Asian Cravings: Silky Soya Marinated Salmon

What do you do, to make, a what usually is a normal day, into a special one?

My way of making my day special is by cooking something extraordinary. Something that I don't cook every week, and/ or something that takes just that little extra effort that will make my dinner special. After a cooking session like that, my normal day doesn't seem so normal anymore. If on top of that, I manage to share that delicious recipe in the company of someone special and a nice glass of wine my day can't be ruined - yes even though there's not much left anyways! :)

Last week I made Chef Cathinka's and mine famous Panang Curry with some green peppers and paksoi, that resulted in some paksoi leftovers. So thinking of paksoi, and thai food, it made me crave for more.... I came up with Soya Marinated Salmon with some stirfried veggies!

Ingredients: serves 2

• 2 salmon steaks of circa 150 gr each
• 1 clove garlic chopped
• 15gr fresh ginger grated
• juice of half a lemon
• 10 ml sesame oil (or almond oil)
• 50 ml soya sauce
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 red pepper chopped
• 1 small paksoi chopped

How to make it:

Heat the oven at 170 degrees Celcius.

Prepare the marinade by mixing the garlic, ginger, lemonjuice, sesame oil and soya sauce. Add the salmon and set for 30 - 40 minutes.

After having marinated the salmon, take it out and remove most of the garlic and ginger - not all because you want to maintain their flavours.

Heat a skillet (or even better is to use a wok) and fry the salmon for a minute on both sides - just to make the outside golden brown and crispy. Then you put the salmon in an ovenproof dish and put it in the preheated oven for 5-7 minutes.

Sieve the sauce so that you get rid of the pieces of garlic and ginger - and catch the soya liquid in a little pan. Reduce the soya sauce by heating it up and add the butter once it has been reduced. Stir until you get a silky thick soya sauce and turn off the heat.

While the sauce is reducing - you start by stir-frying the vegetables in the same skillet you used to fry the salmon so that the flavours mix. Stir-fry them on a high temperature for 5 minutes keeping them crisp and fresh. 

Once it's all done, take out the salmon and place it on a plate together with the vegetables and pour over the silky soya sauce. Don't add any salt because it's really not needed!

Outcome: Putting humbleness aside here... it rocked my day :)

You can add some brown or white rice to make it man-proof (they do need their carbs!)

Buon Appetito

Chef Steph