Miso Salmon, Soba Noodles and Salad

, from Issue #21. September, 2015
Photography by Nick Tresidder.
Miso Salmon, Soba Noodles and Salad

Enhance this platter with the addition of some purchased sushi and the usual accompaniments of soy, wasabi, pickled ginger, togashimi* and lemon wedges.

Serves: 4

INGREDIENTS

4 x 150 gram fillets of salmon, skin on
1 packet soba noodles
1 teaspoon sesame oil
2 teaspoons each black and white sesame seeds, toasted

Marinade
4 tablespoons white miso
4 tablespoons mirin**
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
1 teaspoon sesame oil

Salad
3 cups finely sliced white cabbage
2 spring onions, finely sliced
1 1⁄2 cups edamame beans***, cooked
1⁄2 cup roughly chopped coriander
4 tablespoons vegetable oil
4 tablespoons rice vinegar
1 teaspoon sugar
2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger
sea salt and freshly ground pepper

METHOD

Marinade: Whisk all the ingredients together. Place the salmon in a shallow dish and pour over the marinade, turning to coat all sides. Cover and refrigerate for up to 2 hours.

Noodles: Cook in boiling salted water until al dente. Drain well and toss with sesame oil then the sesame seeds.

Heat a little vegetable oil in a sauté pan over medium heat. Miso will catch and burn if the heat is too high. Take the salmon out of the marinade and place flesh side down in the pan. Cook for 2-3 minutes then gently turn over and cook until done to your liking.

Salad: Whisk the oil, vinegar, sugar and ginger together and season. Combine the remaining ingredients in a large bowl and toss with the dressing.

To serve: Put the noodles on a serving platter and top with the salmon. Place the salad in a bowl alongside. 

* Togashimi: a Japanese spice mix available from Asian food stores.

** Mirin: a sweet Japanese rice wine commonly used in teriyaki sauces. Available from Asian food stores.

*** Edamame beans can be bought frozen from Asian supermarkets. They come either podded or in their shells and are sometimes labelled as soy meat. Use podded beans for this recipe.