Cooking
Wild salmon is in season and it is amazingly good this year. When I was growing up we didn't call it "wild salmon" we called it "pop's-going-fishing-so-we're-probably-having-salmon-for-dinner". If he caught a lot, we took it to a smoke house and made lox. But most often we just ate our fresh delicious salmon and thought little more about it.
But now the source of our fresh salmon is something we need to think about. As salmon has increased in popularity and it has gotten easier to buy inexpensive farmed salmon from Chile, Canada and Norway in the supermarket, the environmental and health costs have risen dramatically. While fish farming may seem sustainable, raising salmon in net pens releases fish waste into the water and can spread disease and parasites to wild salmon, so it may play a role in destroying non-farmed salmon. Even more frightening, according to independent laboratory tests commissioned by the Environmental Working Group just last year, seven of ten farmed salmon purchased at grocery stores in Washington DC, San Francisco, and Portland, Oregon were contaminated with polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) at levels that raise significant health concerns.
Fortunately farms have decreased the use of antibiotics and pesticides that were making headlines a few years back, but for right now, wild salmon is still by far the best best. For more information about which fish is safest for you and for the oceans, download a "Seafood Watch Pocket Guide" compliments of the Monterey Bay Aquarium.
If you've had wild salmon you know how much tastier it is than farmed salmon. It is also more delicate and so cooking it demands a little more care. After experimenting, I have found a technique I like very much. I call it "semi-steaming". This salmon is good with mashed potatoes and is excellent over a salad of mixed greens and chopped Napa cabbage (and an Asian style dressing).
Semi Steamed Salmon
serves 2
Ingredients
1 large wild salmon steak (3/4 lb or so)
2-3 Tablespoons soy sauce
1 teaspoon sugar (white or brown)
1 teaspoon Chinese chili sauce, any type, optional
water
Instructions
Lay the salmon steak on a plate and douse with the soy, most of it will end up on the plate. Sprinkle the sugar evenly on top. If you want to add the chili sauce, spread it on top of the fish as well. Let marinate for 5-10 minutes. Heat a non-stick pan over medium heat (one that has a good fitting lid) then spray with cooking oil. Place the fish in the pan sauce carefully, sauce side up, and pour the soy from the plate into the pan. Saute until the soy reduces and the fish begins to sizzle, less than a minute. Add about 1/4 cup water and place a lid over the pan. Simmer the fish with a minimum of water until the water reduces. Add more water as needed to keep the pan from drying out. The fish will cook in less than 10 minutes. When the fish is almost cooked, remove it from the pan to finish cooking with carryover heat. At this point you can reduce the liquid to make more of a glaze, but the fish should be nicely glazed already. Remove any bones from the fish and remove the center bone to separate the 2 halves for serving.
Enjoy!
- Sockeye Or King Salmon?
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- Slow Roasted Salmon Recipe
Go get yourself some Copper River King salmon. RIGHT NOW. I am not kidding. I don't believe there is a more delicious salmon than Copper River King also known as Chinook and the time to enjoy it is right now. The season begins in the middle of May...
- Continent-jumping For Father's Day
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Cooking
Semi Steamed Salmon:Recipe
Wild salmon is in season and it is amazingly good this year. When I was growing up we didn't call it "wild salmon" we called it "pop's-going-fishing-so-we're-probably-having-salmon-for-dinner". If he caught a lot, we took it to a smoke house and made lox. But most often we just ate our fresh delicious salmon and thought little more about it.
But now the source of our fresh salmon is something we need to think about. As salmon has increased in popularity and it has gotten easier to buy inexpensive farmed salmon from Chile, Canada and Norway in the supermarket, the environmental and health costs have risen dramatically. While fish farming may seem sustainable, raising salmon in net pens releases fish waste into the water and can spread disease and parasites to wild salmon, so it may play a role in destroying non-farmed salmon. Even more frightening, according to independent laboratory tests commissioned by the Environmental Working Group just last year, seven of ten farmed salmon purchased at grocery stores in Washington DC, San Francisco, and Portland, Oregon were contaminated with polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) at levels that raise significant health concerns.
Fortunately farms have decreased the use of antibiotics and pesticides that were making headlines a few years back, but for right now, wild salmon is still by far the best best. For more information about which fish is safest for you and for the oceans, download a "Seafood Watch Pocket Guide" compliments of the Monterey Bay Aquarium.
If you've had wild salmon you know how much tastier it is than farmed salmon. It is also more delicate and so cooking it demands a little more care. After experimenting, I have found a technique I like very much. I call it "semi-steaming". This salmon is good with mashed potatoes and is excellent over a salad of mixed greens and chopped Napa cabbage (and an Asian style dressing).
Semi Steamed Salmon
serves 2
Ingredients
1 large wild salmon steak (3/4 lb or so)
2-3 Tablespoons soy sauce
1 teaspoon sugar (white or brown)
1 teaspoon Chinese chili sauce, any type, optional
water
Instructions
Lay the salmon steak on a plate and douse with the soy, most of it will end up on the plate. Sprinkle the sugar evenly on top. If you want to add the chili sauce, spread it on top of the fish as well. Let marinate for 5-10 minutes. Heat a non-stick pan over medium heat (one that has a good fitting lid) then spray with cooking oil. Place the fish in the pan sauce carefully, sauce side up, and pour the soy from the plate into the pan. Saute until the soy reduces and the fish begins to sizzle, less than a minute. Add about 1/4 cup water and place a lid over the pan. Simmer the fish with a minimum of water until the water reduces. Add more water as needed to keep the pan from drying out. The fish will cook in less than 10 minutes. When the fish is almost cooked, remove it from the pan to finish cooking with carryover heat. At this point you can reduce the liquid to make more of a glaze, but the fish should be nicely glazed already. Remove any bones from the fish and remove the center bone to separate the 2 halves for serving.
Enjoy!
- Sockeye Or King Salmon?
Both wild Sockeye and wild King salmon are in the market now, and available fresh and will be until late September or early October. Both types of wild Pacific salmon are a true delicacy, and very healthy. They are high in omega-3 fatty acids and vitamin...
- Wasabi Mayonnaise Salmon Recipe
There is an exchange that happens in my household. I ask "what should I make for dinner?" and I hear the refrain "Japanese food." The problem is many of the necessary fresh ingredients for the Japanese food in my repertoire, such as shiso, shiitake or...
- Slow Roasted Salmon Recipe
Go get yourself some Copper River King salmon. RIGHT NOW. I am not kidding. I don't believe there is a more delicious salmon than Copper River King also known as Chinook and the time to enjoy it is right now. The season begins in the middle of May...
- Continent-jumping For Father's Day
Smoked Salmon Involtini Not everyone is lucky enough to have parents worth celebrating. Alex, fortunately, is. Matt is an amazing dad. I know how special that is. A special dinner for Father's day is my way of showing it. He...
- The Post About Posts
I have a serious back-log of posts...I'll get them up as soon as I can! First: I'd found a recipe for smoked salmon, and since that smoker I bought Matt a few years ago has gotten very little use, I gently 'suggested' he try it out. One...