Sweet and Sour Salmon with Bok Choy

America’s Test Kitchen Chef, Elle Simone, reveals an ATK recipe favorite straight from the pages of their cookbook: Foolproof Fish. Easy to make, full of flavor and

WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS

Salmon has an affinity for the bold flavors. Here, a Vietnamese-inspired sauce tickles every taste bud with salty, sweet, sour, and bitter notes and splashes the salmon with interest. Add baby bok choy and rice, and you have a meal that tasted complex but couldn't be simpler to make.

While the rice simmered, we cooked the other components in one pan, in stages. Starting with the salmon and letting it rest while we cooked the bok choy resulted in greasy greens. we reversed the order, browning the bok ahoy and wilting it with water first. Finally, we used the skillet to simmer the sauce.

You will need a 12-inch nonstick skillet with a tight-fitting lid for this recipe. Cook fillets to 125 degrees (for medium-rare) and start checking for doneness after 2 minutes.

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Serves 4

1 1/2 cups long-grain white rice, rinsed

2 3/4 cups water, divided

3/4 teaspoon table salt, divided

1/3 cup packed brown sugar

1/3 cup lime juice (3 limes)

2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil

1 tablespoon fish sauce

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 teaspoon red pepper flakes

3 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided

4 heads baby bok choy (4 ounces each), halved, divided

4 (6 to 8-ounce) skin-on salmon fillets, 1 inch thick

1/2 teaspoon pepper

DIRECTIONS

1. Bring rice, 2 1/4 cups water, and 1/4 teaspoon salt to simmer in large sauce-pan over medium heat. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer until rice is tender and liquid is absorbed, 16-18 minutes. Remove pot from heat, lay clean folded dish towel underneath lid, and let sit for 10 minutes. Fluff rice with fork before serving.

2. Meanwhile, whisk sugar, lime juice, sesame oil, fish sauce, garlic, and pepper flakes together in bowl; set aside. Heat 1 tablespoon vegetable oil in 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering. Lay half of bok choy cut side down in skillet and cook until lightly browned, 2 to 3 minutes.

3. Turn bok choy over, add 1/4 cup water, cover, and cook until lightly browned on second side and stems are crisp-tender, about 2 minutes. Transfer to serving platter, tent with aluminum foil, and repeat with 1 tablespoon vegetable oil, remaining bok choy, and remaining 1/4 cup water.

4. Pat salmon fry with paper towels and sprinkle with remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt and pepper. Heat remaining 1 tablespoon vegetable oil in now-empty skillet over medium-high heat until just smoking. Carefully lay salmon skin side up in skillet and cook until well browned on first side, 4 to 6 minutes.

5. Flip salmon over, reduce heat to medium, and cook until center is still translucent when checked with tip of pairing knife and registers 125 degrees (for medium-rare), 3 to 6 minutes; transfer to platter with bok choy.

6. Carefully wipe out skillet with paper towels, add sugar mixture to now-empty skillet, and cook until slightly thickened and reduced to 1/2 cup, 3 to 4 minutes. Transfer salmon to platter with bok choy and drizzle with sauce. Serve with rice.