Seared Salmon with Mango Salsa and Lime

Ingredients

• 4 skin-on salmon fillets (approx. 150g each)
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 300g jasmine rice
• 400ml full-fat coconut milk
• 150ml water
• 2 fresh or dried lime leaves
• 2 ripe mangoes, peeled and finely diced
• 1 red chilli, finely chopped (deseeded for less heat)
• ½ red onion, very finely diced
• 20g fresh coriander, leaves and fine stems roughly chopped
• juice of 2 limes
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 4 pak choi, halved lengthways
• 1 tbsp sesame oil
• 2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• 2 limes, cut into wedges, to serve
• 1 tbsp toasted sesame seeds, to serve
• extra coriander leaves, to finish
• Quick pickled cucumber, to serve

Method

1. Rinse the jasmine rice under cold water until it runs clear — this washes off the surface starch that turns rice gluey. Tip into a medium saucepan with the coconut milk, water and lime leaves, add a generous pinch of salt, and bring to a gentle boil.
2. Drop the heat to its lowest setting, cover tightly and cook for 15 minutes until the liquid is absorbed and the rice is tender. Pull off the heat and leave to steam, lid on, for 5 minutes — don't lift the lid before then or you'll lose the steam that finishes the grains.
3. While the rice cooks, make the salsa. Combine the diced mango, red chilli, red onion and coriander in a bowl. Add the lime juice and olive oil, season with salt and toss well. Taste — the salsa should be sweet, sharp and just a touch hot. Set aside at room temperature so the flavours mingle.
4. Pat the salmon fillets completely bone-dry with kitchen paper. Water means steam, and steam means no crisp skin. Season both sides generously with salt and pepper before they hit the pan.
5. Heat the olive oil in a large stainless or cast-iron frying pan over a high heat until it shimmers. Lay the salmon skin-side down and press each fillet firmly with a spatula for the first 30 seconds — this stops them curling and keeps every millimetre of skin in contact with the pan.
6. Cook for 4–5 minutes until the skin is deeply golden and the flesh has turned opaque two-thirds of the way up the fillet. If your pan is small, sear in two batches — crowd four fillets in and they'll steam rather than crisp. Flip and cook for a further minute until just cooked through, then lift onto a plate.
7. Drop the heat to medium. Add the sesame oil and sliced garlic to the same pan and stir for 30 seconds, just until fragrant and pale gold. Don't burn it — burnt garlic turns bitter and there's no rescuing it.
8. Add the pak choi cut-side down and cook for 2–3 minutes until charred where they meet the pan, picking up the garlicky fond left behind by the salmon. Splash in the soy sauce, toss briefly, and pull off the heat. Taste a leaf — the soy carries most of the salt, but a final pinch ties it together.
9. Fluff the coconut rice with a fork and fish out the lime leaves. Divide between four bowls or plates.
10. Arrange the charred pak choi alongside the rice, then perch a salmon fillet on top, skin-side up to keep it crisp.
11. Spoon the mango salsa generously over and around the salmon, scatter with the toasted sesame seeds and extra coriander leaves, tuck the quick pickled cucumber alongside, and serve with lime wedges for squeezing at the table.