This one is a crowd-pleaser.  Universal.  Finicky eaters who don’t like mustard, love this. Chinese aunties who like their fish steamed or fried, dig it.  Hardcore meat lovers are into it.  Basically, this describes my family.  And I’ve served this to both my hubby’s side and my side, families full of great cooks/food critics/meat-eaters, and they were won over.  It’s so tasty that we limit how often we make this at home.  Why?  Because we don’t want to get tired of it and stop making it (this is what happened to my mom’s baked Thai salmon – seriously, I’ve banned it for about 12 years now due to overkill).

Confession: Originally, this is my hubby’s recipe.  What’s his is mine right?  Right??  Anyway, he didn’t invent it, he found it here and we’ve modified over the years.  There’s a reason why it has 4.5 stars, 1,300+ reviews, and been saved almost 50,000 times – it’s delicious and easy.  Thank you, Esmee for posting this and thank you hubby for making it for me. 

There are 3 parts to this fish: 1) Salmon 2) Honey Mustard, and 3) Crust. 

1) Salmon: Depending on who you are feeding, you can make this for one or scale it up for a crowd.  I’ve done both.   It’s the same amount of work and leftover salmon is great cold on a salad. 

2) Honey Mustard: AKA the glue to hold the crust in place and adds yummy flavour.  Dijon mustard is best, grainy or smooth.  Honey doesn’t really matter, I’ve used the inexpensive one in the bear squeeze bottle, and overpriced wild clover honey from the market.  Both taste great.  Equal parts of dijon mustard and honey.

3) Crust: A blend of herbs, garlic, bread crumbs, oil, and nuts (optional).  My Chinese family likes the flavour of coriander, a fresh herb we use often in cooking so this suits their palettes best.  Parsley is super flavourful too.  I use whatever I have on hand or sometimes a combo.  Bread crumbs are gluten-free – sometimes I’ve blended some old bread, crackers, or some cereal in a pinch.  I used corn crumbs for the one shown here.   Nut-wise, I like walnuts, if using.  I ran out, so didn’t use them here.

 Cooking times for this varies depending on the size of the salmon.  Single servings like this one take about 12 minutes.  If you’re in a rush, you can just lay all your portions on a baking sheet about 1 – 2″ apart.  You can also bake a large filet and depending on the size, can take from 25 to 35 minutes.  You can tell it’s done when you see the white oozy bits of the salmon poking out of the crust.  From beginning to end, this dish takes about 18 minutes, including prep and cooking time.  Simple enough for a weeknight dinner, and easy to jazz up for company.  Served with a salad in a honey dijon lemon dressing.