Recipe with Mayonnaise
• Stovetop Honey Soy Chicken Wings with Ginger
• Chicken and String Beans Recipe | Ginisang Sitaw
• Simple Herb Roasted Potatoes Recipe

Frequently Asked Questions

What temperature should you bake salmon?

Depending how you like your salmon cooked, we usually cook our salmon at 400 degrees for 20 minutes to keep the inside of the fish moist. Make sure to use the broiler pan with water to keep the fish moist.

What is the most popular way to cook salmon?

Baking salmon is a common way to cook the fish and is considered one of the easiest. However, make sure to use a broiler pan with water to keep the salmon moist.

What flavors go well with salmon?

In Asian cooking, salmon pairs well with soy sauce, lemon, garlic, cilantro, or even chili sesame oil for added spice.

Do you eat the skin on salmon?

This is a matter of personal preference. Generally, eating the skin of salmon after cooked is considered safe to eat.

This post was all about how to create this chili brown sugar salmon recipe.

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