Tonight’s Dinner: Planked Salmon with Coconut Rice

Cedar planks are great. They’re easy to use, you can find them at any cooking store, and they add a wonderful, earthy flavor to meats and fish.

People often use the cedar plank in association with the grill. But it can be used in the oven as well for poultry, meat, or fish. Using it in the oven for this recipe from Parenting.com, really allows the flavors from the marinade to soak into the salmon. You lose the mesquite flavoring from the grill, but this meal doesn’t need it.

Having the coconut rice as a side dish, makes for a lovely dinner with a middle eastern flair. An added bonus? Once you’re done cooking the fish, the plank can be rinsed off and used for firewood to curl up next to with a nice after-dinner drink.

Planked Salmon with Coconut Rice

Ingredients

• 1 cedar plank, for cooking
• 1/3 cup maple syrup
• 1 tsp Dijon mustard
• 2 tsp soy sauce
• Juice of 1 lime
• 1 lb salmon filet
• 1 cup of chicken stock
• 1 can of coconut milk
• 1 cup jasmine rice
• salt to taste

Directions

1. Soak the plank in water for at least 4 hours. Put it on a baking sheet and preheat the oven to 500°F.
2. In a bowl whisk together the syrup, dijon mustard, soy sauce and lime juice. Add the fish filet and let it marinate for at least 20 minutes, or up to 2 hours.
3. In a sauce pan, bring the chicken stock and coconut milk to a boil.
4. Stir in the rice. Reduce the heat, cover and simmer until the liquid is absorbed, stirring occasionally, about 20 minutes.
5. While the rice is cooking, lay the fish on the plank skin side down. Sprinkle it with salt; drizzle it with the marinade.
6. Bake for 15 minutes, or until the thickest of the fish is still springy.
7. Slice the fish in half and serve on top of or next to the coconut rice.

More Salmon Recipes

Salmon with Fennel and Dill Salsa

Salmon Loaf with Cucumber Sauce