Banana Leaf Wrapped Whole Coho Salmon

Cooked whole Coho salmon split open with bones removed on a banana leaf lined white platter and red chili garnish, lime wedges, ginger, and lemongrass

Banana Leaf Wrapped Whole Coho Salmon

Coho salmon is often seen as the most subtly flavored salmon, while still being good enough to sell as filets instead of heading to the cannery. This recipe infuses the salmon with a subtle earthiness from banana leaves and provides contrast with a punchy Vietnamese dipping sauce.

Course Main Course

Cuisine Asian, Thai

Diet Gluten Free, Low Fat, Low Lactose

Keyword baked salmon recipe

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 40

Servings

Calories 375kcal

Author Agile Test Kitchen

Equipment

1 baking sheet large enough to hold the salmon

Ingredients

2-3 lb whole coho salmon gutted and scaled
salt to taste for me this is about 2 teaspoon of coarse sea salt
2 oz ginger skin on, sliced ¼" thick
1 ea stalk lemongrass lightly smashed and cut into 3" pieces, or ½ lemon sliced
4 ea kaffir lime leaves or cilantro stalks
2-3 ea banana leaves washed and dried, See Note 1

Fish Sauce Dipping Sauce (Nuoc Cham)

¼ c fish sauce
2 Tb water
3 Tb sugar
1 teaspoon chopped fresh chili
2 Tb lime juice about ½ lime squeezed

Garnish

lime wedges

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Place a rack in the middle of the oven.
Pat the salmon dry with paper towels. Sprinkle the skin and insides with salt.
Stuff the belly of the salmon with the ginger, lemongrass or lemons, and lime leaves or cilantro.
Lay the banana leaves horizontally, and place the salmon vertically in the middle. Wrap the salmon in the banana leaves by rolling them a couple times. Just note, you will need to unravel the banana leaves after cooking, so just a couple layers of banana leaves will do.
Center the banana leaf wrapped salmon a sheet pan. Bake for 30-40 min in the oven. A thermometer should reach 125 degrees F for medium to medium rare salmon or 145 degrees F for well done. I prefer taking it to 125 degrees for more juiciness.
While it's cooking, mix together the dipping sauce ingredients until the sugar is dissolved. I like to shake it all together in a small mason jar that doubles as the storage container.
Remove the salmon from the oven and gently unroll the salmon from the banana leaves. At this point, you can serve the fish whole as is. Or I like to split it open to reveal two halves of the fillet and remove the bones from the center.
Serve hot with with the dipping sauce on the side and lime wedges.

Notes

Banana leaves are usually found in the freezer section of Asian supermarkets. Because they are already 'wet', they don't need to be soaked in water to prevent burning in the oven or grill. Make sure to defrost and wash prior to using, to remove any chemicals/pesticides from these leaves grown in tropical weather.
This recipe uses a 2-3 lb Coho salmon that will feed about 4-6 people. If using a larger salmon, adjust the cooking time. A general rule of thumb is 15-20 minutes of cooking time per pound of fish.
This recipe also works really well on the grill on an outdoor BBQ. The banana leaves protect the skin from the grill, so it doesn't stick.

Nutrition