Sesame Salmon or, Can you Tell I Missed Fish When I Was Pregnant?

Tonight I come to you from my kitchen which basically smells like a sushi shop, with the sesame oil and the ginger being minced- don't get me wrong, I'd love to perfect the algae salad and basically turn one of these shops into our second home. But until then, here is a quick, very fragrant and easy sesame salmon recipe for a quick omega 3 and fatty acids fix. Tonight is also the night Ella had her very first solid food ever (a mashed/blended potato!!- I cannot wait to document all of it, for my own memories really. So far it's only been my family group chat and mom friends receiving hilarious photos of her utter disgust for potatoes- bananas next!) so I will basically remember this night forever, along with the salmon and delicious ginger-garlic rice moment (they're not as important but they will be linked to this sweet moment in ETERNITY).

I came up with this recipe while searching in my pantry for sesame oil and coming across soy sauce, ground ginger, brown sugar and sesame seeds and thinking, sure what the heck. So it's an Asian-ish spin on the typical dill and lemon salmon dish. Not a spin, just a totally different recipe (learn about words Karine). I like to add ‘ish’, not to sound inappropriate or insensitive to exactly which people I owe the flavours coming out of my kitchen to, but mainly because I genuinely just toss oils and spices around until I am happy with the result and these ingredients never come from the exact same place. So I’d love to say Korean salmon because it’s the most delicious cuisine on earth but I quite frankly cannot tell- to be fair, the ingredients do remind me of the Korean beef bowl recipe I like to make- so hey, you refer to it as you please).

You will need,

Salmon (2)

Sesame seeds (2 tbsp)

Ground ginger (1 tbsp)

Soy sauce (2 tbsp)

Brown sugar (1 tbsp)

Sesame oil (2 tbsp)

Garlic (1 clove, minced)

For the rice,

Rice (1 cup, depending if you want leftovers or not)

Fresh minced ginger (3 tbsp)

Scallions (3)

Chives (1/3 bunch)

Garlic (3 cloves)

Sesame oil (2 tbsp)

Basil salt (for taste)

Note: the rice I used is a Japanese Calrose rice which I purchased at a Korean market when my boyfriend's family visited from Sweden- his step-mother is Korean and knows where all the best products are! If it wasn't for her, I would be buying boring old Uncle Ben's Basmati (*takes a minute to thank life for her blessed existence*)

A few simple steps,

Start with the rice:

1. In a pot over medium-high, throw in minced garlic, minced ginger (the trick is to peel it with a spoon!) and chopped scallions with sesame oil and stir for 4-5 minutes until fragrant

2. Add chives, stir for 1 minute and then throw in rice and water (I agree that chives are typically used for French cuisine, but I felt like adding a kick, feel free to skip)

3. Lower heat, cover and let simmer (follow the time on the packaging of the rice you chose to cook with, same goes for water to rice ratio, they tend to differ greatly!)

Then, the salmon:

4. Pat the salmon with paper towel for that unnecessary excess water

5. Preheat the oven at 425 F

6. Rub each ingredient in the salmon and make sure to turn it around and press gently so it absorbs all the flavours (I use my fingers but feel free to mix all ingredients together and brush lightly over each piece of fish- also, it isn't like chicken you don't have to let it marinate for hours but I sometimes like to, the general rule is maximum 30 minutes if the sauce is acidic)

7. Place the salmon in the oven and let roast for around 6 minutes (depending on the thickness, it should be 4 minutes for a partly rare fish and 6 to cook fully- I personally love it crispy so I would keep going and even broil, but letting you know the norm!)

8. Place fish on bed of rice and serve with a spinach salad or a nice miso soup

I know that *many times* in my articles I sound like 'up to you sis!' but I want you to understand that recipes never have to be followed precisely and encourage you to get to know your options- because other than specific directions for health concerns such as the cooking of specific meats, the options are endless in terms of flavours and textures!