About the Recipe

Sticky salmon teriyaki, still pink in the centre is hands down my weak spot when it comes to fish. I heard quite a few opinions that bright flavoured sauces overwhelm the fish itself and such meals are therefore eaten by those people, who don’t really appreciate fish. Writing this recipe, I tried to figure out how is it in my case. I am a big fan of quality sashimi, I love ceviches, I often bake fish whole and am not afraid of preparing or filleting it myself. Yet salmon teriyaki still remains one of my favourite fish dishes. I simply think these flavours go together really well. And if you don’t overcook the salmon, you do, in fact, preserve its flavour and aroma and can then enjoy the balance of fatty fish with the mild sweetness of homemade teriyaki.

Preparing teriyaki sauce at home is not complicated, especially after the first attempt. Good news is that you probably won’t even need to buy any new products than what you already have at home (assuming you do like to cook). The main reason why I suggest making it yourself is that you eliminate all dodgy ingredients (such as preservatives or flavour enhancers) and can adjust the level of sweetness or acidity to your needs. If I can easily make something at home, I always go for homemade.

Things You Need for Homemade Teriyaki

• soy sauce (or tamari soy sauce for GF version)
• sweetener – maple syrup or unrefined brown sugar
• vinegar – ideally rice vinegar, but apple or white wine vinegars can be used instead
• garlic powder
• corn starch (tapioca flour can be used instead, however it will give the sauce more of a jelly consistency)
• 10 minutes of your precious time
• you can make the sauce on its own in a saucepan or cook something together with the sauce ingredients and watch it thicken as you cook.

Instructions

Wash rice under cold sunning water until it turns clear. Cook in lightly salted water or add a bit of broth to flavour rice when cooking.

Check if there are no scales on the skin of the salmon. If so, remove with a knife. Mix all of the sauce ingredients except for the corn starch. In a small bowl, mix cornstarch with a few tablespoons of sauce to even consistency – this step is very important to prevent cornstarch from forming lumps. Mix sauce ingredients with the cornstarch mixture. Pour it over the salmon fillet.

Wash vegetables. Cut cucumber into thin slices. Cut Brussels sprouts in half.

Heat a large pan (ideally, heavy bottomed). Add 2 tablespoons of olive oil then add Brussels sprouts. Pan fry until lightly browned, pour some broth or water on top and cover with a lid. Sauté for 10 minutes until Brussels sprouts soften. Remove lid and let them brown once more. Season with salt to taste.

Heat a large pan (ideally, heavy bottomed) or use the same pan you just cooked Brussels in. Pour some sesame oil in and add salmon skin down. Cook on medium high heat until the skin becomes crunchy then flip over. Sear for 2 minutes. Pour in the teriyaki sauce – it will start to thicken as you cook. Cook salmon on medium heat for another 5 minutes (its centre will remain slightly pink), basting it with the sauce. If you wish for the fish to be cooked through, leave it on the stove for longer. You can check the level of doneness by pushing a fork towards the centre – if you feel resistance and it doesn’t easily break apart, the centre is still slightly raw.

Build your bowls: add rice, top with Brussels sprouts, cucumbers, salmon. Pour any leftover sauce from the frying pan on top of the salmon then drizzle it with lime juice. Drizzle some sesame oil over the cucumbers. Sprinkle some sesame seeds and chilli flakes on top.