Salmon Recipe #1

You people have been harassing me requesting for years for me to share some of my salmon recipes with you. Well, I’m going to give you my top five. This is the kids’ all-time winner for number one place. I think I’m doing this backwards though; I should be giving you number five. Dammit. Anyway. Salmon, rice, and green tea salmon is super simple to make and definitely their favorite. I should tell you right now too, I’m no chef and anything I make is without the bells and whistles and garnish. There’s no fancy-schmancy crap. I don’t have time and I’m not talented enough. It’s just good, healthy food that is pretty easy to make.  Without further ado . . . .

Ingredients

Salmon
I’m using Sockeye half fillets here, but you can do this with any amount or kind of fillet. This is just what we typically use for one dinner.

Cooked rice
I use a rice cooker for this and just make it while I’m making the rest of dinner. I use white or brown rice depending on what I have.

Dried Seaweed
I use Hijiki, Fueru Wakame, and Nori. If nothing else, you can just use the “sushi roll” seaweed (sheets of Nori) and chop it into small squares (3/4” x 3/4”)

Green Tea
I just boil water in my tea pot and then add two decaf Green Tea teabags. I use decaf so the kids don’t get caffeine before bed.

Soy Sauce, Wasabi
Optional, but yummy.

 

Cookin’ Yer Meal

1. About an hour before you cook, put your fillets on a cutting board/pan/tin foil and cover them with salt. Yes, really. This draws the water out and makes them firm.
2. Start your rice cooker. For our family of six, I use three cups of rice, but you can make more or less to your liking.
3. Scrape off all the salt you can from the fillets. I scrape mine into the sink. Try to get as much off as possible without mutilating your fillet. I don’t spend a ton of time on this. I use the dull side of a butter knife and go toward the tail. It rips up the flesh less.
4. Turn your broiler on low and put your fish on the second to the top rack. You want it close, but not too close. Set a timer for 8 minutes.
5. Turn on your tea kettle and get that water boiling. When it boils, take it off the heat and add your tea bags.
6. At 8 minutes, start checking your fish. When your fillets have a thin, uniform glaze on top, they are done. The thin sections will cook first, so watch the thicker sections. They will look juicy and wet. When that starts to look dryer, it’s time to take them out. This is highly variable depending on your thickness of fillet. These are tail sections so they are pretty thin. If you aren’t sure, you can try to pull the thicker sections apart with a fork, it should easily separate into layers.
7. In bowls, add rice, then fish, then seaweed. Add the green tea last. If you put the rice in the green tea, the rice will start soaking up the green tea. The fish and seaweed are deliciously salty and the rice and tea are bland. They make for a heavenly combination. I don’t add any other seasoning other than just a tiny splash of soy sauce, and a big dab of wasabe.
8. Add soy sauce and wasabi to your liking. Voila, tasty salmon dish and happy children.
   
9. I was hoping to have some leftovers, but sadly . . .
   

Sometimes I add edamame to this too.

I was able to re-install Disqus for comments. This means I can now reply directly to your questions, YAY!!!!. It also means that the comments that were made during my non-Disqus time (a few months) are gone, DAMN! Oh well, I would rather be able to comment and answer your questions!

Hope you like the recipe. I’ve got a few more good ones coming at you!