Bulgogi Style Salmon with Bok Choy and Shitake Mushrooms

This weekend we finally made a trip up to my favorite type of grocery store - the Asian market.  We hadn't been in so many months, I was running low on lots of my staple ingredients!  Although there are a few Asian markets on the north side of Chicago, I haven't found any Korean markets, and I hadn't found any markets that were very big.  So this weekend was the grand adventure - we went up to the HMart in Niles.



I've been to HMart's in Maryland and Massachusetts, so I knew generally what I could expect.  But the one in Niles is a Super HMart which means it's the size of the Home Depot next door.  We were literally lost in there for hours.  We watched folks making kimchi, tried lots of samples (except the blood sausage... the woman handing out samples didn't think it was a good idea to offer me any), and loaded up on some of our favorite ingredients.



One fun part of the trip was watching the men at HMart making fresh kimchi.  For those of you who aren't familiar with kimchi, it's a spicy fermented cabbage dish.  It's almost similar to a good half sour pickle.  In Korean restaurants, they often start the meal with a variety of very small side dishes that can include tofu, a type of Korean potato salad, broccoli, and always kimchi.  I'd never seen anyone make it before so this was a special treat for me.  They pull the cabbage to shreds while they're mixing it with the spices and vinegar.  Pretty cool!



This salmon dish was really delicious. It was a nice change of pace from our usual lemon juice and garlic salt preparation.  It was just a little bit spicy from the sambal oelek and was sweetened by the sherry and sugar.  The ginger, garlic, and soy sauce rounded out the traditional Asian flavors.  In Korean tradition, I served a side of the freshly made kimchi along with our meal, which was spicy and pungent.  My favorite!  I especially liked the bed of bok choy and mushrooms under the salmon.  Stay tuned for the final component of the meal!



Bulgogi-Style Salmon with Bok Choy and Shitake Mushrooms
slightly adapted from WeHeartFood

Ingredients
3 large garlic cloves, peeled, divided
1/3 cup chopped green onions
1/4 cup low-sodium soy sauce
1 tbsp cooking sherry (Chinese rice wine would work, too)
2 tsp minced fresh ginger, divided
2 tsp sugar
1 tsp sesame oil
2 tsp chili-garlic sauce (sambal oelek)
2 salmon fillets, 0.5-1 lb each
1 tbsp olive oil (or chili-infused olive oil)
1 bunch bok choy, bottoms removed and cut crosswise into 1/2-inch-wide strips
8 oz fresh shiitake mushrooms, sliced

Instructions
1. Preheat the oven to 500 degrees F.
2. Combine 2 of the garlic cloves (I broke them up slightly but didn't bother mincing), green onions, soy sauce, sherry, 1 tsp of ginger, sugar, sesame oil, and chili-garlic sauce.  Blend using either your immersion blender or food processor until smooth to create your marinade.
3. Place the salmon in a glass baking dish.  Pour the marinade evenly over the salmon fillets and allow to marinate for at least 5 minutes.  Bake for 8 to 12 minutes, or until the salmon is just opaque at the center.
4. Meanwhile, place the olive in a wok and heat over medium high heat.  Add the remaining clove of garlic, minced, and 1 tsp of ginger to the oil and heat until fragrant.
5. Add the bok choy and mushrooms and saute until the mushrooms are soft and the bok choy is wilted.
6. Serve the salmon over a bed of bok choy and mushrooms.

Salmon with Cherry Sauce

There has been a theme lately on cooking shows and in cooking magazines - making a restaurant-style meal at home.  The Chew and Simple & Delicious both featured some amazing meals you can make at home with ease that would be as elegant as going out to an expensive restaurant.  The Monkey Scientist and I frequently try to save money by eating at home, and it's nice every once in a while to splurge a little bit more on an upscale dinner at home.



Even though this is one of the more expensive meals I make, it's still about a quarter of the price of getting a similar meal in a restaurant!  Salmon can be expensive, especially if you live in the middle of the country, but we waited and it went on sale for $6.99/lb which made it about the same price as the meats we usually make.  I estimate 1/2 lb per person, so for the 2 of us I bought just under a pound of fish.  The only other expensive ingredient is the cherry preserve.  I recommend a high quality preserve like Bonne Maman (it has been on sale 2/$7 at Giant lately), but if you'd like to make your own from fresh cherries this summer (especially if you're a Michigander), I bet it would be even better!



The best part is how quickly and easily this meal comes together.  I've actually made it twice in the last couple weeks (that's how good it is).  Each time we started cooking after 7 and were still able to eat before 8!  I'd estimate the total prep and cooking time around a half hour.  That's it! It's even quicker than going out to eat.  Even the busiest mom can find time to delight and impress your family with this meal.



I like to serve this recipe over my favorite creamy polenta.  I have a wonderful recipe I'll share with you later this week!  Usually I only make polenta with red meat, but it complements the salmon fabulously.  The cherry sauce mixes with the polenta to make it tangy and sweet.  Polenta is incredibly easy and inexpensive to make, but, if you prefer, you can serve this with roasted root vegetables or potatoes instead.



The key to making this feel like a fancy meal out is making this meal look as good as it tastes.  When you plate it for everyone, it's very impressive looking.  There are beautiful colors - pink salmon, yellow polenta, and dark purple cherry sauce.  A friend was over the first time we made this and she was so impressed that in such a short period of time we put together a plate that looked so delicious.  The next time you have a few friends over for dinner, they will be very impressed if you bring this to the table.  If you wanted to add a vegetable, roasted asparagus would complement this dish very well and add a bit of green.



My review of this recipe is, of course, is that it is wonderfully delicious.  The mild salmon is complemented well by the sweet and tart cherry sauce.  If you serve it with polenta, the soft and creamy texture works well with the flaky salmon.  Salmon is one of the healthiest foods on the planet - high in omega-3 fatty acids, vitamin D and selenium - so you can feel good about eating this meal, too.  This week, give your family a high quality, ultra delicious and healthy meal - at home!



Salmon with Cherry Sauce
from Emeril

Ingredients
4 Salmon fillets, skin-on, 6 ounces each, scaled and scored
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 teaspoons sugar
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 tablespoons minced shallots
Pinch crushed red peppers (we use about a teaspoon)
1/2 cup dry white wine
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1/4 cup cherry preserve (I like Bonne Maman best)
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 cup chicken stock

Instructions
1. Preheat a large sauté pan or cast iron skillet with the olive oil over medium to medium high heat. Season one side of the fillets with half of the salt, pepper and sugar; flip them over and season the other side with the remaining seasonings.
2. Place the salmon in the pan, skin side down, and cook until it is nicely browned and caramelized, 3 minutes. Flip over and cook on the other side for 1 to 1 1/2 minutes. Remove from the pan and store in a low temperature oven (175-200 degrees F is fine) to keep warm, skin side up.
3. Using the same pan, add the shallots and crushed red pepper and saute, stirring, until just tender, 15 to 20 seconds.
4. Add the wine, red wine vinegar and cook until it is almost completely evaporated, 30 seconds.
5. Add the chicken stock and cherry preserve, stir to incorporate and let it simmer to slightly reduce it, 1 minute.
6. Stir in the butter and remove the pan from the heat.
7. Plate the salmon fillets and spoon the cherry sauce on top.  Serve over polenta or roasted vegetables.

Salmon and Veggies in a Parchment Packet

This recipe is something you can find all over the web.  It's an easy dinner to throw together any night of the week very quickly! And it has loads of nutrients while staying low fat and low carb.

I love the heart shaped packet. I think it's just adorable!

After using Cavender's Greek Seasoning for my chicken souvlaki, I couldn't wait to use it again! It was fantastic and easy in this recipe - I didn't even need any other seasoning!

I really should have sprung for the wild caught salmon, but it was a little more expensive and it really didn't look very good at my market.  Still, if you care about sustainability, I recommend going that route.

Overall, we loved this meal. It was so simple and absolutely delicious! I meant to serve it with Israeli Cous Cous, but I forgot to make it.  Still, this was plenty for us when we just wanted a simple dinner.  Feel free to mix up the type of fish or veggies - it would work with anything! Next time I might try a spicy version with cayenne!

Salmon and Veggies in a Parchment Packet

serves 2

Ingredients:

1 zucchini, sliced

1 summer squash, sliced

1 small Japanese eggplant, sliced

1/4 Vidalia onion, sliced

1 bell pepper (I used orange), sliced

2 pieces of salmon

parchment paper

fresh squeezed lemon juice

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Cut parchment paper in 2 large hearts (big enough to hold half the veggies and a pieces of salmon), then fold in half. 

Place half of the veggies on each piece of parchment. Sprinkle with greek seasoning.

Place the piece of salmon on top and season with greek seasoning.  Drizzle everything with olive oil. 

Close the parchment packet and seal the edges. Bake 20 minutes or until fish is fully cooked and flakes with a fork.

Open packets and squeeze lemon juice over the top of each piece of salmon/veggies.  

Serve immediately.

Mango Habanero Glazed Salmon

I'm back!  I'm sorry, I know it's been a while.  I've missed you!  I was traveling quite a bit last week and just wasn't able to find the time to cook or blog.  However one of my stops on my trip up the east coast was at home in NH - so I did get the chance to make a meal in Mom's amazing kitchen.

When I got home to the Lake, Dad was out fishing on the dock.  Although we threw back his catches, he inspired me to make fish for dinner.

A couple weeks ago, I came downstairs to see the Monkey Scientist about to cut his hand in half trying to open a mango.  I taught him how I do it - do you want to know too?  This is my trick - I cut the cheeks off of the mango (avoiding the oblong pit in the middle).  Then I use my knife to draw lines horizontally and vertically through each cheek, being careful not to pierce the skin.  Then I invert the cheek and carefully cut off each little cube.  It's super easy!

Shortly after our mango lesson, I found this recipe on one of our favorite blogs.  Remember when I made those awesome Stuffed Peppers? Those were adapted from Cara's recipe - so I knew I could trust her.

 

Now, I love some heat.  I decided to double the habaneros in this recipe.  I should warn you - this salsa/glaze was HOT!  Mom and Dad found it a little too hot, although I enjoyed the kick.

I had never roasted mango before.  It was a nice and different way to enjoy mango.  I really enjoyed it!

At the Lake, grilling is our number one way of cooking.  It allows Dad to help and also we can be outside and enjoy the lovely weather.  So instead of baking the salmon, we threw it on the grill.  It added a little smoky flavor, which was perfect with the roasted mango.

Overall, I loved this recipe.  Unless you really love a kick, I'd keep it at only one habanero pepper.  The sweet and spicy glaze went wonderfully with the salty, well seasoned salmon.  We served it up with roasted asparagus and cauliflower for an easy and delicious dinner.

Mango-Habanero Glazed Roasted Salmon
from Cara's Cravings

Ingredients
2 wild Alaskan salmon filets, 6-7 ounces each
1/4 cup roasted mango and habanero salsa (see below)
1 tablespoon Trader Joe's Orange Muscat Vinegar, or champagne vinegar
pinch of salt

Instructions
Preheat oven to 375ºF or heat the grill. Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil and spray with cooking spray. Place the salmon filets on the sheet, skin side down. Season with salt and pepper.

Puree the mango salsa and vinegar until almost smooth; season to taste with salt.

Spread the puree evenly over the fish. Bake for 10-12 minutes, or grill until desired doneness is reached

Roasted Mango and Habanero Salsa
from Cara's Cravings

Ingredients
2 mangoes, peeled and diced
1/2 cup chopped onion
2 cloves of garlic, minced
big pinch of salt
1 small habanero pepper
juice from 1/2 of a lime

Instructions
Preheat oven to 425ºF. Arrange the mangoes, onions, and garlic on a baking sheet. Sprinkle with salt, spray with cooking spray, and toss to combine. Roast for 25 minutes, turning once or twice, until the onions are tender.

Meanwhile, roast the pepper over a gas flame or under the broiler until charred on all sides. Allow to cool, then peel, seed, and mince the pepper.

Place the roasted mango mixture in a food processor (I used Mom's Vitamix) with the habanero pepper (start with half of the pepper and add to taste, if desired.) Squeeze the lime juice in and add another big pinch of salt. Pulse to desired consistency.