Rhys' West Coast Teriyaki Salmon
This is a recipe i created for the People's Cookbook show on UK Food TV in the mid-2000s. I was living in Perthshire in Scotland and a tv scout approached some good friends of mine -- John and Lorna of the Bean Shop in Perth (for the best coffee beans and nicest proprietors in Scotland, visit their website here)
The scout asked if they knew anyone who was a dab hand at food and could tell good yarns. They looked at each other and both said "Rhys!" :>)
So, about a year later, they came to Blairgowrie to film me in my wee hoose, and later i went down to Plymouth to film the studio part of the show. Now, like so much naff UK light entertainment, the show had a mickey mouse 'contest'. Why they do this i cannot figure. It is as if the show isn't legitimate if there is no contest. Go figure. The contest was between two amateur cooks who taught their recipe to their professional chef and told their stories. I had the great (and very tall!) Irish chef Paul Rankin, and the other 'contestant' had Anthony Worrell Thompson.
To 'judge', they had a rather random 'panel' of judges that seemed to change from show to show. At any rate, the other person's recipe (a prawn cocktail with about 30 ingredients) won. As the cameras focused on her side of the studio, Paul leaned over me (i am quite short!) and said "That's a load of b****ks Rhys, your recipe will be in the cookbook!" :>)
After they were all done, they turned off the studio lights, everyone unplugged their earphones and we all relaxed. I started to walk over to where my girlfriend was sitting in the audience when suddenly, a camera and microphone were shoved in my face and someone asked "How does it feel that your recipe didn't win?"
Well, i am as aware of the ubiquitousness of the "Big Brother moment" as anyone but i wasn't prepared for this! I almost said "You think i care about a twobit piece of commercial British television?" However, i bit my tongue, took a breath, and said something to the effect that i hoped it would inspire people to eat more fish (and i did -- and do!). Which was a good thing as it made it into the show!
And, in the end, it did make it into the People's Cookbook with the comment, by Worrell Thompson "It's a shame this recipe didn't win"!
Rhys’ West Coast Salmon
Born in the UK, I grew up on the West Coast of Canada and lived on Vancouver Island – an Island not dissimilar to the UK (2/3 the size, warm western ocean current, maritime climate). Island life meant that the sea and its produce were everywhere. For example, there are five different types of salmon and you choose which you use depending upon what you want to do – Sockeye for its colour and leanness, Tyee for its oil and large size, Spring for sushi, etc. So when I moved to Scotland I was eager to enjoy its seafoods.
There is a strong Japanese influence on West Coast cooking and I learned some Japanese basics from my ex, who had lived with a Japanese Nissai fishing family. How to fillet, how to remove the skin, and what to do with both the flesh and skin if you take it off. And about sauces...
This dish combines that Pacific Rim background with the lovely organic salmon farmed in Orkney. Its distinction can be seen in the colour, which is very pale because it is not fed things to make it pink. And the fish is well exercised and has about the right level of fat.
I’ve been surprised by how many Brits tell me they ‘don’t like fish’. Given it is an Island nation this is quite remarkable. “Oh, but it tastes fishy!” Well, if fish tastes ‘fishy’, its too old. Fresh fish doesn't taste 'fishy'. For me, this dish is comfort food. The combination of caramelized marinade, crispy and sizzling, with the soft and mild-tasting tender flakes of salmon inside make it one of my favourite dishes. This is a recipe I haul out to convince fish-haters that it ain’t so bad. And it often works!
Recipe
This is not a difficult recipe. It involves three stages. First you made the teriyaki sauce (15 mins). Then you marinate the fish for a while (and if you are in a hurry, just coat it and cook. It is better marinated for an hour, but hey...). Then you grill it in the oven (less than 15 mins). It's best served hot, and accompanied by Japanese wasabi, or ordinary horseradish.
This can be made up as a starter, or a mains. For starters you can cut the fish into small pieces (strips 1 cm by 2 or 3 cms) and place a set of them on two or three wooden skewers. Or you could cut larger chunks (say 2 or 3 cms squared), grill them and serve on a bed of greens. Or, finally, as a starter you could serve them as cooked sushi, putting 1 by 2 cm cooked strips on a small lozenge of sticky rice. Also, they are wonderful accompanied by a garlic mayonnaise dipping sauce.
As a main course, you are best to cut the salmon into individual serving-sized pieces before grilling, as it is harder to cut nice neat servings from the whole side of fish. But then again.... The size of the pieces will vary according to whether they are belly or tail pieces, but a 4 cm belly cut or a 8 cm tail cut would do. Serve with wasabi or horseradish. One of my favourite comfort food meals accompanies this salmon with Japanese sticky rice (with roasted sesame seeds) and a green such as asparagus or broccoli. But it also goes well with home made chips, so use your imagination!
Teriyaki Sauce
Ingredients
Soy Sauce (proper Japanese if you can get it)
Rice Vinegar (plain, seasoned or even Japanese Mirin)
Sugar
Fresh ginger juice (fine grated and squeezed directly into the pan)
Sesame oil
(Optional) tomato ketchup, sweet or hot chilli sauce, etc.
Born in the UK, I grew up on the West Coast of Canada and lived on Vancouver Island – an Island not dissimilar to the UK (2/3 the size, warm western ocean current, maritime climate). Island life meant that the sea and its produce were everywhere. For example, there are five different types of salmon and you choose which you use depending upon what you want to do – Sockeye for its colour and leanness, Tyee for its oil and large size, Spring for sushi, etc. So when I moved to Scotland I was eager to enjoy its seafoods.
There is a strong Japanese influence on West Coast cooking and I learned some Japanese basics from my ex, who had lived with a Japanese Nissai fishing family. How to fillet, how to remove the skin, and what to do with both the flesh and skin if you take it off. And about sauces...
This dish combines that Pacific Rim background with the lovely organic salmon farmed in Orkney. Its distinction can be seen in the colour, which is very pale because it is not fed things to make it pink. And the fish is well exercised and has about the right level of fat.
I’ve been surprised by how many Brits tell me they ‘don’t like fish’. Given it is an Island nation this is quite remarkable. “Oh, but it tastes fishy!” Well, if fish tastes ‘fishy’, its too old. Fresh fish doesn't taste 'fishy'. For me, this dish is comfort food. The combination of caramelized marinade, crispy and sizzling, with the soft and mild-tasting tender flakes of salmon inside make it one of my favourite dishes. This is a recipe I haul out to convince fish-haters that it ain’t so bad. And it often works!
Recipe
This is not a difficult recipe. It involves three stages. First you made the teriyaki sauce (15 mins). Then you marinate the fish for a while (and if you are in a hurry, just coat it and cook. It is better marinated for an hour, but hey...). Then you grill it in the oven (less than 15 mins). It's best served hot, and accompanied by Japanese wasabi, or ordinary horseradish.
This can be made up as a starter, or a mains. For starters you can cut the fish into small pieces (strips 1 cm by 2 or 3 cms) and place a set of them on two or three wooden skewers. Or you could cut larger chunks (say 2 or 3 cms squared), grill them and serve on a bed of greens. Or, finally, as a starter you could serve them as cooked sushi, putting 1 by 2 cm cooked strips on a small lozenge of sticky rice. Also, they are wonderful accompanied by a garlic mayonnaise dipping sauce.
As a main course, you are best to cut the salmon into individual serving-sized pieces before grilling, as it is harder to cut nice neat servings from the whole side of fish. But then again.... The size of the pieces will vary according to whether they are belly or tail pieces, but a 4 cm belly cut or a 8 cm tail cut would do. Serve with wasabi or horseradish. One of my favourite comfort food meals accompanies this salmon with Japanese sticky rice (with roasted sesame seeds) and a green such as asparagus or broccoli. But it also goes well with home made chips, so use your imagination!
Teriyaki Sauce
Ingredients
Soy Sauce (proper Japanese if you can get it)
Rice Vinegar (plain, seasoned or even Japanese Mirin)
Sugar
Fresh ginger juice (fine grated and squeezed directly into the pan)
Sesame oil
(Optional) tomato ketchup, sweet or hot chilli sauce, etc.
Take a sauce pan and pour about ¼ inch of good soy sauce in it (i think Kikkoman is best), over medium heat.
Pour in an equal amount of rice vinegar (or white wine, or mirin, or, I guess even sake or gin – all the alcohol evaporates anyway)
Bring it to a boil, adding:
-6 tablespoons or so of golden or brown sugar (or honey or even maple syrup)
-a couple of glugs of sesame oil.
Pour in an equal amount of rice vinegar (or white wine, or mirin, or, I guess even sake or gin – all the alcohol evaporates anyway)
Bring it to a boil, adding:
-6 tablespoons or so of golden or brown sugar (or honey or even maple syrup)
-a couple of glugs of sesame oil.
Take a piece of ginger root and grate it on the fine grater. (say about 1 ½ inches of a thick root). The resulting paste should be just big enough to fit the palm of your hand. Squeeze the juice from it into the liquid.
You can also squeeze a dollop of ketchup into the liquid (alternatively you can use chilli sauce, barbeque sauce, any thick flavoured sauce).
You can also squeeze a dollop of ketchup into the liquid (alternatively you can use chilli sauce, barbeque sauce, any thick flavoured sauce).
Once it is boiling, turn it down so it still bubbles – you want a bit of bubble. What you want to do now is let it evaporate off till only about half the liquid is left. This should take 5 - 10 minutes. As it does it will emulsify and thicken until the top surface of the liquid is totally covered with fairly large bubbles (up to a centimeter in diameter). If it is slow to respond, add a bit more sesame oil. Watch it carefully then, and let it thicken just a bit more, stirring.
You should be able to run your finger down the spoon and leave a trace behind that the liquid doesn’t run into immediately. That means it's ready!
Finally, when it is ready, run it through a small sieve while it is still hot, It keeps in the fridge for weeks like this. I always keep a pot around, ready to go.
Fish
Salmon: A side, skin on, or an appropriate number of individual fillets.
I like to use Organic Orkney farmed Salmon, but other sources, if fresh, taste good too. It works equally as well with halibut, cod or really any fish that can be cut into fair-sized fillets.
Some folks automatically remove the skin, but it has its uses. For a start, it will get very crispy with the sauce and is pretty good in itself. Secondly, even if you are good a skinning fish, you risk losing the important layer of grey fat between the flesh and the skin. This is where all those important Omega 3 fats are. Plus it is the tastiest bit! So I leave the skin on and grill it directly.
Take the fillet of salmon and coat in the warm sauce. Let it marinate for an bit and then broil under a pre-heated grill (3 inches or so distant). Do the back side first. After 5 minutes turn it over, brush a bit more teriyaki sauce on and complete. It should be ready in about another 5 minutes. The teriyaki will limit how long you can leave it under the grill because it will totally caramelise and burn if you leave it too long. When the sauce caramelises, the fillet should be just done in the centre and still moist and flakey. The whole fillet should take no more than 10 minutes under the heat.
Let it sit for five minutes and serve. Even people who say they don’t like fish like this!
Salmon: A side, skin on, or an appropriate number of individual fillets.
I like to use Organic Orkney farmed Salmon, but other sources, if fresh, taste good too. It works equally as well with halibut, cod or really any fish that can be cut into fair-sized fillets.
Some folks automatically remove the skin, but it has its uses. For a start, it will get very crispy with the sauce and is pretty good in itself. Secondly, even if you are good a skinning fish, you risk losing the important layer of grey fat between the flesh and the skin. This is where all those important Omega 3 fats are. Plus it is the tastiest bit! So I leave the skin on and grill it directly.
Take the fillet of salmon and coat in the warm sauce. Let it marinate for an bit and then broil under a pre-heated grill (3 inches or so distant). Do the back side first. After 5 minutes turn it over, brush a bit more teriyaki sauce on and complete. It should be ready in about another 5 minutes. The teriyaki will limit how long you can leave it under the grill because it will totally caramelise and burn if you leave it too long. When the sauce caramelises, the fillet should be just done in the centre and still moist and flakey. The whole fillet should take no more than 10 minutes under the heat.
Let it sit for five minutes and serve. Even people who say they don’t like fish like this!
