Recipe: Teriyaki Salmon-Rice Bowls

Teriyaki Salmon-Rice Bowls

Makes 4 rice bowls

Serve this as a healthful Japanese-style breakfast, or even as a lunch or light dinner. Lovely to look at, this dish caps steamed rice with delicate pink salmon, drizzled with a slightly sweet but mild teriyaki-style sauce, garnished with crisp, green shreds of napa cabbage, lettuce and green onion.

For best results and speedier assembly, poach the salmon in advance. You can also precook the rice and reheat it in a rice cooker, on the stove or in a microwave oven. The Teriyaki Drizzling Sauce can be made up to two days in advance, then reheated (thin with water if it becomes too concentrated). Slice the garnishes right before serving.

You will need:

1 recipe Ginger Poached Salmon, or
about 1 pound poached salmon
1 recipe Teriyaki Drizzling Sauce
2 cups cooked rice, warmed
Garnishes as noted

Set out four deep bowls. Divide the rice, salmon and garnishes evenly among the four bowls, then top with Teriyaki Drizzling Sauce. Serve warm.

Serving Suggestion:
Serve with a crisp salad of cucumbers and carrot slices, tossed with seasoned rice vinegar.

Ginger Poached Salmon

Serves 4 as ingredient in Salmon-Rice Bowls

Ingredients

1 pound salmon fillets or steaks (about 1 inch thick)
2 or more cups water
1/4 cup dry sherry, sake or white wine
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 cloves garlic, crushed
2 coins fresh ginger, bruised (each about 1/4-inch thick)
1 tablespoon soy sauce

Place the salmon in a deep skillet or pan just big enough to hold the piece(s). Add just enough water to barely cover. Remove the salmon to a plate and set aside.

To the water in the pan, add the sherry, lemon juice, garlic, ginger, and soy sauce. Bring this mixture to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer for 5 minutes for the flavors to meld. Using a slotted spoon or heatproof spatula, gently lower the salmon (skin side up if using fillets), into the simmering liquid; make sure the liquid just covers the fish.

Adjust the heat so the surface of the liquid barely ripples and only a few bubbles rise to the surface. Cook 8 to 10 minutes, then test for doneness with a fork or instant read thermometer. The flesh should be flaky. If using an instant-read thermometer, it should register 135 degrees F. Remove the skin from the salmon and place salmon on a plate. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.

About 30 minutes before serving, let the salmon come to room temperature. Gently flake with a fork and use in Salmon-Rice Bowls.

Teriyaki Drizzling Sauce

1/2 cup chicken broth
2 tablespoons soy sauce, preferably Kikkoman
2 tablespoons honey
1 tablespoon dry sherry
1-inch piece fresh ginger, cut into about 6 coins
1/4 teaspoon toasted sesame oil

Bring chicken broth, soy sauce, honey, sherry, ginger and sesame oil to a boil in a saucepan. Boil until reduced by half, about 3 to 5 minutes. Set aside. (Remove ginger before serving.) Drizzle over Salmon-Rice Bowls.

Garnishes

1 green onion, thinly sliced on diagonal (white and green parts)
1 leaf napa cabbage and/or lettuce, rolled and cut into chiffonade
1/2 stalk celery, thinly sliced on diagonal (optional)
1 tablespoon toasted, crushed sesame seeds
Black pepper to taste

Sprinkle garnishes over Salmon-Rice Bowls. You may also use other raw vegetables, cut into matchsticks, shredded or finely diced, such as cucumber, carrot, or daikon. If you like it hot, add a sprinkling of shichimi, the Japanese pepper mix, or serve pickled ginger on the side to accent the flavors.