Sweet and sour salmon fillets with a crispy skin served with lots of veggies and a from-scratch sauce that has all of the takeaway flavours.
The salmon is pan-fried to create crispy skin and then flipped, combined with the sauce and lots of veggies, whilst it finishes cooking. The whole dish will go from your fridge to your table in well under 30 minutes!
Sweet and Sour Pan Fried Fish
I adore a good sweet and sour recipe, and my site is littered with them. I have recipes as diverse as sweet and sour prawns to sweet and sour pork chops and sweet and sour tofu to sweet and sour chicken balls!
This sweet and sour salmon recipe uses a variation on the same sauce, as do all of my recipes like this.
It is a combination of ketchup and a sprinkling of pretty standard Chinese ingredients, like soy sauce, rice wine and sesame oil.
It is delicious, quick and simple... when I say quick, this recipe cooks in just 10 minutes!
Even if it takes you 15 minutes to chop the veggies, this still comes in at well under 30 minutes.
It is also much cheaper than a trip to your local Chinese takeaway, and it will likely be a lot healthier too!
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I use skinless salmon fillets?
Yes, no problem at all. I love the crispy salmon skin, and it does offer a degree of protection to the fish, so you need to be a little more careful when flipping the fish.
If you do use skinless salmon, just pour that sauce all over the top of the fish, as you do not need to keep it off the skin.
Can I use other vegetables?
Yes, throw in anything that you can typically stir-fry and you are good to go.
Other good additions are courgette or zucchini, mangetout, green beans, baby sweet corn and sprouting broccoli.
Can this be made in advance?
Not really, because the fish will overcook if you reheat it!
But you can prepare the sauce and keep it in the fridge for 1-2 days, and the veggies can be chopped and set aside for a few hours.
Do I have to use different coloured peppers?
No, not at all! I like to make this dish bright and colourful, but you can use whatever peppers you have!
Serving Suggestions
I usually serve this sweet and sour salmon recipe as a standalone light meal.
However, it matches well with a host of side dishes; it is already veg-heavy, so I tend to add something carby.
The obvious addition is rice! Plain rice works wonderfull,y and if you have planned in advance, egg fried rice is pure genius!
Noodles make another great addition. I usually opt for something similar to this plain chow mein.
A left-field option is something salty and crispy, and I am specifically thinking of potatoes!
I love Chinese takeaway chips, and something similar would be awesome. I'd typically go for some straw potatoes or my crispy fried potatoes. If I wanted to steer clear of frying, then I'd add some air fryer chips.
Equipment Used
I only recommend specific brands of equipment if I think that it makes a material difference to a recipe. But if you have any questions, feel free to ask them in the comments section below the recipe.
- Hob/stovetop.
- 2 Frying Pans, one at least 28cm or 11" for the peppers and a nonstick pan to pan fry the salmon.
- A combination of weighing scales, measuring cups and spoons.
- Sharp kitchen knife.
- Chopping board.
- Mixing bowls or prep bowls.
Sweet and Sour Salmon Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 Salmon Fillets
- 1 Medium Red Pepper
- 1 Medium Yellow Pepper
- 1 Medium Red Onion 150g
- 75 g Sugar Snap Peas ⅔ Cup
- 2 Spring Onions
- 1 Garlic Clove
- 2 tablespoon Cooking Oil
For the Sweet and Sour Sauce
- 3 tablespoon Light Soy Sauce
- 1 tablespoon Rice Vinegar
- 1 tablespoon Light Brown Sugar
- 3 tablespoon Tomato Ketchup
- 4 tablespoon Pineapple Juice
- 1 tablespoon Toasted Sesame Oil
- 2 tablespoon Water
- 1 tablespoon Cornflour
Instructions
- Remove the stems and seeds from the peppers and cut them into 5-7mm (¼") thick strips.
- Top and tail the red onion, then cut it in half, peel it and then cut it into slices 5-7mm (¼") thick.
- Cut the spring onions into thin (2-3mm or ⅛") rings.
- Peel the garlic and then cut it into slices as thin as you can.
- Mix all of the ingredients for the sweet and sour sauce, with the exception of the water and the cornflour, in a bowl.
- Mix the cornflour with the water in a small bowl
- Heat 2 frying pans over a high heat and add a tablespoon of oil to each pan, try and use a nonstick pan for searing the salmon.
- When the pans are hot, add the red onion and peppers to one of the pans and stir-fry for 3 minutes.
- After the veggies have been cooking for 1 minute, add the salmon fillets to a second pan and sear skin side down for 4 minutes.
- Add the sugar snap peas and garlic to the veggies and cook for a further 1 minute.
- Flip the salmon and add the veggies to the pan with the salmon, and pour in the sweet and sour sauce. Make sure you do not pour the sauce over the skin of the fish; we want to keep this nice and crispy.
- Cook for 2-3 minutes, then remove the salmon and set it aside.
- Pour the cornflour slurry into the sauce and cook until the sauce thickens, making sure that you stir constantly.
- Serve sprinkled with the spring onions.