Steamed Salmon with Garlic and Ginger

Despite my grand plans to cook a dinner celebrating the completion of my Greenmarket Challenge, after a particularly wild weekend of birthday parties, I was ready to detox come Sunday night. This salmon recipe, while on the healthy side, adapted from Andrea Nguyen's Into the Vietnamese Kitchen, is a winner. By steaming the salmon until it is barely cooked through, the fish stays moist. The sauce is just bold enough to not overpower the fish.


Steamed Salmon with Garlic and Ginger
Serves 4

Ingredients:

• 4 6 oz. salmon fillets
• 1 1/4 tsp sugar
• Ground black pepper, to taste
• 2 tbsp. oyster sauce
• 2 tbsp. soy sauce
• 2 tbsp. grapeseed oil
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 2-inch piece of ginger, peeled and minced
• 3 scallions, thinly chopped

Directions:

1. Mix the sugar, pepper, oyster sauce, and soy sauce in a small bowl. Stir until sugar has dissolved.
2. Heat oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add garlic and ginger and cook until fragrant, about a minute. Add sauce mixture and bring to boil. Remove from heat and add scallions. Take sauce off heat and let come to room temperature.
3. Fill a saute pan with deep sides half way with water. Bring to a boil.
4. Place salmon fillets in a cake pan (or other pan with sides that is smaller in diameter than the saute pan), Top salmon with sauce mixture.
5. Carefully place pan containing the salmon in the boiling water and cover. Let salmon steam until it flakes with a fork, approximately 7 to 9 minutes.
6. Carefully remove salmon pan from water and serve salmon with the sauce.

A Mom-Inspired Meal for Mother's Day

I have my mother to thank for my love for cooking. My first cooking experience was helping her smooth out lumps in the gravy one Thanksgiving when I was in elementary school. From there, I went on to helping her make mashed potatoes, icing for my family members' birthday cakes (and "clean" out the bowl), chocolate chip cookies, and mashed potatoes. It all culminated with one Thanksgiving where I made all of the pies. By then, I had the foodie bug, all thanks to my mother.

Although I could not be with my mother this Mother's day since she was across the Atlantic Ocean, I made the meal that I would have cooked her had I paid my parents a visit. It was truly a mom-inspired meal; after all, my love for cooking comes from her. Here is what I made:


Salmon Fillets Braised in Pinot Noir with Bacon & Mushrooms: My mom will always choose a salmon dish when dining out, so this one was a no-brainer. The recipe came from Molly Stevens' All About Braising, a terrific cookbook my mom gave me last Christmas. I served the dish with mashed potatoes, a dish that my significant eater claims I have perfected, no doubt to the many times I helped my mom make it. My mom did teach me to always have a vegetable with dinner, but I rebelled, choosing not to make any veggies for the sake of not having to wash dishes all night.


Rhubarb Crisp: One of the favorite desserts my mother makes is a blackberry and nectarine crisp. Since blackberries and nectarines are not in season, I chose rhubarb for tonight, and used this recipe from Epicurious. The dessert was good, but it sure doesn't beat my mom's original.

The meal was terrific, as is anything inspired by moms. The only thing missing was that she could not enjoy it with me. When I see her, I will definitely make a mom-inspired meal for my mom. Happy Mother's Day!

Salmon Braised in Pinot Noir with Mushrooms

In my last post, I noted the challenges of keeping a well-stocked pantry and how it is always a triumph when I am able to prepare a gourmet meal with ingredients I have on hand. In this regard, last night’s dinner was a triumph.

As four o’clock came around yesterday at work, my mind began to wander from spreadsheets to what I would cook for dinner. With cold weather rolling in, my fridge is always stocked with a supply of fall vegetables that go so well in braised dishes: carrots, leeks, and celery. I also had a pack of cremini mushrooms on hand that I had picked up on a whim at the grocery store last weekend. I searched for a way to use at least some of the ingredients I had on hand, and I came across this recipe from for salmon braised in Pinot Noir. The ingredients:

• Salmon: would have to buy on my way home from work
• Salt and pepper: on hand (duh)
• Butter: in the fridge
• Celery: in the fridge
• Carrots: in the fridge
• Leek: in the fridge
• Tomato paste: in the fridge
• Pinot Noir: on hand (surprisingly)
• Bay leaf: in my pantry
• Thyme: in the fridge (random Greenmarket purchase)
• Chicken broth: in the freezer
• Heavy cream: in the fridge

Could it be? A moderately complex meal that would only require an easy trip to the seafood market to pick up a couple of fillets of salmon? A triumph!

Unfortunately, I found the sauce slightly bland, so the meal was not a triumph on all levels. However, my girlfriend loved it, so I still put it in triumph territory. Perhaps this was the first step to keeping a well-stocked pantry…

“Grilled” Salmon with Figs, Watercress, and Balsamic Vinaigrette

Last night, I made salmon “grilled” in my cast iron grill pan with “grilled” figs served over watercress with balsamic vinaigrette. The recipe was from Dave Pasternack’s Young Man & the Sea, a cookbook that I still haven’t made up my mind on yet. On one hand, the book features very simple seafood recipes and has helped me discover some excellent flavor pairing when it comes to seafood. On the other hand, the recipes I have tried have been very hit or miss, with some seemingly incorrect information when it comes to cooking times and the amount of olive oil to use in each dish. Fortunately, last night’s dish fell into the hit category.

The exact recipe is easy to find online, but it takes very little in the terms of step-by-step directions. I rubbed a salmon filet with olive oil and seasoned it with salt and pepper. I threw the salmon onto the grill pan skin-side down and grilled for five minutes over medium-high heat. I flipped it, and grilled it another minute or so, then set it aside. I threw 6 fig halves onto the grill pan and stirred them for about 2 minutes. I plated everything on top of a bed of watercress dressed with a simple balsamic vinaigrette (olive oil, balsamic, salt, pepper), and drizzled the figs with a bit more of the vinaigrette.