Salmon

Salmon ( I cooked this with my eldest grandson – isn’t he gorgeous?)

Soy Ginger Salmon with Mushrooms, Snow Peas and Udon Noodles

I cook the ingredients separately, but them pile them all into the same dish so that it is easy to eat and clean up!

Ingredients:

1lb of Salmon ( i use organic wild salmon – but it is not necessary -since it is more expensive and I reckon about half a pound of salmon per adult helping  since you know that Salmon and Meat reduces in weight once cooked by about 20%. So half a pound will end up being about 6 ounces which is a large but not unreasonable portion.

1 cup of snow peas or regular peas if you cant find snow peas

I packet of Udon Noodles ( any kind of angel hair pasta is fine if you cant find Udon)

1 cup of sliced raw mushrooms any kind

1 Tbsp plus 1 teaspoon Olive Oil

Salt and Pepper to taste

6 Tbsp Low Salt Soy sauce ( or regular if you cant find low sodium)

1 Tbsp of Ground Ginger

OR  you could use a commercially prepared Soy Ginger Salad Dressing or Marinade if you can find one easily

Preparation Time: 10 minutes

Cooking time: 10 minutes

Directions:

1. Put a pot of hot water onto the stove and bring to a boil with a pinch of salt.
2. Salt and pepper the salmon pieces and lay them aside.
3. Mix the ginger and soy sauce with a teaspoon of the olive oil and put half over the salmon.
4. Wash the mushrooms and slice them; clean the stalks off of the snow peas and wash them and set aside.
5. Place the rest of the olive oil in a pan and bring to medium heat – then place the salmon pieces skin side down if they have skin and cook until you see that the cooked part is about 1/3 of the total thickness of the salmon piece then turn it over and do the same on the other side. You may have to turn twice more so that all four sides get seared but do not overcook. Some folks like their salmon more on the rare side – its really up to you – but overcooked fish ( more than about 6-7 minutes) is not as tasty. Remove the salmon from the pan and put it into a small casserole or serving plate with some depth.
6. Place the mushrooms into the pan with all the salmon juices and cook them until they have reduced to about half their size – then spoon them over the salmon pieces.
7. Now the water should be boiling so place the udon or other noodles into the boiling water – follow the instructions on the packet – normally boil the noodles for about 4-5 minutes until tender ( some folks like them al dente which is not soft all the way through – I don’t).
8. While the noodles are cooking put the snow peas into the frying pan and add the rest of the marinade to what’s left from the salmon and the mushrooms in the pan, and cook them gently so that they are covered with the sauces.
9. Drain the noodles – and let them sit for a minute so that they have no more water dripping off them, then pour them over the Salmon Mushroom mixture.
10. Now add the snow peas with their delicious sauce on top of that. Mix the sauce and snow peas with the noodles and mushrooms that are on top of the salmon gently with a fork lifting the noodles up and down a bit, but not mixing the salmon along with it.
11. Serve making sure that each serving has the salmon on the bottom the snow peas, udon and mushroom mixture on the side and garnish with one snow pea on top of the salmon for effect.
12. If you cant eat right away – this can be refrigerated and reheated gently the next day. This works for leftovers – so it may be a good idea ( depending on the size of your family and your budget – to double the recipe).