Tag Archives: Cooking

Caramelized Ginger Salmon

I absolutely love this dish. In fact, it may be my favorite way to eat salmon. It’s my idea of the perfect Valentine’s Day dinner (hello, husband o’ mine? Are you reading this post?). Make it asap, and you’ll understand why I’m floating in clouds of love at the dinner table when this is on the menu.

Ingredients

(Serves 2)

2 salmon fillets (about 1.3 lbs total)

2 TBS peanut oil (or canola)

Salt and pepper

3 TBS brown sugar

1 1/2 TBS minced ginger

2 TBS fish sauce

1 TBS soy sauce

2 TBS dry sherry (or Shaoxing wine)

Dash red pepper flakes

Lime juice from 1/2 lime

1 bunch diced green onions

1/2 c chopped cilantro

White rice, for serving

First, put your rice on–I love my rice cooker, because it allows me to forget about the rice knowing it will turn out perfectly with no help from me.

Now, chop the ginger and assemble the sauce of love: mix the brown sugar, ginger, fish sauce, soy sauce, sherry, and red pepper flakes.

If you’ve never used fish sauce, by now it’s available in most mainstream groceries. It looks like this:

It smells hideous in the bottle and when it first hits the pan . . . but it adds a depth of distinctly Thai flavor that is amazing.

Now it’s time for the fishy part of this business. Aren’t these fillets be-yewtiful??

The time has come to skin the salmon pieces. Warning: you must own a good sharp knife to successfully remove the skin. I come from a long tradition of Henkels users.

The trick is to get the knife started at a corner, and then slip the knife between the skin and the flesh, leaving the fish as intact as you can. If you wield the knife with your right hand, place your left hand flat on the skin–this will help you control the knife so that it stays near the surface.

Extra tip: unless you plan on taking out your garbage immediately, fish related trash will stink up your house in no time at all. I put the packaging and skin in a plastic bag and freeze it until it’s time to take the trash out next.

It’s stinky enough that even the yellow smiley-faced man isn’t pleased.

Now, spread some of the oil all over salmon pieces, then sprinkle on salt and pepper.

Heat the remaining oil in a non-stick skillet. When it’s hot, add the salmon fillets.

Cook over high heat for 1 minute, then flip gently using a sturdy spatula. Don’t be like me and use tongs . . .

Salmon is so delicate it will fall apart if we don’t treat it with tender care. Cook for 1 minute on second side, then add sauce; cook for 3 minutes.

It should start getting nice and bubbly.

While it’s bubbling, I quickly wash and chop my greens: cilantro and green onions in bountiful amounts.

Add the lime juice and turn the fillets to coat them in the sauce. Cook for 2 more minutes, then add the cilantro and green onions, and cook for 1 final minute or until the fish is just done.

The lesson is: you must not overcook the salmon. I will show you photographs to convince you of this in a minute. You have 2 choices: a dried out canned tuna-like piece of fish (no!), or a delicately tender piece of fish that is flaking apart into moist pieces (yes!).

Let’s investigate this beautiful piece of fish . . .

See how the pieces flake off with a mere touch of the chopsticks?

It’s perfect.

Be smart: choose option 2. Don’t overcook your fish.

Not to imply that this recipe isn’t the exact incarnation of all that is good in the world, but if you like a lot of sauce you can consider doubling the sauce recipe.

Serve over rice . . . as if that wasn’t totally obvious from all the pictures. Uh huh.

If you want some more veggies involved in your meal, serve this with a delectable little cucumber side dish a la mode of what my cousin Luke and his wife Kelsey made last year at family vacation. Recipe coming tomorrow.

Click here for printer-friendly version: Caramelized Ginger Salmon

Another cast iron triumph

OK, so I haven’t talked about the first cast iron triumph, which is my cast iron skillet. But let’s pretend I’ve raved about it in at least a dozen posts, and move on to the second cast iron triumph in my life: the indoor griddle/grill whatchamacallit.

Why hello there . . .

Living in an apartment in the city, my outside grilling options are nonexistent unless I want to use the fire escape … but the fire escape overlooks piles of trash and dumpsters, and the thought of my food mingling with potentially contaminated air makes me scrunch my face and look like a gremlin–so it’s out of the question. I’m a good wife, and I don’t want to frighten my husband with ye ole gremlin face. Though I do like to spring it on him sometimes when we’re brushing our teeth, so never mind about the “good wife” part.

After reviewing my options the choice seemed clear, so I quickly took action: I bought a griddle! And I love it. I love it so much that I would spank it, if it had a bottom. And if its bottom weren’t made of rock-hard cast iron.

One thing you should know about me up front: I spank the things I love. And the people I love—as long as they’re my sisters or my husband.

All the recipes for grilling I’ve been salivating over for years, I can finally make inside. Perhaps not with exactly the same results—but hey, I’m making do. To complete my extravagant purchase, I bought a press that I can use to make paninis. I’ve never been a sandwich girl, but paninis are a different matter. Especially once I layer them with the garlickyest of garlicky grilled veggies. With a side of garlicky alioli. Garlic, garlic, garlic, how I love you! [shaking a fist of love in the air] And grilled tuna steaks–I love you too. And grilled asparagus. And grilled everything!

Plus, once you flip over the ridged side that will create grill marks destined to be THE ENVY OF MY NEIGHBORS (sorry, I’m hopped up on coffee and the caps are just pouring out of my keyboard), there is a smooth side … a side destined for eggs-in-a-basket. Pancakes. Hotcakes!  Hash browns! Crumpets, crispins, and crimpcakes! [eyes revolving maniacally in head]

I’m sorry, I need to go commune with my grill. I can’t take the separation any longer.

And now, enjoy some shots of last Friday’s celebratory griddle-inauguration feast. I loaded up on materials at a Mexican grocery store, and the results . . . oh, the results.

Grilling recipes coming–sometime in the next 5 years. (Life tip: it’s all about undercommitting up front so that when you come through sooner than planned, everyone is wowed*)

*That will be a non-refundable $20 charge for the psychological advice—payments accepted in cash, wire transfer, check, or additional cast iron objects shipped express to my apartment. Thank you for your business.