Part of being a good chef is all about respecting your ingredients. It takes a lot of blood, sweat, and tears to bring food to the table so it's important to be conscious of food waste. Practicing this mental awareness is not only beneficial to our environment but forces you to be creative in the kitchen. It's fun to search for great ingredients and making the most of what you have.
It's Copper River Salmon Season right now. You'll see this tasty fish pop up around stores this Summer so be sure to snatch it up while it lasts. Because good seafood can often be expensive, I think of ways to use less for more.
Serving two 8-10 oz fillets per serving can easily run you over $20 and realistically may not be feasible for everyone's weekly grocery budget. What if you purchased just one 8-10 oz fillet and split it into two servings and featured the fish as a nice accompaniment to some grains and vegetables?
I will share 3 simple recipes that utilizes a single salmon fillet -- this is a healthy way to take advantage of seasonal fish, and I also drew a lot of inspiration from my Asian roots. Enjoy!
SALMON KEBABS
- 1 8-10 oz Copper River Sockeye Salmon fillet
- spoonful of hoisin sauce
- spoonful of soy sauce
- spoonful of rice wine or cooking wine
- spoonful of sesame oil
- spoonful of sesame seeds
- bunch of scallions, cleaned
- 8-10 kebab skewers
- 1 TB butter
Remove salmon skin and reserve. Slice fillet vertically at 1/2" slices. In a medium bowl, mix hoisin sauce, soy sauce, wine and sesame oil until combined. Place fish in the marinade and set at room temperature for 15 minutes.
Meanwhile, prep scallions and start your quick pickles or salad. Trim off tips and ends and cut scallions at about 2" pieces. Set aside in a small bowl. Next, prep your kebabs. Beginning and ending with salmon, thread salmon and scallion pieces onto 4-5 pairs of parallel skewers to make 4-5 kebabs total. Brush with remaining marinade and set aside on a large plate or baking sheet.
Place skillet over medium high heat and melt butter until bubbling. Add kebabs and press down slightly using the back of a spatula. Sear on each side until browned and thoroughly cooked, about 3-4 minutes on each side. Garnish with sesame seeds and additional hoisin sauce if desired. Serve with rice, salad and quick pickles.
This will store in the fridge for 1-2 days so it's best to eat it as soon as you can!
HERB SALAD WITH CRISPY SALMON SKIN
- Couple handfuls of mixed lettuce greens
- few sprigs of parsley
- few sprigs of cilantro
- 1 radish, sliced
- squeeze of lemon juice or a small spoonful of ponzu sauce
- EVOO
- coarse sea salt and pepper
- 1 TB butter
- fried salmon skin
Place greens on a plate and set aside. Remove leaves from parsley and cilantro and mix with lettuce greens. In a small pan, melt 1 TB butter over medium heat until bubbling. Add salmon skin and fry until crispy, about 3 minutes on each side. Remove and drain on paper towel.
Meanwhile, finish plating the salad. Place radish slices on top of greens and drizzle with EVOO and a squeeze of lemon. Finish with coarse sea salt and pepper. Take salmon skin and cut into thin slices. Place on top of salad and serve immediately.
QUICK PICKLES
My general ratio for pickling is 1 part water/1 part sugar/1 part vinegar. If you like a less sweet pickle, cut the ratio down to 1 : 1/2: 1.
(makes about 2 cups of pickles)
- 1 cup water
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 cup rice wine vinegar/apple cider vinegar
- 4-6 garlic cloves, sliced
- 1 spoonful of chili flakes
- 1 english or persian cucumber, cleaned and peeled if preferred
- spoonful of black sesame seeds
In a large glass tupperware container, heat water and sugar in the microwave for 3 minutes or until dissolved. Check in between to make sure the mixture is not over heated as the sugar and water can sometimes bubble over. You can also do this over the stove top in a small pot, bring the sugar and water mixture to a boil and remove from heat.
Add vinegar to the syrup and add garlic and chili flakes. Sprinkle with black sesame seeds when serving. Allow pickles to cool to room temperature before refrigerating. Use a clean spoon each time when serving the pickles.
These can last for up to 2 weeks in the fridge.
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