Miso Salmon with Cucumber Salad

Lovely tender fillets of salmon glazed with the perfect miso sauce (think umami x 100), a nice warm bowl of rice, and a tart cucumber salad – a match made in heaven!

If I’m being perfectly honest, I go really big on weekends – I’m talking double cheeseburgers, extra large pizzas and chips buried under a sea of the most decadent toppings – yes the whole nine yards. Come Monday, I need a little detox from the weekend and this dish is my ultimate go to. Not only is it insanely flavourful, it’s also super easy to put together and actually good for you! By all means, swap the white rice for brown or multigrain rice.

Just in case you’re wondering what miso is, it’s made primarily from soybeans and usually includes rice or barley. They are steamed, mixed with koji (a fermentation starter) and left to ferment for any time between 6 months and 5 years. Fun fact – not only is miso high in protein, it’s also rich in vitamins and minerals.

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Miso Salmon With Cucumber Salad

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Serves: 2

Lovely tender fillets of salmon glazed with the perfect miso sauce (think umami x 100), a nice warm bowl of rice, and a tart cucumber salad - a match made in heaven!

Ingredients

2 cups cooked white rice (about 1 cup uncooked)

Furikake (optional)

Miso Marinade

2 salmon fillets

1 tablespoon miso paste (Note 1)

1 tablespoon Shaoxing rice wine (or sake)

1 tablespoon light soy sauce

1 teaspoon sugar

1-2 spring onion, sliced thinly

2 teaspoon sesame oil

Cucumber Salad

1/2 cucumber

15ml rice wine vinegar

1/2 tablespoon sugar

1 tablespoon sesame seeds, toasted

Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

1

In a bowl or a zip lock bag (note 2), mix the ingredients for the miso marinade and then add the salmon in, turning until it’s completely coated. Leave to marinate in the fridge for at least 30 minutes, preferably overnight.

2

To make the cucumber salad, cut the cucumber in half and place them on a chopping board. Smash them several times with a rolling pin (or whatever works for you), scoop out the seeds, and cut into thin batons. Leave it to one side while you cook the salmon.

3

Cook the salmon either by sous vide or in an oven (both yield great results, but the method I’ll use depends on how fancy I’m feeling and how much time I have to cook).

4

Sous vide: Set the temperature to 48.9°C. While the water is heating up, prepare the ‘vacuum sealed’ bag. With the marinated salmon in a zip-lock bag, seal all but one corner of the bag and gently lower it into the pot of water, ensuring that everything below the zip-line is covered by the water - this forces all the air out of the pouch (if you have a vacuum sealer, go ahead and use that). Then, seal the rest of the bag and set it aside. Once the water has come up to temperature, carefully place the sealed bag into the pot and let cook for 45 minutes. When it’s ready, very carefully (be extremely gentle, the salmon will fall apart very easily) remove it from the bag and (1) serve it that way or (2) place it on a heat-proof dish, pat dry and char it with a blow torch.

5

Oven: Preheat the oven to 200°C. Arrange the salmon in a baking dish (leave the marinade behind as miso burns really easily) and bake for 15 minutes or until the salmon is cooked through and breaks easily with a fork.

6

Serve the salmon fillets with cooked rice and cucumber salad (Note 3). Top with furikake if using.

Notes

1. Shiro (white) miso has a definite sweet taste and has a lighter flavour; aka (red) miso tends to be saltier and has a deeper umami flavour which can overwhelm mild dishes, but is perfect for hearty soups, braises, and glazes.
2. Marinate everything in a zip-lock bag if you’re going to sous vide the salmon - you’ll want a high-quality, sturdy bag.
3. I recommend placing the cucumber salad on top of the rice (i.e. below the salmon) as the ‘pickle liquid’ adds a certain sweetness to the rice.