Saturday, February 18, 2006

Oriental salmon with honey, mustard and soy sauce

Photo and post updated in October 2010.

The recipe is from an Australian guy Emlyn, one of the first friends I made when I arrived in Edinburgh back in 1998. It is effortless and easy and a wee bit different, successfully combining the sweetness of the honey, the warm heat of the ginger, the saltiness of soy sauce, the kick of the mustard and the sharpness of the garlic. Very tasty indeed.

Oriental salmon á la Emlyn
(Idamaine ahjulõhe mee, sinepi ja sojakastmega)
Serves 4, can be easily halved


Photo and post updated in December 2008.

4 skinless salmon fillets, á 125-150 grams

For the marinade:
2 Tbsp mustard (I use Coleman's English mustard, but any strong mustard would do)
2 tsp minced fresh ginger or a teaspoon of ground
1-2 garlic cloves, minced
4 Tbsp runny honey
2 Tbsp Kikkoman soy sauce

Mix all the marinade ingredients in a small oven dish. Add the fish fillets, turn to cover and leave to marinate for 20 minutes to 1 hour.
Bake in a pre-heated 200˚C oven for about 20 minutes, until the fish is cooked, but still nicely rosy pink in the middle.

Serve with boiled basmati rice and sliced courgettes sautéed in butter and olive oil and a bit of garlic (add one whole clove to the pan), with a generous handful of chopped fresh basil thrown in at the end. Season with salt and pepper. I can't really explain why, but whereas I usually prefer my vegetables still a bit crunchy, then this courgette side dish I like to be almost mushy (texture-wise, not look-wise).

19 comments:

jasmine said...

Hi Pille

Thanks so much for visiting my little blog :)

I lurk around your blog from time to time and I like it.

I'll have to try the salmon dish: any suggestions for an alternative to salmon (I'm allergic to it).

j

Thredahlia said...

Lihtsalt suu paneb vett jooksma. Külmikus just seisab pool forellifileed ja mitte ei suutnud otsustada, mida sellega teha. Nüüd siis tean. Mõte oli lihtsalt tilli, või ja tsipa sidruniga fooliumisse keerata, aga seda on juba nii palju tehtud, et ära tüütab :).
Enne hommikusööki seda pilti ja retsepti näha - kõht lööb pilli.
Aitäh!
(Loodan, et eestikeelsedki kommentaarid on teretulnud :P)

Anonymous said...

Looks simply delicious & easy enough to do for a group. I look forward to trying the marinated salmon soon.

Anonymous said...

Pille, the fish sounds delicious!

ku E said...

greetings frm malaysia!

i found my way here thru my blog-hopping. i like it, interesting ;)

Anonymous said...

whoa asian/pacific style cooking eh.. good for you pille
oi the Swiss are getting their gold too ;-)

Anonymous said...

I cook salmon often Pille and always with the broccolo salad aside. But I never tried marinating this way. You gave me the idea to cook it on the grill outside using the same marinade. Why, it's 19 degrees outside today! Thanks for the recipe. Greetings
Tülin

Journal Actif said...

This looks just delicious.
Go to Cairo Pille, you'll love it and come back with your selection of recipes and stories to share, we'll live that trip vicariously through you with great pleasure for sure.

Antti said...

Totally food-unrelated, but I really, really miss the picture of you wearing the white apron :) Always brought a smile on my face :)

Kalyn Denny said...

Hey, I like the new photo, although I have to say you looked pretty great in the old one too. Change is good though.

Joycelyn said...

hi pille, this looks so delicious -your guests must have enjoyed themselves tremendously with such a lovingly prepared feast! kikkoman soy sauce rocks (we go through an inordinate number of bottles for a small household of two). have you tried their teriyaki marinade before? - it makes whipping up teriyaki salmon a really quick and fast affair

Pille said...

Jasmine - so now you've delurked:) I guess trout would do, though I'd marinate and cook it for less time?

Thredahlia - muidugi võib eestikeelseid kommentaare jätta! Kas tegin soja-mee-sinepiforelli? Kuidas maitses? Kuigi tilli-või-sidruniga on forell imemaitsev muidugi..

Pene - you are right, it's very easily doubled (or halved for that matter), so perfect for entertaining.

Dagmar - it tastes delicious as well:)
PS Glad to see you've finally moved and can start blogging more regularly again!

Ku e - thanks for popping by and I'm glad you like what you see!

Sha - oddly enough, the very Mediterranean garlic-basil courgette side dish goes really well with the oriental fish.
Does the Swiss gold mean that you're celebrating a lot in your household these days?

Tülin - glad to have inspired you! And of course, you can always use this marinade for grilled fish as well. 19 degrees? Am envious!

Zoubida - considering that I've already got quite a few trips lined up for this year, I'm not sure I can squeeze Kairo into 2006. But you never know how things work out. It's definitely on my list now.
I read Colette Rossant's "Apricots on the Nile: A Memoir with Recipes" recently, and she wrote about life in Kairo so beautifully, that I'm really looking forward to visiting that part of the world.

Antti - I'm blushing now:) Well, you have to do with the current avatar for a while - I decided the blog needs to have more food and less Pille for a while. Maybe it's the flu bug and huge red nose that makes me want to keep lower profile for a while..

Kalyn - I'm quite photogenic apparently. How the real-life me translates into nice pictures remains a mystery to me:)

J - thanks! They did finish their plates (and helped themselves to seconds), so I guess they were pleased:)
I have indeed a bottle of Kikkoman Teriyaki sauce in my cupboard, totally unopened. Thanks for reminding me!

Thredahlia said...

Tegin forellist ja tuli tõesti imemaitsev. Küpsetusaega täpselt ei jälginud - see käis rohkem kõhutunde järgi.
Põltsamaa sinep oli kodus olemas, aga "runny honey"... selleks tuli oma kristalliseerunud tee-mett natuke soojendada.

PS! Kikkomani sojakaste on tõepoolest kõigist seniproovitutest parim, aga oh seda hinda. Teistega võrreldes mitmekordne.

PPS! Tore, et su blogi leidsin - nii võib veel heast söögist sõltuvusse sattuda :D.

Pille said...

Tore, et maitses, Thredalia! Mul oli ka mesi kristalliseerunud - panin kõik marinaadiained ahjuvormi ja siis jätsin vormi gaasipaagikapi peale soojenema. Mesi sulas kenasti ära:)
Mul on see väike Kikkomani sojapudel kapi peal, hea mugav kasutada, kuna kork on väikese tilaga. Hiina toidupoest ostan aeg-ajalt suure pudeli asemele ja siis täidan väikest vastavalt vajadusele. Olulist hinnavahet ei ole. Vist:)
Ja vahva, et blogi meeldib:)

Valentina said...

I love salmon and fell for your recipe. I'm going to give it a go. It looks so yummy!

Pille said...

Thanks, Paz - I thought a bit of change was in order:)

Valentina - glad you liked the recipe - let me know what you thought about it.

Anonymous said...

Looks delicious, Pille! Do you know that you can't find fresh salmon very often in Japan? I don't know why but they tend to sell salt cured one, so I've been happy to have fresh one here :)

Oh and I love your new profile picture, lovely and sweet :)

Unknown said...

Tried this, using the recipe as given as a "rough" guide, and it turned out - AWESOME. Added a little bit of sesame oil.
Very, very good and so easy!
Thanks!

jade said...

Ever since I was a kid I love salmon. Your recipe is so dear to me, love the plating and look of it, so yummy.