My air fryer Vietnamese tamarind salmon makes an easy and wonderful dinner full of flavor and textures.

Since cooking salmon in the air fryer, I haven’t gone back to pan frying or the oven. We have a few salmon dishes that go into regular rotation and I’m excited to share Vu’s favorite salmon recipe, air fryer Vietnamese tamarind salmon. Tamarind is one of my favorite ingredients for marinade and sauces especially with seafood. The salmon is marinated in a tamarind fish sauce mixture, cooked in the air fryer, then topped with a sticky tamarind glaze, fried shallots, peanuts, scallion, and cilantro for an easy weeknight dinner. We love it so much that Vu requests for it every two weeks!

Ingredient Notes
- Salmon: for this recipe I used a 1.25-pound piece of salmon fillet. Look for salmon with vibrant color and no darkening around the edges. Avoid salmon that smell fishy or off-putting. When picking out salmon, make sure that the thickest part of the fish is no larger than an inch to ensure optimal cooking.
- Tamarind: tamarind paste is made from sour, dark, sticky tamarind pods. Blocks of tamarind are regular shelf items at Indian and Asian grocery stores or online. You can also make your own tamarind paste using this NYT recipe. For this recipe, you need to make tamarind water from the paste.
- Fish sauce: use a quality fish sauce. Some of my favorite brands are Three Crabs, Flying Lion Premium Fish Sauce, and Red Boat Fish Sauce.
- Fried shallots: for the fried shallots, I buy the dried shallots from the Vietnamese grocery store and fry them with a little bit of oil until they become crisp and fragrant. I've included a picture of the product we typically buy below.

There are many dried shallot brands available but this is one of our favorites.

How Long to Marinate the Fish For
For the tamarind salmon, marinate it for at least 4 hours but overnight is even better. Leave the salmon skin up in the marinade (opposite of the salmon pictured).

TIPS FOR AIR FRYING
- Depending on what air fryer you own, you’ll need to follow the instructions and preheat it. Preheating the air fryer will help crisp up the edge of your fish.
- Make sure the salmon fillets are similar in size. The time needed to cook salmon depends on the thickness and size of the salmon. Using the same size ensures that the salmon will cook evenly. I kept my salmon in one piece but feel free to divide up for your salmon into smaller pieces.
- Use salmon with skin on which adds a protective layer and prevents it from drying out during the cooking process.
- Spray the air fryer basket to prevent food from getting stuck to it. For cooking salmon and other fish, I add a piece of foil right underneath the piece of fish. Depending on what kind of material your air frying basket is made of, the skin might get stuck to the bottom and makes it harder to clean. With the foil, I can easily lift the fish out of the basket.
- Don’t overcrowd the basket. Overcrowding the basket can result in undercooking some of the food and burning the other half. The food needs room on all sides to have the circulating air cook it. If you’re scaling up the recipe, divide your batch to ensure the fish cook evenly.
- Cook the salmon for another 2 minutes in the air fryer if the middle part is still not cooked through.

The tamarind salmon was so tender and succulent after air frying for 10 minutes. Once cooked I drizzled a sticky tamarind glaze on top and garnished the salmon with fried shallots, roasted peanuts, scallion, and cilantro. The tangy sweet glaze offset the richness of the salmon while the toppings brought all the flavors and textures in contrast to the tender fish. Every bite is like an umami flavor bomb that will have you coming back for more. Serve it with Jasmine rice and your favorite veggies for a complete meal.

For more tamarind recipes: Vietnamese tamarind crabs, Vietnamese tamarind prawns, Vietnamese tamarind razor clams.

Air Fryer Vietnamese Tamarind Salmon
Equipment
- Instant Pot Duo Crisp
Ingredients
Tamarind Water
- 2 ounces tamarind pulp
- 1 ½ cups boiling water
Salmon Marinade
- 1.25 pounds salmon fillet, skin on
- 2 tablespoons fish sauce
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- ½ cup tamarind water
- 4 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
- ⅛ teaspoon freshly ground pepper
Tamarind Sticky Sauce
- ½ cup tamarind water
- 2 tablespoons fish sauce
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 2 bird's eye chilis, thinly sliced
Garnishes
- ½ cup dried shallots
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- ¼ cup roasted peanuts
- 1 scallion, thinly sliced
- 2 tablespoons cilantro, chopped
- Jasmine rice for serving
Instructions
- To make the tamarind water, soak the tamarind paste in boiling water for 5 minutes breaking up any chunks with a spoon. Set aside until cool enough to handle. Pass the mixture through a sieve to get the tamarind water.
- To make the tamarind marinade, in a bowl whisk together tamarind water, fish sauce, sugar, garlic, and freshly ground pepper until well combined.
- In a container large enough to hold the salmon, add the marinade and place the fish meat side down, cover, and marinate for at least 4 hours or overnight.
- When ready to cook the salmon, spray the bottom of the air fryer basket with the olive oil spray.
- Put a piece of foil underneath the salmon and carefully lower salmon into the basket of the air fryer.
- Attach the air fryer lid. Press the Air Fry button and set the temperature for 375 degrees F for 12 minutes then press Start.
- Remove salmon from the basket immediately or it will continue to cook. Discard foil and transfer fish to a serving plate.
- To make the sticky tamarind sauce, in a small saucepan, combine tamarind water, fish sauce, and sugar and cook on med-high heat for 10-12 minutes until the sauce thickens. Season with additional fish sauce and sugar to taste. Add sliced chilis. Set aside.
- To make the fried shallots, add oil to a small frying pan over low heat. Add the dried shallots and cook until light golden, about 3 minutes.
- When ready to serve, drizzle the sticky tamarind sauce over salmon, top with fried shallots, roasted peanuts, scallion, and cilantro.
- Serve immediately with rice, steamed vegetables, and remaining tamarind sauce.
Notes
- Depending on what air fryer you own, you’ll need to follow the instructions and preheat it. Preheating the air fryer will help crisp up the edge of your fish.
- Make sure the salmon fillets are similar in size. Using the same size ensures that the salmon will cook evenly. I kept my salmon in one piece but feel free to divide up for your salmon.
- For cooking salmon and other fish, I add a piece of foil right underneath the piece of fish. With the foil, I can easily lift the fish out of the basket.
- Don’t overcrowd the basket. Overcrowding the basket can result in undercooking some of the food and burning the other half.
- Air fry for another 2 minutes if the salmon didn't cook through.
Minh
I made this over the weekend. The flavor is spot on and fried shallots are non-negotiable!
Kimberly
Incredible flavors! It's my first time using tamarind and salmon. Can't wait to try the other tamarind recipes.
Samantha
So simple but delicious when everything combined together!
Emily
I usually make a salt and garlic salmon. This tamarind version is so good!
Kristie
So happy I tried this recipe. I love salmon and we eat it weekly. It's nice to add this to the dinner rotation!
Kristen
So happy to have discovered this recipe. I won't go back to pan frying salmon!
Newbie
Can this be made with salmon without skin?
Vy Tran
Absolutely! I would brush both sides with oil and put on a piece of foil to prevent it from sticking to the air frying basket.
Kathryn
Amazing! I didn't use the AF but grilled it instead. Love the flavors.