Okay, let’s get this candied salmon thing cooking! Saw that shiny, sticky salmon picture online and went “Gotta make that myself.” Grabbed everything because apparently you need like, five ingredients total. Easy.
The Salmon Hunt
First stop: fish counter at my usual grocery store. Wanted a nice piece of salmon, skin-on because the recipe yelled “SKIN-ON!” Fella behind the counter asks how big. Paused… uh… “Enough for two hungry people?” Got a chunk about the size of my hand. Good enough.
Raced home, dumped the fish on the counter. Felt weird touching raw salmon so much, but whatever.
Mixing The Magic Gloop
Recipe said equal parts brown sugar and soy sauce. Scooped brown sugar like sand. Looked messy already. Poured soy sauce over it – made a dark, sludgy paste. Mixed it with a fork. Lumpy. Didn’t care. Tossed in the garlic powder. Forgot the fresh ginger – found that dusty jar of ground ginger in the back of the spice shelf. Shook some in.
Then stared at the salmon. Recipe said “coat that fish!” Slathered the sugary sludge all over the top and sides. Felt like finger painting. Stuck the whole mess into the fridge. Recipe said wait at least 30 minutes. Watched a show. Hour passed. Forgot.
Fire & Forget (Almost)
Preheated the oven, like you do. Got my baking sheet, found a rack that fit kinda crooked over it. Plopped the salmon skin-side down on the rack. Gooey sugar paste dripping everywhere already.
Shoved it into the oven. Set the timer for 15 minutes like the recipe suggested. Smelled like soy sauce and… candy? Weird mix. Peeked at the ten-minute mark. Looked watery. Not glazed. Panicked. Turned the broiler on high. That’ll fix it.
Watched it like a hawk. Sugar started bubbling crazy, turning darker, like caramel bubbling on an apple. Smell got intense. Worried it would burn. Skin started looking crispy. Pulled it out super fast, maybe after 3 minutes under the broiler. Smoke alarm didn’t scream. Success!
Sticking to Everything BUT the Fish
Tried moving the fish to a plate. Epic mistake. Half the sticky, hard glaze welded itself to the rack. Scraped frantically with a spatula. Lost some crunch. Salvaged what looked like nice, caramelized bits stuck to the fish itself.
Tasted a tiny corner piece. Hot. Oh wow. Salty soy sauce first, then this sweet punch hits you. Fish inside felt cooked right – not dry! The burnt sugar bits stuck to the rack? Actually tasted kinda great later, like fishy candy brittle.
So yeah, beginners can totally do this. It’s messy. Things will stick. Broiler is your instant glaze-maker. That rack is gonna be a nightmare to clean. But dang, biting into that sweet-salty, slightly crispy top? Totally worth the chaos.