This meal could not be simpler…….and yes I truly mean that! It’s one of our family favourites and I think we eat some or other variation of this every fortnight. It is also how I also got my youngest child to LOVE Salmon, and he has never looked back. as we are all well aware, its important to eat decent quality oily fish on a regular basis and salmon is one of the most tasty ways to do this!
There are 2 points I would like to mention if you want to make this dish extra special:
- Buy the best quality salmon you can find.
- Marinade the salmon for at least an hour… but preferably in the morning before you head off for your day (you wont be sorry as it makes quite a difference).
Its a simple supper and a delicious mid-week treat, but also impressive and flavour-packed enough for a dinner party. The salmon itself is so rich I don’t serve it with too may other things, and the acid component of the oriental style marinade works really well to cut through the rich tasting flakes of fish. My boys prefer it without chili so I marinade without and just add a few shaves of fresh red chili on top to please my palate. I guess its a take on salmon teriyaki without the honey and other sweeteners traditionally added which make it much stickier and sweeter.
I feel that 150g per person is sufficient as salmon is a rich and filling fish, but if you are worried about hungry guests then 180g would be slightly more generous.
Serves 4
INGREDIENTS
- 4 Salmon fillets 150g each – skin on, or off – it matters not 🙂
Oriental Style Marinade:
- 2 tbsp toasted sesame oil
- 5 Tbsp Soy Sauce (I love Kikkoman its light and not too salty – avoid the syrupy dark versions)
- 1 tbsp finely minced fresh ginger
- 1 tbsp finely minced garlic
- 1 tsp fresh lemon juice (could use lime too)
- 1 tsp Chinese 5 Spice (optional – but find it if you can! You could always grind 1/2 star anise star and sprinkle over)
Mushrooms
- 300g Oriental Mushrooms, sliced where appropriate (Shitake, Shimeji & King Oyster are my favourites – and I dont think I need to say – dont wash them! You must never wash a mushroom or it wont behave nicely when you come to cook it!)
- 1 tsp ghee or organic butter
- 1 tsp minced garlic
- 1 tsp minced ginger
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tsp toasted sesame oil
Asparagus
- 200g Fresh Asparagus with the very end slightly trimmed
- 1 tsp minced garlic
- 1 tsp organic butter
- 1 tsp fresh lemon juice
METHOD
- Marinade the salmon an hour before or longer: mix your marinade ingredients in a shallow oven dish that can hold all the fillets easily and make sure the salmon is fully coated. Then place the salmon flesh side down in the marinade and cover and refrigerate until you need it.
- When you are ready and want to eat shortly (This next bit will take 30mins MAX) preheat the oven to 200C.
- Turn the salmon so it is facing up in the dish if its skinless and skin up if it has some, you should see how its taken on the colour of the marinade. If you have salmon with skin and you roast face down so you get a crispy skin – or skin side down just depending on how you like it. I am not fond of eating the skin so I roast it skin side down.
- Place in the pre heated oven and roast for 15 min or until fish is cooked but not overdone. Dry salmon is not that nice – however everyone likes salmon done differently, some more pink than others.
- Whilst the salmon is cooking prepare your vegetables.
- In a clean fry pan heat up your ghee/olive oil and lightly fry your garlic and ginger.
- After a minute or so add your mushrooms and keep moving them around the pan so they don’t burn. Once they have started to sweat you can add the soya sauce and sesame oil. Once they are cooked you can leave them to one side keeping them warm till serving.
- In a clean fry/griddle pan heat up your butter and lightly fry our garlic for a few seconds. Add your asparagus and keep tossing in the garlic butter so they brown nicely but keep their bright green colour. Add the lemon juice and toss once more coating the asparagus fully. Keep warm.
Arrange on your plate as you wish, and top with some finely sliced red de-seeded chili for a bit of vooma if that’s what you like! You could also add some wholewheat soba noodles or some such for those with larger appetites – or even some brown Basmati rice cooked in a vegetable stock. One way or another this will be a repeat dish for sure!
Tip: I like to buy salmon from a decent fishmonger and I generally buy a whole salmon and get them to fillet it in the portion size I want. In buying the whole salmon you can make a great saving on the cost and have some extra fillets frozen and ready for more healthy meals. Your initial capital outlay may be more but its certainly worth it!
Sesame OIl is very strong – is the recipe correct for 2 Tablespoons?