I have a confession.  I have always been afraid of cooking Salmon.  It's such a nice fish + it's pricey, and I don't want to overcook it and ruin it.  Thus I have NEVER cooked salmon ever.  I never attempted because I was too afraid.  I am more comfortable with white fishes because they're easier and well, in my head - not as pricey to ruin.  My friends tell me that salmon is so easy to cook (and bake)  but I guess being intimated, I never really ventured into it.

A few weeks ago, I got a wonderful surprise.  I received a delivery of three kinds of salmon cuts.  I was excited and nervous.  It was like the universe was telling me that I needed to try my hand at making salmon dishes.  And so I mustered up the courage to make one.

I used this Keta Salmon slab first because I knew it was boneless.  I wanted to try something really simple with this salmon so the flavor will stand out.  When I opened the pack, the salmon slab was in a vacuum sealed plastic.  Very good right?  Most of what I see in the supermarkets are just cling wrapped.  The juices were all still present in the vacuum sealed plastic.  When I cut opened that plastic, there were no fishy odors.  Plus points!  One of the reasons why I don't cook much fish at home is I dislike the fishy smell.  I was crossing my fingers that once I cook this piece of salmon, my house won't smell fishy.

Because I wanted the salmon flavor to be the highlight, I decided to just season the slab with salt and pepper.  Mind you, I used coarsely ground black pepper and sea salt.  I actually bought my pepper in Japan.  You may think - all peppers are the same, but not this one.  I discovered this during our recent trip.



I pan fried the salmon slab skin side first (as what I usually see in cooking shows) using my Vision glass pan.



You can see the salt and pepper I rubbed on the salmon.  I waited for this side to cook for about 2 minutes and then I flipped it over - cooked for another minute and flipped it on the side waited for less than a minute and then on the other side.  I swear, I was having cold sweats while cooking this because I was so scared to overcook it.




When it was cooked, I transferred into my Panget's plate.  I put the salmon on a bed of black rice.  I felt though that it was too bare, then I remembered that I had some pistachio's somewhere,  I crushed them and then sprinkled it on top.

What do you think?  It looks pretty right?

When my Panget took a bite, he said it was good.  I was relieved!  I was scared that it was undercooked, but then remembered that salmon should be a bit underdone than overcooked.  He said that the pistachios was a welcome new flavor to the salmon.  I was so glad that it went well with the salmon.

You see, when I cook - I usually wing it.  I first think of what I want to do and then search for ingredients that I have.  When one ingredient is missing, I just try and improvise.  I'm glad that my improv tasted good.

I made a sigh of relief that the salmon wasn't overcooked and that my Panget was happy with what I cooked.  I can finally say that I was able to overcome my fear of cooking salmon!!  I'm excited to try more recipes and ways to cook my #SeakingPH salmons!

These salmon packs by #SeakingPH are such a convenient way to have quality seafood with less time to prepare.  They're cut and cleaned and ready to be cooked right away.  In this time and age, everything is fast paced.  These seafood packs are a great help to us moms - they're quality pieces, they don't need much cleaning - all we need to do is take them out of the freezer, thaw them and then cook them immediately.  No fish odors, no more scales to take out, they're cleaned and the best part - they're a perfect size to serve!

#SeakingPH salmon packs are available in leading supermarkets.

I was curious on how they packed the seafood and I was glad to read this on their website: