Prep: 50 mins – Serves 2 – Easy
For the fish:
2 tbsp mirin*
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp palm sugar or brown sugar
1 tsp lemon juice
2 salmon fillets
For the cucumber salad:
50g sugar
60ml rice wine vinegar**
1 cucumber
1 shallot
1 red chilli
1 piece ginger (3cm)
For the quinoa:
150g quinoa
1 tbsp olive oil
400ml chicken stock
1 tbsp soy sauce
2 tsp fresh ginger, finely chopped
salt
cress, to serve
Preheat the oven to 180°C fan.
In a small bowl, mix the mirin, soy sauce, sugar and lemon juice. Place the salmon fillets into an ovenproof tray and add the marinade, making sure the salmon is covered entirely. Refrigerate for at least 15 minutes.
Meanwhile, prepare the cucumber salad: put the sugar and the rice wine vinegar into a small saucepan and add 2 tablespoons of water. Bring to the boil, stirring so that the sugar dissolves. Once the sugar has dissolved, take off the heat.
Wash the cucumber and cut into fine slices with a mandolin, stopping at the seeds. Peel the shallot and cut into fine slices with the mandolin.
Put the cucumber and shallot into a bowl, add the warm vinegar and cover.
Slice open the chili, deseed and finely chop. Peel the ginger and finely chop. Add both to the bowl with the cucumber and give it a stir. Leave to marinate for at least 15 minutes, stirring from time to time.
Put the quinoa into a sieve and rinse under a running tap. Heat the olive oil in a saucepan and fry the quinoa for a minute. Add the chicken stock, soy sauce and ginger and bring to the boil. Cover and leave to simmer for 10 minutes.
After 10 minutes, take the lid off and leave to cook for a further 5 minutes until all the liquid is absorbed.
Meanwhile, put the salmon tray with the marinade into the oven and bake for 15 minutes.
Once the quinoa has absorbed all the liquid, put a piece of kitchen paper over the saucepan, cover with a lid and leave to rest for 5 minutes.
Distribute some cucumber salad and quinoa on each plate, place a salmon fillet on top, season with salt and decorate with cress.
*mirin is a sweet Japanese rice wine, which you can find in the Asian aisle at your supermarket. You could use white port wine as a substitute.
** rice wine vinegar is used a lot in Asian cooking. You could use white wine vinegar as a substitute.
I absolutely adore recipes like this. Easy, quick and totally fresh! Great one Anne!
Anne , it is the best presentation for the recipe i have ever seen. nice recipe with fish and best presentation until in present.