This is one of the recipes that you need to bookmark. Uh like, kinda immediately. Because it’s that good. Better than good! Great. And easy too.

This is one of those recipes that’s going to make you a seafood believer.

One that will make fish haters proclaim, “JUST KEEP SWIMMING!”

One that will knock the gills off even the most refined of fish lovers.

Are you suspicious? Yes, I know all these promises seem fishy.The proof is in the pictures though, right? Let’s you and me do this.

We begin with the star player of the show: salmon!

This is important. With so few ingredients, this part is all sorts of crucial. Pick it well, and you end up with an Academy Award-winning dish. Pick not-so-well, and you end up with a downward spiral more out of control than Lindsey Lohan’s adolescent years.

Soo…salmon. Fresh (not frozen!) salmon is a must for this dish. Preferable wild, rather than farm-raised. But that one is your prerogative.

Feeding a family of 4? 2 lbs should do it.

Date night for 2? 1 lb should be just fine.

From there, we go all “Top Chef.” Grab your sharpest knife. Tallie-ho!

Skin that salmon, working carefully. Keep the knife at a narrow angle, and work slowly to ensure the skin and meat separate.

Dull knives + dancing to Maroon 5 = bad news bears.

In other words, I’d advise you to watch a YouTube video to learn about skinning a piece of fish. Because if Tom Colicchio saw my skinning job, I’d be on the chopping block. Whatever, at least I still have Maroon 5 and my dance moves.

Now that your fish is skin-free, let’s tackle the marinade. This shiz is easy! Four-ingredient easy, may I add.

Dijon, brown sugar, rice vinegar, and soy sauce. It’s like marriage.

(All the good parts, at least..)

Note the soy sauce! That’s Chinese soy sauce…not Japanese. Yes, there’s a diff. No, I have no idea what that diff is.

I play it safe, so as to avoid disgracing my dearest little Chinese grandmother. Just go with some sort of soy sauce, and I’m sure you’ll save yourself from disgracing any Asian ancestors you may or may not have.

Now that you’ve made a marinade that tastes like crack and saved yourself from the impending doom of Asian ancestors, it’s time for some action.

Place the fish in the marinade for 10 minutes, flipping after 5 minutes.

While you wait for the fish to marinade, start heating your barbecue to medium heat.

We use a charcoal grill. Mom swears it’s better. Like rainbows, ponies, and shooting stars better.

Who can argue with that? Not me.

Grease your grill well, or the barbecue will end up eating more of the fish than you will.

Epic bummer.

Have PAM, will travel!

Grill for 4 minutes on each side, basting with remaining sauce.

You can guess the plan from here.

Fork. Salmon. Happiness.

Bookmark. Recipe. Now.

Because this is one of those recipes that’s a one-way ticket to utter tastebud nirvana.

The Best Salmon Ever

My mom has been making it for salmon this years, after loosely adapting it from a magazine article. Nobody remembers the real name of the recipe though because our entire family now refers to it as “The Best Salmon Ever.” It’s simply downright fantastic--so good that friends who have tried our recipe have called us up late at night just to tell us that it is indeed the “Best Salmon Ever.”

Serves 4

2 lbs salmon, fresh (not frozen!!!)

1 tbsp soy sauce
3 tbsp brown sugar
2 tsp dijon mustard
1 tsp rice vinegar