Salmon, two ways.

You may not know it if you don't know me personally, but I love to cook as much as I like to eat well. This post is one featuring salmon, if you haven't guessed already, done two ways which I really enjoy. 

After a couple experiments, I think I have come up with the perfect temperature to cook salmon in a water bath (or sous-vide) - 48 degrees C. Although I think Hong Kongers could definitely benefit with the Sous-vide Supreme (currently, they have still not yet brought it to HK - nearest place available is in Singapore as far as I know), fish is easy to slowly "cook" in a dutch oven (or other heavy duty pots which hold temperatures well) so long as you watch the temperature with a trusty thermometer. And of course, brining the fish for an hour in a 15% salt solution before hand (or half hour with more concentrated solution) will help reduce the albumen from forming on the surface significantly. Whatever you do, do not leave the fish in for too long as the fish becomes super salty and ruined - and yes I've idiotically done that once! 

slow-cooked salmon with miso-soy jam

slow-cooked salmon with balsamic teriyaki glaze

As I don't eat completely raw salmon, sous-vide/slow-cooking or pan-frying till medium are my favourite ways to enjoy this omega-3 rich (for nice skin, hair and many other benefits)... above pictures are two ways in which i have eaten the slow-cooked salmon. 

To make the miso-soy jam I simply mix together sugar, shiro miso, soy sauce and sake and heat gently so the alcohol evaporates and sugar dissolves, let cool before using. To make the balsamic teriyaki glaze, reduce over medium fire chicken stock, balsamic vinegar, soy sauce and sugar or honey.

cured and sliced salmon fillet

with home-pasteurised yolk and sliced ginger strips

final touch - sauteed shimeiji, hot oil and soy mixture. 

Recently however, finding myself with an abundance of sashimi-grade salmon on hand and for the sake of trying something new, I thought of preparing fish the cantonese way, with a 'twist'. Often times, a whole gutted fish is steamed, and chinese parsley (cilantro), hot oil and soy sauce is poured over once out of the steamer. WIth sashimi-grade salmon, steaming it would be a waste..... sort of anyway. Thus I decided to cure it overnight with some red pepper flakes, soy sauce, grated ginger and a touch of sugar. The next day, discard marinade and pat it dry, slice it thinly and plate with strips of ginger (optional) and one egg yolk (which i pasteurised before putting it on the plate). Sautee some shimeiji mushrooms, with peanut oil (or any other neutral oil) and then add some sesame oil (you need less sesame compared to the neutral oil because its much more pungent). Add an equal amount of soy and when it bubbles rapidly pour directly onto the plate over the salmon. This will gently "cook" the surface area of the salmon so it is semi-cooked. If you do prefer it less cooked, wait several minutes before you pour the hot oil/soy sauce mixture over and you'll still have salmon 'sashimi', albeit warm.

Might take effort and time to prepare these dishes but there is minimal 'cooking' and is hard to screw up yet super delightful when done right!