Soy Ginger Salmon with Rice & Broccoli

Warm days are coming. And boy, do we need it. Because while many of us are still practicing stay-at-home or safer-at-home, the outdoors are a welcome breath of literal fresh air. Why not take advantage of the sunny days to come and also cook outside? And if you can—if you also have a picnic table, or even just an accommodating step, eat outside, too.

This salmon: smothered in a salty-umami-sweet-sticky sauce, is served over rice with a side of grilled broccoli. It couldn’t be more simple. But a good fillet of salmon doesn’t need much to shine, and this sauce—well, you’ll want to make some extra. Drizzle it over the broccoli for an extra pop of flavor there, too.

Soy Ginger Salmon with Rice & Broccoli

Published May 12, 2020 by Caitlin Sherwood

Serves: 4   |    Active Time: 30 minutes

---

Ingredients:

1/4 cup soy sauce

2 tablespoon maple syrup

1/2 teaspoon corn starch

1 teaspoon Sriracha

1 clove garlic, finely grated (on a microplane)

4 quarter-sized sliced of fresh ginger

4 four-ounce pieces of salmon

1 head of broccoli, roughly chopped into large pieces

2 tablespoons cooking oil, such as avocado or olive

Generous pinch of salt

2-3 cups rice, cooked

3 green onions, sliced

2 toasted sesame seeds

Directions:

1. In a small sauce pan, whisk together soy sauce, maple syrup, corn starch, Sriracha, and finely grated garlic. Place on stove over medium heat. Add ginger coins, and bring to a simmer. As the sauce bubbles, it will thicken. Cook sauce, stirring frequently, until it is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon well. Remove from heat, and use a fork or spoon to remove and discard the ginger coins.
2. Heat grill to about 450°F.
3. While grill heats, toss the broccoli with the cooking oil to coat, and season with a generous pinch of salt.
4. Use a brush to coat the top of the salmon with about half of the soy sauce mixture. Using tongs, place salmon on pre-heated grill, skin-side down, along with broccoli
5. Turn flame down to medium, and close lid, cooking the salmon for 6-8 minutes.
6. Using tongs, turn broccoli to the second side. Then, brush the salmon with remaining soy sauce mixture, and close grill lid again, cooking for another 4-5 minutes, or until internal temperature of salmon reaches 130°F, easily flakes, and is opaque in the center. Transfer to a plate and allow to rest for 1-2 minutes.
7. While the salmon and broccoli cook, prepare rice according to your preferences.
8. Divide rice among serving plates. Top with salmon and broccoli. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and green onions. Serve.

Wontons in Gingery Broth

Happy New Year! We do not have any New Year’s Eve (or day) traditions, though I’d like to make this soup a repeating occurrence.

For many, cooking is purely functional—a thing you do so you can eat. If you’re in that boat, this soup might seem like far too much work, as it asks you to make not just the soup base but also the wontons. For me, cooking an activity in itself, almost—if not more—as enjoyable than the eating. If you’re a let’s-cook-something-interesting DIY-type, this recipe is right up your alley. I admit to one shortcut that I always take: buying wonton wrapper dough. You can find wonton wrappers in the freezer aisle of most Asian Markets (try H Mart or Pacific Ocean).

Making little wontons is fun (they’re cute!) and the soup is fantastic. Any day off from work (even just a standard Sunday) is perfect for this recipe.

Wontons in Gingery Broth

Published January 7, 2020 by Caitlin Sherwood

Serves: 6   |    Active Time: 70 minutes

---

Ingredients:

For the Broth:

8 cups chicken broth

2 green onions, roots and white parts removed

1 inch of ginger, cut into thin slices (coin shapes)

3 cloves garlic

For the Wontons:

1/2 pound ground chicken, turkey or pork

2 green onions, roots and dark green parts removed, then minced

1 inch ginger, grated on microplane

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/8 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoon sesame oil

2 tablespoons soy sauce

1/16 teaspoon ground black pepper

1 package (30-40 count) soup wonton wrappers, thawed (you can find these frozen at most Asian Markets)

For the Soup:

1 cup snow peas

1 cup shiitake mushrooms

1 carrot, cut into matchsticks

Salt, to taste

For garnish: 2 green onions, sliced

For garnish: 1-2 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds for garnish

For garnish: Red chili flakes

Directions:

1. Prepare the wonton filling: In a medium-sized mixing bowl, combine ground chicken with the minced green onion, garlic, and grated ginger. Add salt, sesame oil, soy sauce, and ground black pepper. Mix until ingredients are well distributed.
2. Assemble wontons: Prepare your work station by setting up a clean work surface (I use my counter, you can also use piece of parchment paper), and filling a medium-sized bowl with 2 cups of cold water (this will be used for sealing wontons). Working in batches, lay several wonton wrappers out flat on your work surface. Scoop 1 teaspoon of filling into center of wonton wrappers. Be careful not to overfill the wontons, as they will not seal properly. Using a finger dipped in your bowl of cold water, lightly dampen the edges of the wonton wrapper. You need just enough water to get the dough to stick. Now, fold the wontons (see image above as reference): Fold the bottom right corner up to meet the top left corner, creating a triangle. Press the edges with your fingers to seal the wonton. Then, fold the top-right corner of the triangle into the middle of the wonton, followed by the bottom-left corner, using a drop of water to make them stick. Place wontons in a large container with lid (ie., a pyrex or Tupperware). Repeat this step until the wonton filling is all used up. Place lid on container, and set in fridge until ready to use (Can be made in advance and refrigerated for up to 3 hours).
3. Prepare the gingery broth: Pour broth into a large soup pot. Add green onions, ginger slices, and whole garlic cloves. Cover, and bring to a simmer for 15-20 minutes to develop flavor. Then, using a slotted spoon, remove garlic, ginger, and green onions from broth and discard.
4. Assemble soup: Slice the shiitake mushrooms, and remove and discarding the stems. Place mushrooms in the soup and bring to a simmer. Cook for 1-2 minutes. Add the carrots, and then working one at at time, carefully lower the wontons into the soup with a slotted spoon. Gently stir occasionally to prevent the wontons from sticking to the bottom of the pot. Once all wontons are in, bring the soup back to a gentle simmer and cook for another 2 minutes, until wontons have floated to the top. Add snow peas to the soup, stirring gently. Cook for 1 more minute, until snow peas are bright green and tender. Taste broth, and season with salt as needed. Remove pot from heat.
5. Serve: Label soup into bowls, and top with sliced green onions, toasted sesame seeds, and red chili flakes to taste. Enjoy hot!

Restaurant-Inspired Instant Pot Chicken & Split Pea Korma

Two months ago, my mom and I made a trip to Washington D.C. We stayed in an Airbnb in the Adams Morgan neighborhood, which we discovered is the perfect location for finding amazing restaurants. The first night, after flying in, we wandered straight to Lapis, an Afghan Bistro. My mom ordered chicken korma with split peas. After one bite, it was all I could think of the rest of the week. I got home that very night and Googled the dish name, but came up short. Days later you could find me translating “chicken korma” to Pashto and then Googling that. My searches were unfruitful yet relentless. Slowly I pulled a few pieces together:

First, that you can’t skip the garam masala. Please don’t skip it.

Second, that Sun Brands makes a dang good curry powder.

And third, that “korma” actually is a very generic term—but I did my best to recreate that dish from Lapis. The result is one of my favorite Indian Curries I’ve made yet.

P.S., We also ate at Tail Up Goat, Line Hotel Restaurant, and Blüprint Chocolatiers. All are highly recommended, but something about that korma outshined the rest. It was a (wonderful) weekend of wining and dining, to say the least.

Restaurant-Inspired Instant Pot Chicken & Split Pea Korma

Published November 5, 2019 by Caitlin Sherwood

Serves: 6   |    Active Time: 45 minutes

---

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons butter

1 yellow onion, diced

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 inch fresh ginger, minced

1 jalapeño, minced

3 tablespoons tomato paste

1 sixteen ounce can of diced tomatoes

1 tablespoon garam masala

2 tablespoons Madras curry (try Sun Brands)

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

1 cup yellow split peas

1 pound boneless skinless chicken thighs

2 1/2 cups broth

Salt

To serve: cooked Batsmati rice, cilantro for garnish, plain yogurt

Directions:

1. Place butter in Instant Pot and set on Sauté setting. When butter is melted and hot, add onions, garlic, and ginger. Add a pinch of salt. Sauté until onions turn translucent.
2. Add minced jalapeño to the pot, and stir. Add tomato paste, and stir again. Cook for 3-5 minutes, to develop the flavors, stirring occasionally.
3. Add canned tomatoes, garam masala, Madras curry powder, and black pepper. Stir, and cook for 2-3 more minutes.
4. Add chicken thighs and split peas to the pot, and pour in the broth. Add an additional pinch of salt. Stir.
5. Place lid on Instant Pot and switch to “Bean/Chili” setting. Set timer to 16 minutes, with the vent set in the sealed position.
6. When timer goes off, release the pressure. Remove the lid, and stir. Add additional salt to taste as needed (amount will largely depend on the broth you use).
7. Serve korma over rice, garnished with cilantro. Top with a dollop of yogurt. Serve hot.