summertime

Apparently i'm cooking-crazy over the summer. I've spent a good deal of my evening looking at bento boxes and cast iron woks (which will be my next kitchen purchase, eliminating 2-3 current pans). Today, i was wandering through Kroger to get bread and some greens of some sort... salmon was on sale... here is the result.

A note on teriyaki sauce: don't buy the stuff in the bottle. Seriously. REAL teriyaki is 3 things - Sake, Soy, and sugar (sometimes a little water too or mirin)...NOT HFC, xantham gum, artificial flavors, soy protein... etc, etc. Not to mention, real teriyaki is amazingly flavorful and glazes nicely on cooldown. Once you taste the real stuff, it is my hope you will skip the stuff in the jar from now on, not to mention, if you make more than needed of your own, it will keep for about a month in a bottle in the fridge.

Salmon Teriyaki and Mustard Greens in Oyster Sauce
Serve both prettily with some jasmine rice. :)


Salmon Teriyaki
1 lb salmon filet
4 tbsp soy sauce
4 tbsp sake
4 tbsp water
4 tbsp sugar

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Locate a baking dish large enough to put your salmon in. In a sm saucepan, mix sake, water, soy, and sugar until the sugar is dissolved (NO HEAT). Pour over salmon and marinate for at least 30 min in the fridge. Turn it over once in the marinade in that time. Pour off marinade back into the saucepan. Put salmon in the oven for about 15 min, until fish flakes opaque. During this time, heat sauce on medium uncovered until it barely starts to bubble, stirring constantly, then switch to low/med-low. continue to stir and the sauce will thicken.. Coat the fish a few times with sauce in the last few minutes of cooking (in 3 minute increments). When fish flakes, coat a little more and toss in the broiler for about 2 minutes. remove fish from broiler, and coat the fish with the rest of the sauce carefully, a spoonful at a time. When you are out of sauce, tilt the baking dish, and keep coating the fish with this, until you have reduced it about halfway. You don't HAVE to do that last part, but it's just nice and tasty.
mmmmmm



Mustard Greens
1 bunch mustard greens
4 tbsp oyster sauce
2 tbsp sugar
2 tbsp rice wine
2 tbsp minced ginger
2 tbsp water

In a stockpot, heat about 3-4 inches of water to a boil. Trim off the bottom 1' of the bunch of greens. Submerge mustard greens in a full, clean sink for a couple minutes. Un-bunch the greens and rub each leaf gently. remove any bad leaves, etc. Transfer greens to a cutting board and cut across the stems in 2" increments. Add to boiling water and cover. Cook for about 5-7 minutes (taste a stem, they will be nice and crisp/firm, but not tough). While the greens are cooking, add everything else to a small saucepan (or if you are short on saucepans, this can be done in the microwave) and simmer until the greens are done, stirring occasionally. Drain and rinse greens with cool water for a sec. Transfer to a serving platter and top evenly with sauce. MMMM