I’m a fish lover as far as meat is concerned :) I attribute this to my mom who often fed me (& my brothers) fish in my growing up days. She believes that fish can make a person intelligent.
I enjoy eating salmon tremendously. I love it raw in sushi, smoked in salad or sandwiches and also when it is cooked to its tender juiciness. :P Now, I’m still a novice when it comes to pan-frying or baking salmon. More often than not, I overcook my salmon. Come this Saturday, I’m going to prepare teriyaki salmon as one of the dishes for my MIL’s birthday-cum-potluck party. Hence, I must try out the dish at least once before the actual event. As far as hosting a dinner goes, never never try a new recipe on the actual day of the dinner. You might end up serving awful food to your guests who expect to have a pleasant meal.
Below is my simple recipe for salmon slices in DIY teriyaki sauce. I prefer making my own teriyaki sauce as I always have mirin stashed in the kitchen. I seldom use teriyaki sauce in cooking and hence buying a bottle of it is not practical. As for mirin, I personally find it a convenient cooking alcohol whenever a recipe calls for the use of a small quantity of alcohol for marinating, etc. And the Japanese dishes I like to make require mirin too.
Ingredients
Salmon fillet (300 g, sliced to 1 cm thickness, pat dry with paper towel)
Olive oil (2-3 tbsp)
DIY terikayi sauce
Mirin (2 tbsp)
Light soy sauce (2 tbsp)
Sugar (1/2 tbsp)
Method
1) Heat up a non-stick frying pan using medium heat. Add olive oil and let it heat up briefly.
2) Place salmon slices into the pan and let it cook for about 1 minute, more or less. (You don’t have to stir-fry. Just let the salmon slices sit and cook.)
3) Turn over the salmon slices to cook the other side for less than a minute. Use your visual cue. The salmon should be cooked to 80% if you want tender and juicy fish. Test: If the flesh comes apart easily upon poking, turn off the heat and dish up immediately. Take care not to break the salmon.
4) Mix the 3 ingredients for teriyaki sauce in a small bowl and stir well. Reheat the wok and pour the sauce in. Let the sauce simmer gently for a few minutes. Drizzle the sauce over salmon and serve.
My son and I are salmon freaks, too, and coincidentally one of our favorite ways to prepare it is home-made teriyaki-style. If we don’t eat salmon at least once a week we feel we are being punished!
Good luck Saturday!
*high fives* :P