Imposter Syndrome Dinner

Yes, I'm owning it from the very beginning. I claim imposter syndrome for this dish that I've developed. Okay, not exactly imposter syndrome, but with sincere apologies to all of the Asian countries and their traditional cuisine, I present to you my Asian-Inspired Salmon with Cabbage Noodles.

I am often faced with the challenge of coming up with dinner using what's in my pantry, in the refrigerator and freezer. Think of it as my home version of Food Network's Chopped program, which pits chef against chef to come up with an elegant and edible meal from a strange combination of ingredients. This was my faux Chopped basket: Frozen sockeye salmon, cabbage, onions, cilantro, heavy cream, cream cheese. Sounds like the Keto Lover's Guide to Good Eats, right? Well, I do happen to be on a lifetime low-carb eating regimen, so I engaged my creativity and came up with my satisfying and delicious take on many Chinese, Indian and Thai dishes that I've enjoyed in restaurants. 

Here's my printable recipe for Asian-Inspired Salmon with Cabbage Noodles. Apologies to my Asian friends. I hope you won't hold this one dish against me.

Customizing--You are In Charge:

• You can forget about the cabbage and use noodles or rice.
• Substitute 2 lbs of extra-large shrimp for the salmon. Or use chicken tenderloins.
• If you're following a Vegan diet, replace the cream and cream cheese with one can of unsweetened coconut milk, vegetable stock instead of chicken stock and use cauliflower instead of the salmon.
• Instead of cabbage, use 1 cup each of thinly sliced celery and carrots and two cups of cooked lentils.

Photo instructions below.

Cook skin side down. Once it releases easily, move to a plate.

The white substance that solidifies on the flesh side is just protein.
Looks icky. Perfectly safe and fine to eat.

Add the cabbage in two batches.

Once the cabbage has softened, add the salmon, flesh side down.

Yummmmm.