Sake Ginger Glazed Salmon

My sister Karen is in town, flush from completing a grueling, 500 mile bike ride from San Francisco to LA. Karen has always been a super athlete, and with her current passion for triathlons takes a lot of care about how she nourishes her body. This is one of her favorite recipes for salmon, one of the best sources of Omega 3.

This is a very simple, highly flavorful salmon dish, using a classic Japanese yakitori marinade with the addition of some finely grated fresh ginger. The dish benefits from sitting in the marinade for a long time, overnight is best, but at least 2 hours minimum. If you don’t like the look of the ginger, you can strain it out of the basting sauce, but you’ll miss out on the flavor.

Sake Ginger Glazed Salmon Recipe

• Yield: Serves 4.

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup sake
• 1/2 cup soy sauce (use gluten-free soy sauce for gluten-free version)
• 1/2 cup mirin (sweet Japanese rice wine)
• 2 Tbsp finely grated fresh ginger
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• A dash of red chili pepper flakes
• 1/4 cup white sugar
• 1 1/2 pounds of salmon fillets
• Olive oil

Method

1 Mix the soy sauce, sake, mirin, ginger, garlic, chile flakes, and sugar in a medium bowl. Place the salmon fillets in a sturdy freezer bag. Pour the marinade into the freezer bag with the fish. Seal the freezer bag and place in a baking dish (so that if the bag leaks it doesn't get all over your fridge). Place in your refrigerator and chill at least 2 hours, preferably overnight.

2 Remove the salmon fillets from the marinade. Place the marinade in a small saucepan and heat it until it simmers.  Simmer it for several minutes or until the sauce has reduced by half.

3a Grilling method
Brush the grill grates with olive oil; pre-heat your grill to medium heat. Remove salmon from bag, reserving the marinade. Place salmon either directly on the grill grate, or on a piece of aluminum foil (brushed with olive oil) over the grill grate, skin side down. Brush frequently with the marinade glaze, cook the salmon 10-20 minutes (depending on thickness of the fillets), until easily flaked with a fork.

3b Pan frying method
Heat a few tablespoons of olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Drain the salmon and reserve the marinade. Fry the salmon 4 to 5 minutes per side, basting frequently with the marinade. Serve once the salmon is cooked through and is easily flaked with a fork.

3c Baking method
Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a baking dish with aluminum foil. Brush the top of the foil with olive oil. Drain the salmon and reserve the marinade. Place salmon on the foil, skin side down. Bake for 10-20 minutes depending on how thick the fillets are, basting frequently with the marinade, until the salmon is easily flaked with a fork.

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