Man, 2012 has not been a fruitful year for my blog so far. Work is time-consuming, and I got so many lovely cooking things for Christmas that I've barely been able to break in. But here we are! I've got a refreshing day off and I knew I had to write up last night's dinner.
I haven't ventured far into Asian cuisine in my kitchen. In fact, I'd say this is the farthest I've gone--but I can't wait to try more. I'm a big fan of making sauces and dressings from scratch, and these dishes offer plenty opportunities to flex my love.
Onto the recipe! I began by whisking together ketchup, brown sugar, lime juice, teriyaki sauce, and sesame oil into an aromatically nutty concoction.
I set the dressing aside and went to work on prepping my salmon. First I patted the filets dry and rubbed them with brown sugar. In a small bowl, I combined tahini sauce, soy sauce, Dijon mustard, and rice vinegar. Then I brushed the mixture all over the salmon.
I heated my grill pan to medium-high and drizzled it with oil. Once the oil was hot but not smoking, I slapped on the fish. I cooked it for five minutes on each side, rotating the salmon halfway through to achieve aesthetically pleasing cross-hatches.
Meanwhile, Andy chopped the cucumber and cilantro, because he is a much more methodical chopper than I am. How I loathe to finely dice ingredients. I think I'm going to invent shatterable onions, where you can slam them down on the counter and they explode like ice. Voila! There's your mince.
Anyway! Andy combined the mixed greens, carrots, and cucumbers in a large salad bowl. I tore the salmon into chunks. Then we each constructed our salads on the plate. First pulling from the large salad bowl, then sprinkling on the slivered almonds and raw noodles, then topping the salad with salmon chunks and drizzled dressing. Very flavorful and somewhat healthy!
Asian Salmon Salad
Serves 2-3
For the salmon:
2 6-oz salmon fillets
3 tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons tahini
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
For the dressing (adapted from AllRecipes):
1/4 cup ketchup
3 tablespoons teriyaki sauce
2 tablespoons lime juice
2 tablespoons sesame oil
2 tablespoons brown sugar
For the salad:
5 cups mixed greens
1 cup raw chow mein noodles
1 1/2 cups carrots, shredded
1 cup cucumber, chopped
1/4 cup cilantro, finely chopped
