Time for honesty and true confessions in the kitchen! Do you have a black, cast iron skillet hidden in the basement or back of the cabinet and just cannot bring yourself to use it? Maybe you hesitate because you don’t know how to use it. Well, it’s time to get over that and we can help.
The other scary thing in a kitchen is cooking fish. At least, for those of us who grew up in the land-locked Midwest, cooking fresh fish is a little (or a lot) intimidating. Well, we can help with that, too.
This Miso Ginger Glazed Salmon is one of my favorite recipes from our cookbook, The Newlywed Cookbook: Cooking Happily Ever After. It is quick, easy and the flavor shouts WOW! If you haven’t been to an Asian store and picked up miso, now is the time. It is wonderful and adds so much flavor. (See the tips below the recipe for info on miso, mirin and ginger.)
Talk about quick and easy. This dish takes about five minutes to prepare the glaze—and cooks for about 13 to 14 minutes. Dinner is just minutes away.
Now for the cast iron. We both use our cast iron skillets frequently. It is my go-to skillet and I love that I can get it hot, sear the food and then pop it directly into a hot oven. Washing is super easy—thanks to the fact that it builds its own nonstick-like coating. Just be sure to dry it so it doesn’t rust. It is that simple.
But, believe me, we understand your hesitation and questions. We have been teaching sold-out classes on using Cast Iron and want to share all of the in’s and out’s on this great, but mysterious cookware. We are offering the class again on May 22 at A Thyme for Everything in Lee’s Summit. Don’t delay or think twice before registering, for we know it will sell out very quickly. Join us for great fried chicken and samples of lots of delicious food that cast iron allows you to easily create. Bring your questions and we will answer them! You will leave class empowered and ready to tackle your cast iron.
Now, in the meantime, give this quick salmon recipe a try. We won’t be preparing it at the class, but we would love to hear if you made it. Add a comment to this page or post it on our Facebook page. Or better yet, register for the class on May 22 and tell us about it.
Miso Ginger Glazed Salmon*
3 tablespoons mirin
3 tablespoon miso, yellow preferred
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 tablespoon reduced sodium soy sauce
2 teaspoons minced fresh ginger
1½ teaspoons dark sesame oil
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
2 salmon fillets, about 5 to 6 ounces each
Preheat oven to 400° F.
Mix together the mirin, miso, brown sugar, soy sauce, ginger and sesame oil in a small bowl. Set aside.
Heat the oil in a 10-inch cast iron or oven-proof skillet over medium heat. Add the salmon fillets, skin side down and cook for 5 minutes. Do not turn the salmon. Place the skillet in the oven and bake, uncovered, for 5 minutes.
Spoon the sauce over the fish. Return the skillet to the oven and bake, uncovered, for 3 to 4 minutes or until the fish is opaque and flakes evenly with a fork.
Spoon the glaze over each piece.
Makes 2 servings.
Tips:
Miso is a fermented paste made from fermented soybeans, usually a grain and salt. It is salty and a little goes a long way, but it is nutritious for it is rich in protein. Yellow miso is an all-purpose miso, while white miso is more delicate and red miso is more strongly flavored. Purchase miso at Asian markets or in the Asian section of larger grocery stores. Use a clean spoon to dip out the Miso you need, then cover and refrigerate the remaining miso, where it will keep for several months.
Mirin is a sweet rice wine. At most grocery stores you will find small bottles stocked in the Asian food section. If not available, you can substitute rice wine, dry sherry or white wine in this recipe. As mirin is a sweet wine and the substitutes are not as sweet, you may want to stir an additional ½ to 1 teaspoon brown sugar into the glaze.
If the salmon fillets you can purchase are larger, maybe 10 to 12 ounces, cook just one fillet according the recipe, then cut it in half to serve.
Ginger, in this recipe is the knobby root that is readily available at most grocery stores. Do not use dry, ground ginger. To prepare the ginger root, peel off the tough outer skin, but don’t waste too much for the ginger just under the skin is very flavorful. One easy way to do this is to scrape it off using the tip of a spoon. Once the skin is gone, grate the ginger needed for the recipe. If you have a larger ginger root than needed, wrap it tightly and freeze for use in about 6 months. You can then slice off what you need and return the rest to the freezer.
** Photo Credit: David Shaughnessy, 2014
* Recipe Credit: The Newlywed Cookbook: Cooking Happily Ever After by Roxanne Wyss and Kathy Moore (St. Martin’s Press, 2014).
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