Recipe
Salmon Teriyaki with Cabbage Salad
Print or online media may reprint this excerpt with the following attribution: “Excerpted from Not Your Mother’s Weeknight Cooking, by Beth Hensperger, © 2008, and used by permission of The Harvard Common Press.”
Salmon Teriyaki with Cabbage Salad
I thought I’d better not leave out of this book one of the most popular marinades for salmon, the classic Japanese teriyaki sauce. Although there are many bottled sauces on the market, this homemade sauce is so great you will use it many times, even for chicken or beef. It is originally from the Canyon Ranch spa in Arizona and is one of the easiest little flavor enhancers for salmon; you can change the proportions of garlic and ginger if you like. The surprise ingredient is frozen apple juice concentrate, which gives the sugary glaze. The salmon marinates for 30 minutes before baking in the oven, but it is infused with flavor. This is also good cold, in case you have leftovers.
Serves 4
Cooking Method: Oven
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 10 to 15 minutes
One 2-inch piece fresh ginger, cut into little chunks
2 or 3 cloves garlic
1 1/2 cups (one 12-ounce can) frozen unsweetened apple juice concentrate, thawed and undiluted
1/2 cup reduced-sodium soy sauce
3 tablespoons rice vinegar
1/2 cup finely chopped green onions (white part and some of the green)
Four 3/4- to 1-inch-thick center-cut salmon fillets (6 ounces each), skin on
Cabbage Salad
1/2 small head green cabbage, finely shredded
3 green onions (white part and 2 inches of the green), chopped
2 tablespoons Asian sesame oil
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
1 tablespoon sesame seeds, toasted in a dry skillet
1. In a food processor, drop in the ginger and garlic, processing to chop. Add the undiluted apple juice concentrate, soy sauce, and rice vinegar. Stir in the green onions. Place the salmon in a 9 x 13-inch glass baking dish and pour the marinade over it. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 20 to 30 minutes.
2. Preheat the oven to 350ºF.
3. Meanwhile, make the cabbage salad. Combine the cabbage, green onions, oil, and vinegar in a large bowl. Toss well and chill until ready to serve. Add the sesame seeds and toss again before serving.
4. Remove the salmon from the refrigerator and turn it over. Bake in the center of the oven, in the marinade, for 10 to 15 minutes, until firm and opaque. Serve immediately with a portion of cabbage salad on the side.
