Steamed salmon in ginger broth

Our good friends, Anne & David from Manly finally buckled under the pressure and swapped their built in microwave for a steam oven.  They love it!  In order to prove to me just how much they love it they invited us for a lovely lunch where everything was not only cooked in the steam oven but was also delicious!

The main course was “Steamed Atlantic salmon with spring onions and coriander”, a recipe from Chong Liew.  I have adapted the original recipe a little to what Anne did for the lunch, the flavours were brilliant so I haven’t altered the ingredients a lot but played up the ‘broth’ aspect of the recipe with an Asian and ginger flavours.  Anne served it with my Chicken rice recipe that you can find here and green beans which I would also recommend.  You can also just serve it with plain Steamed rice.

Light but flavoursome, a perfect lunch!

Ingredients: Serves 4

Broth:
2 cups salt reduced chicken stock – better to make your own with no salt here
4 slices ginger
4 coriander roots and stems, sliced in half lengthways
1 garlic clove, peeled and halved

1tbsp shaosing Chinese cooking wine
1 clove garlic, crushed
2tsp grated ginger
4 spring onions, finely sliced with white and green parts separated
1-2tbsp Chinese light soy sauce or salt reduced light soy.  Add half then taste.
2tsp sugar
1/4 – 1/2 tsp sesame oil to taste
fresh coriander and green parts of spring onion & red chilli slices to serve

Method:

1. Skin and bone salmon if required
2. Simmer broth ingredients for 15 minutes on low heat, strain to remove solids and add 2tsp of the shaosing wine, soy, sugar and sesame oil. Stir to dissolve sugar and set aside.  Be careful with adding the soy as you don’t want it too salty.
3. Mix remainder of the Chinese cooking wine with the extra grated ginger and garlic
4. Spread over the salmon fillets in the perforated steamer tray which has been lined with baking paper and set aside at room temperature for 10 minutes. Top with the white part of the spring onion.
5. Steam @ 95°C for 3-5 minutes depending on the size of the fillets and the way you like it cooked.
6. Plate salmon onto individual shallow bowls.  Top with coriander, green parts of the spring onion and a few chilli slices.  Pour over boiling stock mixture.
7. Serve with the Chicken rice that has been cooking in the steam oven before the salmon and some green beans or Asian vegetables.  I would suggest you start the rice for 12 minutes before reducing the temperature to 95° for the fish.  The vegetables will only take 2 minutes so they can be added with the fish.