This is a super easy recipe for a mid-week supper. It is pretty quick to make too, making it a regular feature on my dinner table.
Miso and salmon go wonderfully together; the sweet juiciness of the salmon is a match made in heaven with the salty moorishness of the miso. That sweet-then-salty balance of flavours is so key to the Japanese flavour profile, if you like Japanese food, you will love this. The key is to have the oven very hot by the time you put the salmon in, so that it starts to cook instantly. The danger is for the salmon to dry out (especially if the piece of fish is a large one, chop it into smaller pieces) so the knack is to bravely cook for only a short period of 10-12 minutes on a super hot grill, until the top is charred and the inside is just cooked.
Ingredients
600g of Salmon, skin and bones removed.
2 tablespoons of white miso paste
2 tablespoons of mirin
1 tablespoon of light soy sauce
1 tablespoon of brown sugar
1 handful of chopped spring onions
1 tablespoon of finely chopped ginger
First, wash then dry the salmon with some paper towels. Pre-heat the oven by putting it on the grill.
Then make the marinade in a bowl; mix the miso paste, mirin, sugar, soy sauce, and brown sugar, until smooth.
Next, with a tablespoon, smear it all over the top of the salmon, nice and thick, on one side only. This is to get the flavour deep inside the miso. If you have the time, marinade it over night, but if you are getting it ready for dinner, 30 minutes, covered in the refrigerator can suffice.
Once you are ready to cook it, take a spoon and scrape off about half of the miso on the salmon. This is very important, since if you leave it all on the salmon it will be far too salty. What you want is a thin 2mm thickness of miso left on the top of the salmon, which, on contact with the grill will char wonderfully.
Finally, sprinkle with the ginger and spring onions, put on a foil lined tray, and into the oven for 10-12 minutes. Keep an eye on it, so that it does not burn.
When you pull the salmon out, it will be dark and glazed on the top, and moist and juicy on the inside. It should not be solid – if you put a table knife through the salmon, it should cut through very easily. If there is still too much ‘give’ in the salmon i.e. it has not cooked through, put it back in the oven for 2 minutes intervals; keep checking until it is just cooked.
Enjoy, with steamed jasmine rice and some greens such as garlic spinach or asparagus.
