Jan 21, 2020
Turn salmon into a popular Thai ingredient. As it appears to be rapidly gaining in popularity, let’s take a look at what can be done with a single sample.
An Abundance of Salmon! It’s Become a Staple Thai Ingredient!
Salmon has become a popular ingredient with the Thai people. It is eaten in many forms such as salmon sashimi, smoked salmon and salmon steak, and it appears that salmon is growing in popularity, particularly as a healthy menu item. Salmon comes in many grades and prices, and the various parts of a single salmon can be made into many different menu items with a wide variety of prices per plate.
There’s fresh salmon. The fresh salmon market in Thailand is experiencing rapid growth, mostly due to the increasing popularity of Japanese cuisine among Thai people. And salmon is a main ingredient in over 50% of all Japanese dishes. While Japan is Asia’s biggest consumer of salmon, Thailand is ASEAN’s biggest consumer of salmon.
A single salmon can be cut into four main parts, namely, the head, bones, meat and skin. The parts popularly used in cooking are as follows:
- TOP LOIN: This is the meat located around the ribs. It has the best balance of fat in the fish and is the best for making sashimi.
2. SECOND CUT: This cut is quite thin and lean. It’s suitable for making grilled and fried dishes.
3. BELLY: This is the part around the fish’s belly. It contains a lot of fat, so it has a smooth and gentle flavor. It is often used to make sashimi or cooked until well-done or fried.
4. LOIN: The fish’s loin cut is quite rare. It’s very premium and has high Omega fatty acid content and can be prepared into any type of dish.
5. TAIL: It’s the flesh from the bottom portion of the tail. It doesn’t contain a lot of fat and is suitable for most general cooking. It can be made into sashimi, but it’s not very popular because it doesn’t taste very good.
Popular Salmon Varieties in Thailand
Ordinary people often misunderstand that Thailand imports fresh salmon from Japan. In reality, the main source of Thailand’s imports is Norway. Thailand imports huge quantities of fresh seafood from Norway, especially Norwegian salmon, which has as high as 98% of the seafood export share in the Thai market at over 10,000 tons of seafood import value.
- Atlantic Salmon: Thailand is more familiar with Atlantic salmon because it is farmed as a business and are so commonly grown that consumer demands are met. The Atlantic salmon is sub-divided into three breeds based on location as follows:
Norwegian Salmon from Norway – This salmon is firm and has a soft orange color. It has few bones and just the right amount of fat. It is most popular in Thailand due to its relatively inexpensive price and availability.
Tasmanian salmon – This Australian salmon has a soft orange color and a relatively mild aroma. It has just about the right amount of tenderness and fat at about the same price as Norwegian salmon.
Scottish Salmon from Scotland – The salmon has a reddish-orange hue and contains more fat than the other two types of salmon. With its good flavor, it costs more than Norwegian and Tasmanian salmon.
- Pacific Salmon – This type of salmon is still widely available in its wild and natural type, which makes it different from Atlantic salmon. However, it is also very expensive. There are five main breeds of Pacific salmon as follows:
Chinook – This is the largest kind of salmon with the best flavor. That’s why it’s also known as King Salmon. It originated in the northern part of the Pacific Ocean. Mostly, this salmon is imported from New Zealand.
Sockeye – Also known as Red Salmon, this variety is known for its red or bright orange color due to a higher amount of plankton and shrimp in its diet than other salmons. It can be found along the coast of California and eastward to the northern part of Hokkaido.
Chum – This salmon has bright pink flesh. Also known as Keta and Dog salmon (dog because it has teeth that appear similar to a dog’s), this salmon is widely distributed in such places as the Californian coastline and around Japan’s Kyushu Island.
Coho – With its bright orange color, this variety is also known as Silver Salmon. It is commonly found along the coasts of Alaska.
Pink – It has a pink color and is the smallest variety of salmon. Living in shallow waters, it can be found in Northern California and Korean waters.
Mix & Match with Thai Salmon Menu Items
Now that you’ve learned about the different parts of salmon used in cooking, salmon lovers simply cannot miss out on salmon fusion foods. They are delicious and healthy menu items that can easily be made at home. Find out what menu items can be made below.
Salmon Som Tum – This Isan fusion food consists of Thailand’s delicious Som Tum with tender and juicy sashimi salmon. As you try it out, you will find that the flavors are well mixed as the fresh salmon takes in the spicy robust flavor of Thai Som Tum.
