Asian Grilled Salmon and Pineapple

First off, can we all just agree that grilled pineapple is kind of amazing? There’s just something magical about pineapple when it’s warmed up and maybe even a little caramelized. Ok, now that we’ve got that out of the way, let’s talk about salmon and pineapple together. I’ll admit it sounds a little weird. I’m not a big fruit and fish person, although I know it’s been done many times, and a lot of people really love it, it’s just not my jam. But this actually turned out to be good. The Hubs really liked it, I thought it was just fine. It was pretty sweet, but the touch of char and the sesame oil kept it from being too cloying. I think it could have used a touch more soy sauce because it felt like it needed that pop of salt. Especially the rice. I found the recipe on Half Baked Harvest and she actually served it as lettuce wraps, which we did not do. I’m sure that would be fine, but we thought it was an extra step that wasn’t really needed. She also had a honey glaze that we skipped. Maybe that would have made it better, but I worry that it might have taken the sweetness over the top. If you’re interested in that, follow the link to the original recipe above. Anyway, if you are into fruit on your fish, I definitely think you should try this.

Ingredients

1/4 cup honey

1/3 cup soy sauce

1/3 toasted sesame oil

1 tablespoon fresh ginger, grated

2 cloves garlic, grated

1 teaspoon wasabi powder (optional)

4 green onions, sliced, plus more for garnish

1 tablespoon sesame seeds

1 cup uncooked brown rice

1/2 of a medium size pineapple

In a small bowl mix the honey, soy sauce, toasted sesame oil, ginger, garlic and wasabi powder together, whisking until the wasabi powder has dissolved. Then stir in the green onions and sesame seeds. Put your salmon into a large Ziploc bag and then pour about ¼ of the marinade over it and put it in the fridge for about 30 minutes.

In the meantime slice your pineapple into long spears (remove the rind and the core, of course) and toss half of it with about two tablespoons of the marinade. The other half is yours to do with what you will! Heat up your grill and start with the pineapple. Grill it about 3-4 minutes a side. Put your salmon on the grill, skin side up, and grill for 3-4 minutes (depending on the thickness of your salmon). Flip it and baste with the reserved marinade and cook another 2-3 minutes.

While you’re grilling also make your rice. When it’s done you’ll want to mix in about 4 tablespoons of the reserved marinade. Personally, we thought the rice was rather blah. It could have used a little salt, or maybe it was because it was brown rice instead of white and we are terrible white rice people. Not sure. Anyway, once it’s all done, cut your pineapple into cubes. Serve the salmon over your rice and spoon some pineapple on top!