- What it is: Tender salmon fillets pressure-cooked in a rich Vietnamese caramel sauce with brown sugar, fish sauce, ginger, and lime. A stunning main dish.
- Why you’ll love it: Unbelievably fast, delivering rich, savory-sweet Asian flavor with a sticky glaze in just 15 minutes. It’s an effortless weeknight pressure cooker wonder.
- How to make it: Simmer sauce ingredients in the pressure cooker. Add the salmon and cook for 1 minute. Remove fish, then reduce the sauce until perfectly syrupy.
Dinner in just 10 minutes? You betcha. For this spectacular yet almost effortless meal, salmon is pressure-cooked in a sweet and tangy Vietnamese-inspired caramel sauce.
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Featured Review
OMG!!! This was so easy. We had a bunch of fresh halibut, it worked perfectly. Darn fish sauce is so pee-you stinky, then in a hot minute transforms into this luscious umami sauce. I will have to admit I was super skeptical, but then viola, we had a 5-star fish dish, that frankly my sautéed haricot verts were embarrassed! I gotta go shout from the roof top how absolutely YUMILICIOUS this fish is!! Do it! make it, you won’t regret it one bit!!! TY!
BBQgoddess
Recipe Testers’ Reviews
I’ve tried to like my Instant Pot. I’ve tried soups and stews. Rice and beans. Meats. I’ve read tons of recipes. Blog posts. Magazine articles. There is an Instant Pot love fest happening around me but I’ve always been left scratching my head wondering why. Until now.
With my mind suitably blown by this Vietnamese caramel salmon, I’m finally feeling the love. The salmon was moist and beautifully flavored with the tangy caramel sauce and made a lovely meal served with steamed rice and a salad. Aside from a bit of measuring and a few stirs, there was no work involved as the Instant Pot did the rest.
My only issue was that when the Instant Pot reached pressure, it overheated and I had to turn it off. Despite this, the salmon was still perfectly cooked. Next time, I’ll double the sauce ingredients to hopefully prevent this from happening. Added bonus? More syrupy caramel to add to my steamed rice.
This Vietnamese caramel salmon is the perfect weeknight dinner–quick, easy and I had all the ingredients in my pantry. I served it with rice and an Asian cucumber salad. This received rave reviews and requests for this dish to be in our regular rotation of dinner ideas.
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If you make this recipe, or any dish on LC, consider leaving a review, a star rating, and your best photo in the comments below. I love hearing from you.–David
Pressure Cooker Vietnamese Caramel Salmon
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon coconut oil, melted, or 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
- 1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
- 3 tablespoons Asian fish sauce
- 1 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce or low-sodium soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon grated peeled fresh ginger
- finely grated zest of 1 lime (about 2 teaspoons)
- juice of 1/2 lime (about 1 tablespoon)
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 4 (6-to 8-ounce) salmon fillets, preferably center-cut pieces
- sliced scallions, (white and light green parts), for garnish
- fresh cilantro leaves, for garnish
Instructions
- In your pressure cooker or Instant Pot, whisk together the 1 tablespoon coconut oil, 1/3 cup packed light brown sugar, 3 tablespoons Asian fish sauce, 1 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce or low-sodium soy sauce, 1 teaspoon grated peeled fresh ginger, finely grated zest of 1 lime (about 2 teaspoons), juice of 1/2 lime (about 1 tablespoon), and 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper. Use the sauté function to bring to a simmer and then turn off the heat.
- Place the 4 (6-to 8-ounce) salmon fillets in the pressure cooker, skin-side up (if there is skin still attached, that is). Spoon the sauce over the fish, cover, and cook on low pressure for 1 minute. Let the pressure release naturally for 5 minutes; then release the remaining pressure manually. Check the fish for doneness by cutting into a fillet. If you prefer your salmon more well-done, cook it for another minute or so using the sauté function.
- Carefully lift the salmon fillets onto a serving platter, flipping them over so the browned caramelized side is facing up. (The fillets may fall apart a little as you lift them out. That’s okay. They’ll still taste ridiculously lovely.)
- Use the sauté function to reduce the sauce until it’s thick and syrupy, about 3 minutes. Spoon the sauce over the salmon and garnish it with the sliced scallions and fresh cilantro leaves.
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Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I wanted to love this, but I just didn’t. The flavor was fine. I prefer pan cooking salmon so it can get some caramelization going. This did not. There wasn’t anything wrong with it per se, I just prefer recipes where the final product stands out more, something easy enough to achieve with salmon. Still looking for a recipe that’s going to make me use my Instant Pot for more than a bean cooker, although it does make a darn fine bean cooker.
I’m sorry to hear you didn’t love this, Mom24. Hopefully, you’ll have better luck with some of our other Instant Pot recipes.
I’ve been making this recipe since it first appeared on NYT site, but not in a pressure cooker. I start it off skin side up on stovetop and then move to countertop convection oven ski. Side down to finish, spooning the caramelising sauce over the dish as it cooks. Always served with Vietnamese cabbage salad. A dish whose flavors I crave even when not especially hungry – it’s that good.
Thanks, Roni! That is a gorgeous-looking plate of food. Love hearing about how to make it without the pressure cooker, since not everyone has (or wants) one.
This came out perfectly–fish was perfectly flaky and sauce was fabulous! We loved it!
Thanks, Marieka! I’m delighted you enjoyed it so much. Thanks for taking the time to let us know.