Sep

02

2009

Mirin Glazed Salmon

Dinner / Fish & Seafood  Posted by / 6 comments

Mirin glazed salmon

This recipe is adapted from one of my favorite cookbooks, Nigella Express by Nigella Lawson. It’s an elegant and remarkably easy dish, one that completely belies the amount of effort on your part. Most of the ingredients are right out of the pantry, and you can have it on the table in 20 minutes. Honest! To that end, be sure to have your fishmonger portion and skin the salmon for you — it’s a huge timesaver — and start cooking your rice beforehand so that everything will be ready at the same time.

Mirin glazed salmon 2

The signature ingredient is Mirin, a sweet Japanese cooking wine found in the Asian section of most supermarkets. Combined with brown sugar and soy sauce, it makes an exquisitely balanced Asian-style marinade — so much more refined than anything you’d find pre-made in a bottle. You’ll see the sweetness of the marinade causes the salmon to caramelize while cooking, which creates a beautiful sear and gorgeous, rich mahogany glaze.

Scallions

If you like teriyaki, you’ll love this. Enjoy!

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Mirin Glazed Salmon

Serving Size: 4

Ingredients

  • ¼ cup mirin (Japanese sweet rice wine)
  • ¼ cup light brown sugar (do not substitute dark brown sugar)
  • ¼ cup soy sauce
  • 4 6-ounce salmon fillets, skin removed (preferably cut narrow and tall, rather than wide and flat)
  • ½ cup water
  • 1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
  • 2 scallions, halved and sliced into fine strips

Instructions

  1. Mix the mirin, brown sugar, and soy sauce in a shallow dish that will hold all 4 salmon fillets. Stir to dissolve sugar. Place the salmon in the dish and marinate for 5 –10 minutes, turning once. Meanwhile, set a very large non-stick skillet (or two smaller ones) on the stove and heat over medium-high heat.
  2. Place the salmon fillets in the hot, dry pan – nice sides down – and cook for a few minutes until nicely seared and coated with a rich brown glaze (keep a close eye on the pan; this happens quickly). Turn fillets over, reduce heat to medium, and add marinade and water to pan (if using two pans, add marinade and water to both). Cook for 3-5 minutes more, until fish reaches desired doneness. If sauce looks like it’s reducing or thickening too quickly, just add a bit of water (a few tablespoons at a time). Do not let it burn. Transfer salmon fillets to serving platter or plates. If sauce is nicely reduced and thickened, turn off heat. If not, continue to cook over medium heat until desired consistency is reached. Add rice wine vinegar to sauce and stir.
  3. Pour sauce over salmon fillets, top with scallions and serve.