PAN-ROASTED SOY-GLAZED SALMON WITH COOL CUCUMBER SALAD

Amarante

Mon, Oct 28 2019, 9:58 pm

This was easy and excellent especially if you like Asian flavors as I do. As the recipe states, the “salmon sauce” can be made even a few days ahead and then it’s essentially sautéing the salmon and adding the sauce and finishing off in the oven.

This looks more complicated than it actually is but really this is just essentially searing the salmon in the pan - pouring the sauce over it and then baking briefly in the oven.

This is pretty much a complete meal as you have the cucumber salad, rice plus the salmon with the tasty sauce

I cheated by using canned onion rings sprinkled instead of making the home made shallots. From the directions I couldn’t tell if they were going to be caramelized or crispy. If anyone makes them, let me know.

PAN-ROASTED SOY-GLAZED SALMON WITH COOL CUCUMBER SALAD

Excerpt From: Joanne Chang. “Myers + Chang at Home.

¼ cup unseasoned rice vinegar
1 teaspoon sugar
1½ teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
½ English cucumber, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced into half-moons
2 tablespoons vegetable oil, such as canola
Four 5-ounce skin-on salmon fillets
4 scallions, cut into thirds
1 recipe Salmon Sauce (see below)
One 1-inch knob fresh ginger, peeled and thinly sliced
½ cup fresh cilantro leaves (about ¼ bunch)
Perfect White Rice (page 315) or Perfect Brown Rice (page 316)
1 recipe Crispy Shallots (page 312)

Preheat the oven to 325°F and place a rack in the center of the oven.

In a medium bowl, combine the vinegar, sugar, 1 teaspoon of the salt, and ½ teaspoon of the pepper and stir together. Add the cucumbers to the bowl to marinate in the dressing. Set aside.

Heat a large, heavy, flat-bottomed oven safe skillet on the stove over high heat for 2 minutes. Add the vegetable oil, tilting the pan to cover the bottom evenly with the oil, and heat until it is almost smoking. Pat the salmon skin dry with a paper towel. Season both sides of the salmon fillets with the remaining ½ teaspoon salt and the remaining ½ teaspoon black pepper and carefully add to the skillet skin-side down. Cook on high for 1 to 2 minutes, pushing down slightly on the salmon with a spatula to get exceptionally crispy skin (that’s the good stuff!).

Use a thin spatula to carefully flip the salmon fillets over.

Add the Salmon Sauce to the skillet and sprinkle the scallions and sliced ginger over the fish and sauce. Transfer to the oven and bake for 4 to 5 minutes, until the salmon is cooked to medium.

Divide the rice among four shallow serving bowls and place 1 piece of salmon on top of each mound of rice, skin-side up. Spoon any remaining sauce, scallions, and ginger evenly onto the salmon and rice. Add the cilantro to the marinating cucumbers and garnish the salmon with the dressed cucumbers and the shallots. Serve immediately.

Salmon Sauce

MAKES ABOUT 1 CUP

½ cup soy sauce
¼ cup unseasoned rice vinegar
2 tablespoons sugar
One 2-inch knob fresh ginger, peeled and thinly sliced
1 tablespoon sriracha

IN A SMALL pot, combine the soy sauce, vinegar, sugar, ginger, sriracha, and ¼ cup water. Bring to a boil over high heat, stirring until the sugar has dissolved. Turn off the heat and set aside. The Salmon Sauce can be made up to 1 week in advance and stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator

CRISPY SHALLOTS

MAKES ABOUT ¼ CUP

These are hard not to snack on or put on top of pretty much everything. You sometimes find crispy shallots sold in prepackaged bags at the Asian grocery. Don’t take that shortcut. They don’t hold a candle to these.

4 medium shallots
2 cups vegetable oil, such as canola, for frying (see Note, page 92)
¼ teaspoon kosher salt

Thinly slice the shallots on a mandoline or with a very sharp knife; they must be super-duper thin and as evenly sliced as possible. In a small saucepan, stir together the shallots and the oil and place over medium heat. Stir the shallots until the oil barely starts to simmer, then cook until the shallots turn golden brown, stirring occasionally, 6 to 8 minutes. Remove from the oil with a slotted spoon and place on a paper towel–lined plate. It will take 15 to 18 minutes total from cold oil to finished. Dust the shallots with the salt and let cool. The Crispy Shallots can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.”