Mon Chin’s Baked Salmon

The secret ingredient is already in the baking dish, visible. I’m not telling.

Way, way back during my early years as a student at the University of Washington who catered dinners and parties, one of my occasional clients in Seattle employed a Chinese chef named Mon Chin. They took him along when they seasonally or otherwise left for a portion of the year at their residences in Huntington Beach, the Cayman Islands or the Bahamas.

It was only by chance that I met him once and watched him make marinade for a salmon that he would later bake, 350 degrees, around 12 minutes, although he more often grilled it. I love the cold leftovers.

(Mon Chin also gave me his special recipe for chocolate chip cookies, but that’s another story. They also had a surprising ingredient. Perhaps someone else who knew him might also know that secret?)