HungryForever

TERIYAKI SALMON SOBA NOODLE SALAD

Given how much salmon we eat at home, I’m always trying out new ways of serving it, and this is my current favourite. It’s amazing how much flavour the salmon takes on after just 20 minutes in the sweet and salty marinade, and it’s even better if you can give it two hours. Remember always to cook fish skin-side down at first to protect the delicate flesh from too much heat. Serve with garlic tenderstem broccoli and perhaps Soba Noodle Salad. A wholesome, filling side dish of buckwheat noodles served with fresh vegetables and dressed with a kind of Japanese vinaigrette of sesame oil, rice vinegar, soy sauce and lemon juice. Do add the nori seaweed if you can. It gives the finished dish a real depth of flavour.

Ingredients

TERIYAKI SALMON

2cm piece of fresh root gingerfinely sliced
2 garlic clovespeeled and finely sliced
3tbsp soy sauce
2tbsp maple syrup
1tbsp mirinrice wine
olive oil
4in salmon filletsabout 500gtotal
Sea salt and freshly ground pepper

SOBA NOODLE SALAD

300g soba noodles
100g kalestalks removed, leaves shredded or torn
150g sugarsnap peastopped and tailed, halved lengthways
3 carrotspeeled and sliced into ribbons (use a vegetable peeler)
2 Spring onionstrimmed and finely chopped
3cm piece of fresh root gingerpeeled and finely sliced
1tbsp Sesame oil
1tsp –2rice vinegar
1tbsp –1½soy sauce
Juice of ½ lemon
1 sheet of nori seaweedfinely sliced (optional)
Sea salt and freshly ground pepper

Instructions

TERIYAKI SALMON

1. Put the ginger and garlic into a bowl and mix with the soy sauce, maple syrup, mirin and a drizzle of olive oil.
Place the salmon fillets in a dish, season with salt and pepper and pour the sticky dressing over them. Cover with cling film and set aside in the fridge to marinate for up to 2 hours, but at least 20 minutes.
Place a large frying pan over a medium heat and add a dash of oil. When hot, add the salmon, skin side down, reserving the marinade. Cook for 2 minutes, then pour in the reserved marinade and cook for a further minute or so, until the salmon fillets are opaque halfway up the sides. Turn them over and cook on the other side for 3–4 minutes, basting with the sauce so that the salmon is well coated. Add a splash of water if the sauce is too thick.
Serve the salmon fillets on individual plates, spooning over any teriyaki sauce left in the pan.

SOBA NOODLE SALAD

Cook the soba noodles according to the packet instructions. When almost cooked, add the kale, sugarsnaps and carrots to the pan to blanch. Drain once the noodles are tender.
Add all the remaining ingredients to the noodle mixture, season with a little salt and pepper, stir well and serve.