Tag: East Asian
Teriyaki Salmon
Teriyaki Salmon
When you go to an American grocery store, you will see countless varieties of pretty horrible tasting bottled teriyaki sauces on the shelves. Honestly, because of this, teriyaki has always been a huge turnoff for me. They all have too much salt and extra ingredients that you don’t need. Puke. In a Japanese grocery store, you won’t find any. Why? Because every household in Japan makes their own. The best part is, real Japanese teriyaki only has 4 ingredients: mirin, sake, soy sauce, and sugar. It’s simple with a proper balance of sweet and salty.Japanese-style teriyaki Salmon is so much more complex than putting a sauce on salmon. The Japanese fillet their salmon at a 30 degree angle 1/2”-1” thick with the skin on instead of cutting a straight on 90 degrees portion out of the fillet. Cutting the salmon this way will do several things. It gives the salmon a wider spread of the flesh, allowing it to absorb the teriyaki. That also means that the fillets won’t require marination. Since the fillets are thinner, the salmon fillets will cook a lot faster and more evenly. It is highly important to leave the skin on the salmon while cooking. I feel that I have to repeat this again because of all the recipes I see out there removing the skin before cooking salmon. IT IS HIGHLY IMPORTANT TO LEAVE THE SKIN ON THE SALMON WHILE COOKING. For several reasons…The skin holds the fillets together. If I were to remove the skin before cooking this salmon, you’d have flaked salmon in teriyaki sauce…Between the flesh and the skin is a nice layer of fat where you get your omega 3 fatty acids. You are throwing away essential nutrients by removing the skin…It also keeps your salmon moist…Nobody said you have to eat the skin. LEAVE IT ON! I bet the same people that remove the salmon skin eat boneless skinless chicken breasts with their snotty children, Cooper and Emily.End of angry rant.
Ingredients
- 1 lb salmon fillet head end of fillet
- 1/2 tsp salt
- cracked black pepper
- 3 tbsp flour
- 2 tbsp butter
- 1 tbsp sake or rice wine
Teriyaki Sauce
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tbsp mirin
- 1 tbsp sake
- 1 tbsp sugar
Instructions
How to fillet salmon Japanese-style
- Instead of straight on cutting smaller portioned fillets out of the whole one, the Japanese will cut the fillets 1” thick at a 30 degree angle.
- Thinly cutting the salmon this way gives a wider spread of the flesh, allowing to absorb more of the teriyaki.
- Cut the entire fillet.
Teriyaki Salmon
- Season each fillet with salt and pepper. Dust the fillets in flour. Shake off any excess.
- Melt the butter in a sauté pan over medium heat. Add in the salmon fillets skin side down. Sear for 3 minutes.
- Flip over. Add the saki and cover, cooking for another 3 minutes. Remove from the pan.
- Mix together all of the teriyaki ingredients.
- Pour in the pan.
- Once it starts to boil, add the salmon fillets back in.
- Toss and coat each side in the teriyaki sauce.
Steamed Salmon in Black Bean Sauce
Steamed Salmon in Black Bean Sauce
This is a low maintenance and healthy meal that can be made in under 25 minutes. A white fish fillet is typically used for steamed fish with black bean sauce, but I saw some nice salmon steaks at my local Asian market that caught my attention. I purchased a large steak that was 1 lb.; but you can use 2 – 8oz fillets. I like steaks because they are the same thickness all the way through and cook more evenly then a fillet. Line a steamer basket with parchment paper. Make a bed of sliced onion. Lay the salmon steak on top of the onions. Drizzle with olive oil. Pour over all of the black bean sauce and top with green onions. Wrap up the parchment package so excess water doesn’t dilute the sauce. Steam for 15 minute. If using fillets, steam for 10-12 minutes. Serve with steamed rice. You can also add a vegetable of your liking to the salmon while steaming such as asparagus.
Servings: 2
Equipment
- steamer
Ingredients
- 1 lb salmon steak or 2 – 8oz fillets
- 1/4 white onion thinly sliced
- 1 green onion chopped
- 1 tbsp olive oil
Black Bean Sauce
- 2 tbsp fermented black beans
- 1 1/2 tbsp shaoxing cooking wine
- 1 1/2 tbsp oyster sauce
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- 2 tsp ginger grated
- 2 tsp sugar
Instructions
- Mix all of the sauce ingredients together. Set aside.
- Line the inside of a steamer with parchment paper. Put a layer of sliced onion over the bottom. Place the salmon steak on top of the onions. Drizzle with olive oil. Cover with the black bean sauce and green onion. Fold over the parchment paper to cover up the salmon. Place the cover on the steamer and steam for 15 minutes.
- Let rest before serving.
San Bei Ji (3 Cup Chicken)
San Bei Ji (3 Cup Chicken)
San bei ji literally translates to 3 cup chicken; the 3 cups referring to the sesame oil, soy sauce, and cooking wine. The braised chicken dish originated from southern China, but has become one of the most popular staples in Taiwanese cuisine. What is unique about this dish is the addition of basil at the end, which isn’t normally used in Chinese or Taiwanese cooking. The chicken is traditionally prepared in a clay pot, but a Dutch oven or a wok will do the trick. Serve the San bei ji with steamed rice.
Servings: 4
Ingredients
- 4 whole chicken legs drums cut into 2 pieces, thighs cut into 3 pieces
- 3/4 cup sesame oil
- 15 whole garlic cloves
- 3” knob ginger peeled and thinly sliced
- 4 red chilies cut length wise
- 4 green onions cut into 1” pieces
- 3/4 cup light soy sauce
- 3/4 cup Shaoxing cooking wine
- 2 tbsp sugar
- 30 basil leaves
Instructions
- Heat up sesame oil in a Dutch oven or wok over medium high heat. Add in the garlic, ginger, chilies, and green onion. Fry for 2 minutes.
- Add in the chicken and brown for 5 minutes.
- Pour in the soy sauce and cooking wine. Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium. Simmer uncovered for 45 minutes.
- Increase the heat to high to evaporate any extra sauce. You don’t want the chicken to be swimming. Stir in the sugar. Turn off the heat and mix in the basil leaves.
