Balanced Living

Cool Eats for Hot Days – Grilled Salmon with Asian Zucchini Slaw

Posted by Arja on July 17 in Fish, Salads

Well, it’s official.  Toronto is in the middle of a scorching heat wave, and if it’s as hot (or hotter!) wherever you are, than I imagine you’re in search of ways to eat meals that require very little actual cooking!  There are an infinite number of ways to eat a salad – with or without meat or fish, with nuts and seeds, ass boiled eggs, sheep or goat cheese – but at the end of the day it can still get boring to eat some mixture of leafy greens and veg, no matter what it’s topped with.

Don’t get me wrong, I loooove a good salad.  Leafy greens topped with grilled vegetables and soft goat cheese makes such a satisfying meal.  It’s just sometimes I’m looking for something different.  I recently purchased myself a spiralizer as I’m interested in making noodles from zucchini and sweet potatoes, playing with raw beets, and well, because I really wanted one.  I’ve been stuffing my Vietnamese style summer rolls with marinated zucchini noodles instead of rice vermicelli with happy results, and eating the leftovers tossed with sliced peppers, which is where the inspiration for this Asian flavoured zucchini slaw came from.

This recipe uses simple, in season ingredients, is really easy to prepare, and requires minimal cooking, making it perfect for these muggy, dog days of summer.  If you decide to use the brown rice vermicelli I’m a big fan of the King Soba brand, which is available in most health food stores or natural grocers.

Summer Squash/Zucchini contain an extremely high water content (95%), making them an excellent hot weather food for cooling and hydrating.  They’re also high in carotenes and have potent anticancer effects.

Bell Peppers are one of the most nutrient dense vegetables, low in calories but high in nutrients.  They are high in vitamin C, beta-carotene, folic acid, some B vitamins, and vitamin K. 

Carrots rank as the highest source of provitamin A carotenes, and are also an excellent source of biotin, Vitamin K, and fibre.  Their antioxidant compounds are protective against cancer and cardiovascular disease, as well as promote good vision.

Ginger is probably most well-known for its ability to prevent motion sickness, but it is equally useful in treating gastrointestinal issues like excess gas, or spasms.  Ginger also has anti-inflammatory effects and the ability to inhibit inflammatory compounds. 

Salmon is an excellent source of protein, selenium, B12, and potassium.  It is also contains high amounts of Omega-3 fatty acids DHA and EPA.  It’s best to choose wild fish over farmed varieties, however, because farmed fish accumulate more cancer-causing pesticide residues than wild.

Grilled Salmon with Asian Slaw
Serves 2 ppl with slaw leftover for next day.

For the salad
2 medium zucchini
3 small carrots
3 green onions
1 sweet pepper (red, orange or yellow)
salmon with skin on
1 cup cooked brown rice vermicelli (optional), which is about 1/6 of a normal pkg dry

Dressing
1 tbsp minced ginger
1 tsp raw honey
2 tbsp rice vinegar
6 tbsp sesame oil
juice from ½ lime
pinch of salt

Step 1 – Depending on how you want to cook your salmon heat up your grill, or turn on your broiler.  Glaze salmon with flavour of your choosing (I’m partial to using a hoisin/ginger based glaze for something fast).  I also like to pre-slice salmon but leave it on the skin before I cook it.  When the grill or oven is up to temp, put salmon on, skin down, to cook.

Step 2 – Wash veggies, scrubbing the skins of the carrots and zucchini.  I don’t bother peeling my carrots.  If you have a spiralizer, go to town on your zucchini.  If not, slice it into thin, matchstick style pieces.  Grate your carrots using a larger hole grater, and thinly slice your pepper and green onions, being sure to use some of the green part as well.  Toss all veggies into a large bowl and mix to combine.

Step 3 - Make your dressing by combining all of the dressing ingredients and whisking well.  Pour over the chopped veggies and mix well until everything is evenly coated.

Step 4 – If you’re using the vermicelli, follow pkg directions to cook.  It usually only involves soaking the noodles in boiling water for approximately 5 minutes.  Drain well and rinse with cold water.

Step 5 – Portion out the vermicelli between two plates, top with zucchini slaw, being sure to include some of the dressing liquid, and then top with the cooked salmon.

There will probably be leftover slaw for lunch the next day, or to use as a part of another Asian-themed meal!

Eat to feel good!