Simple Poached Salmon With Yogurt Sauce

This simple poached salmon with yogurt sauce will keep you healthy inside and out…

I don’t think I’ve poached salmon since I was in cooking school. I don’t really know why I don’t do it more often though, because this salmon is awesome. It’s perfect if you are serving a crowd and it’s an easy dish to make ahead and serve cold or at room temperature. This simple poached salmon with yogurt sauce really is just that: simple.

What’s better than a dish that is made for leftovers? The salmon that’s leftover here makes the best cold salmon salad. And it makes a terrific filling for omelets. Oh, and topping a salad with some big chunks of this moist salmon and then using the yogurt sauce as a dressing… well, just… yum!

I made this a few weeks ago when I was asked to bring a main course to a family gathering. Honestly, I usually use those kinds of opportunities to experiment with new recipes (which some people are happy about and some people are just plain scared about), but on this particular day, I just didn’t feel like cooking. And I’ve learned the hard way that if I don’t feel like cooking but I cook anyway, any first-time-experimental-recipe invariably comes out pretty bad. So, I figured I’d do something simple. Something mainstream. Something everyone would love, and nobody would be fearful of.

Oh, did I mention that I used my leftover simple poached salmon with yogurt sauce to make tacos the next day…?

And, the yogurt sauce is non-dairy!

I tell a lot of my clients to add wild salmon to their diet to increase their athletic performance — this fish can help reduce aches and pains in your muscles and joints, and it’s a good source of iron.

If you want to try another great salmon recipe, try my recipe for Blood Orange Salmon With Turnip Noodles.

Here are some of the awesome healing ingredients in this simple poached salmon with yogurt sauce recipe:

Salmon is the perfect food to nourish the blood and the yin. It’s especially great for women because it raises fertility levels by promoting a healthy endometrial lining. Salmon is also great for anyone who is in need of additional iron. Be sure to buy wild salmon because the levels of mercury are lower than in farmed salmon. This beautiful fish also contains large amounts of omega-3 fatty acids, making it a good food source to combat breast cancer, Alzheimer’s, asthma, depression and diabetes. Lately there’s also been a lot of evidence that salmon is great at reducing intestinal inflammation and that it’s also good for your joints and muscles.

Scallions, as I tell you often, are one of my favorites. In Chinese medicine, the root of the scallion is a healing herb (Cong Bai). I always keep scallions on hand in my refrigerator so that I can whip up a batch of cold and flu fighting tea (scallion roots and ginger) the second anyone feels that scratchy throat coming on. It helps the body sweat out toxins. Scallions are antiviral and antibacterial; they are good for the common cold and general nasal congestion — just don’t eat too many if you have a fever.

Lemons are good for your stomach, they help detoxify your body, they balance your pH and they act as an antibacterial agent. If you have a sore throat or a cough, go for lemons to make things better. Lemons are great for quenching your thirst, and, in China, many years ago, hypertension was treated by drinking tea made from lemon peels.

In Asian medicine, we use coconut to strengthen the body, reduce swelling, and stop bleeding. Coconut kills viruses, bacteria, and parasites. It’s good for all types of infections and viruses in the body, including the flu, bronchitis, tapeworms, urinary tract infections, and herpes. And perhaps most importantly, it helps you keep your mind sharp and it makes it easier for you to focus. I used a full-fat coconut yogurt for the sauce to accompany this salmon.

Dill is considered a chemoprotective in that it can help neutralize some carcinogens. It also helps fight bacteria in the body.