RECIPE: ASIAN BAKED SALMON, TWO WAYS

It was only in the last ten years or so that my taste buds warmed to the taste of salmon. I have a distinct memory of grilling my salmon sashimi during an izakaya dinner in Japan to get rid of the fishiness. This was in 2010. Nowadays, sashimi is one of my favourite dishes and salmon makes an appearance on our lunch or dinner menu at least once a week. How things have changed.

Asides from taste, another thing that gives salmon the big tick in my books is the speediness in prep and cooking time, especially when it comes to a mid-week cook. So it’s no surprise really that Spicetub’s range of spice blends, including one for salmon, also get’s a tick. Flavour in an instance, complementary to whichever dish each spice blend was tailored to but also those outside the box. With salmon on the menu one evening, I first gave the Asian salmon mix (black sesame seeds, white sesame seeds, pink Himalayan salt, garlic, lemon, black peppercorn, ginger, and mild chili) a whirl with a baked salmon, paired with a soba noodle broth and a furikake and soy seasoned rice bowl (we had leftover salmon). With no rummaging through the pantry for spice A, B and C, seasoning the salmon took less than a minute. Easy baked salmon, made even easier with Spicetub.

BAKED ASIAN SALMON WITH SOBA NOODLE BROTH

INGREDIENTS

2 salmon fillets (approximately 150-200 g each)
1 - 1.5 tablespoons Spicetub Asian Salmon Mix per fillet

Broth:

1 litre chicken stock
1 cup dried bonito flakes
shiitake mushrooms
konbu (I didn’t have any on hand)

To serve:

bok choy
soft boiled eggs
soba noodles
spring onion
crispy chilli oil

METHODS

Preheat the oven to 200 C.
Cover one side of the salmon fillet with Asian salmon mix. Place onto a lined baking tray, and bake for 8-10 minutes.
To prepare the broth, add the stock, bonito flakes and shiitake mushrooms into a stockpot or saucepan, and bring to the boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes.
To serve, assemble the ingredients and pour over the broth. Serve immediately.