Summer Salads: Tamari Salmon Salad with Spicy Cashews
Welcome to my SUMMER SALAD SERIES, part 2: the tamari salmon salad! If you missed part 1, it’s this crispy chicken cobb-ish salad and it is NOT to be missed.
The inspiration from this salad came from two places: firstly, my viral salmon bites (duh) - which many people on the internet have been loving, so I figured it was time to put them in a salad! Secondly, the famous Mandy’s tamari salad dressing. If you haven’t been to Mandy’s, it’s a delicious, fast casual salad restaurant in Toronto and they make the most addictive tamari dressing. I recreated it on my TikTok a few years back and that recipe also went viral. So we’re bringing it back today and putting it on a salad that’s packed with gem lettuce, roasted broccoli, salmon bites and the most incredible sweet ‘n spicy cashews.
I hope you make and love it! Plz tag me if you do. Also if anyone out there is an SEO expert, holler because I have no idea what I’m doing on that front with this blog and I don’t have time to figure it out. LOL xoxo
Tamari Salmon Salad with Spicy Cashews
Ingredients
1 large filet of skinless salmon (enough for 2 people), cut into 1-inch cubes
1 tbsp honey
1 tbsp tamari
1 tbsp sesame or olive oil
1 clove grated garlic
Torn gem lettuce
2 mini peppers, thinly sliced
1 head broccoli, chopped into florets
1/2 cup chopped cashews
1 tsp tamari
1 tsp honey
1 tsp chili crisp
For the tamari dressing:
1/4 cup + 2 tbsp neutral oil (I used refined avocado oil)
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
3 tbsp tamari
2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
2 tbps water
1 tbsp honey or maple syrup
1 tbsp tahini
1 clove of garlic
Method
Start by making your tamari dressing: blend all ingredients together until smooth. Taste and adjust as needed, then store in a jar in the fridge.
Make your salmon by combining the salmon cubes in a bowl with your honey, tamari, oil and grated garlic. Stir to coat the salmon pieces in the sauce. You can let it marinade for several hours in the fridge for deeper flavour or cook it right away.
Heat a cast iron skillet over medium. Once hot, add your salmon pieces in a single layer. Let them cook on one side for 4-5 minutes, until deeply golden brown. Flip each piece and finish cooking for another 2-3 minutes, until just cooked through in the centre. Remove and let the salmon pieces cool.
You can keep the broccoli florets raw or lightly roast them like I did. If roasting, coat with a bit of olive oil, salt, pepper and garlic powder and place in a 400 degree oven or air fryer for about 30 minutes (less if air frying), flipping halfway through, until broccoli pieces are lightly browned. Set aside to cool.
To make the cashews, lightly toast your cashew pieces in a pan for a few minutes over medium-low heat. Once they’re starting to brown, turn the heat all the way to low and add your tamari, honey and chili crisp. Quickly stir to coat the cashew pieces. Remove from the heat and lay them on a paper towel or plate to cool down and crisp up.
When ready to assemble, coat your gem lettuce pieces in a bit of the dressing. Lay them in a large salad bowl or serving platter and top with chopped bell peppers, roasted broccoli and salmon bites. Pour more dressing overtop (as much as desired, you’ll have leftover). Top generously with your spicy cashews and enjoy!
Serves 2 (salad components can be doubled with the same amount of dressing)
