Salmon with Teriyaki Glaze

Another "blast from the past," this recipe is from the January 1994 edition of Bon Appétit.   I will say right off that I would not make the vegetables again.  The salmon was delicious, but the vegetables tasted like an American's idea of what Asian vegetables should taste like.  I would either skip the vegetables and go with a nice green salad, or use the veggies of your choice.  

This was VERY SIMPLE and EASY.  With prep, it took me just a little over half an hour to go from a bunch of raw ingredients to a fully-prepared meal.  The only thing you want to be careful about is not over-cooking the salmon, and since you are pulling it out every two minutes to re-glaze it, that is something that is easy to monitor.  I bought my salmon as one solid piece, so it took a little over 8 minutes, but at 8, I flaked it back a bit and took a peek to see how it was coming.  If you are cooking for guests, you can hide that peek with a little glaze.  :)

Here (basically) is the recipe.

Glaze for salmon:

1 c. sake

3/4 c. soy sauce

1/4 c. sugar

5 quarter-sized slices fresh ginger (use FRESH ginger, not that crap in a jar!!)

2 lemon grass stalks, sliced

Vegetable "medley":

2 T. vegetable oil

4 quarter-sized slices fresh ginger, peeled and minced

2 lbs bok choy, cut into 3/4-inch thick slices, white and green parts separated

15 oz. baby corn, drained and halved lengthwise

salt (to season)

1/2 c. thinly sliced fresh basil

6 six ounce salmon fillets  (If you can afford it, get wild-caught.  You won't regret it.)

Combine glaze ingredients in a heavy small saucepan and bring to a simmer, stirring to dissolve the sugar.  Simmer approximately 10 minutes.   Strain.  Discard solids.

Preheat broiler.  Arrange salmon, skin side down, on the broiler pan.  Brush salmon generously with glaze, reserving approximately 3 T. of glaze for the veggies.  Broil without turning until cooked through, approximately 8 minutes, brushing with glaze every 2 minutes.

If you are good at multi-tasking, when you put your salmon in, you can also heat 2 T. of oil in a large heavy skillet (or wok).  Add the minced ginger and cook on high for about 30 seconds.  Add the white part of the bok choy and stir-fry for about 3 minutes, or until the stalks begin to soften.  Add green part of the bok choy, baby corn, and a sprinkle of salt.  Stir fry until bok choy is wilted and corn is heated through, about 2 minutes.  (I found it helped to have all the ingredients lined up and ready to go.)  Add sliced fresh basil and 3 T. glaze and stir to coat. 

Serve!  (I screwed up.   This would have looked a lot better if I had not cut the fillet. ) BTW, this is only about a 3/4 lb fillet, so if you are cooking for one, you can get a really nice cut of wild-caught salmon for less than $6-7.

Again, I'd replace the bok choy/baby corn combo with whatever vegetables you typically like in a stir-fry, or make it easy on yourself and serve with a salad.  It was a lot of work to go through to get a bland side to an otherwise fantastic dinner.