Salmon trimmings can be a bit tricky to cook. The small size means they can’t withstand too much tossing and stirring. Here’s a smart way to cook them without ruining their texture and without drowning out the salmon’s natural flavor.
Cook’s notes
Three houses down the road from ours live a young married couple who are in the smoked meat business. Aside from smoked beef and pork, they also sell smoked salmon. They order the fish whole but only use the fleshy portions. I think we’re the only ones in the neighborhood who have real love for the fish so they sell the trimmings to us for a song. Sometimes, we even get them for free.
So, this dish was cooked with salmon trimmings. I initially debated whether to stir small pieces of fish into eggs to make an omelette, add them to fried rice or drop them into Japanese miso soup. In the end, I decided to cook them in a mixture of soy sauce, honey and grated ginger, and just a tiny bit of lemon juice. To add dimension to the flavors, I served them topped with aonori and shichimi togarashi.
Topped with what?
Aonori is flaked seaweed called green laver in the English-speaking world. It’s briny, smoky and has bolder flavors than the darker-colored nori that’s used for making sushi.
Shichimi togarashi is a spice blend that contains seven different ingredients including chili, sansho (related to but not the same as Sichuan peppercorns), citrus peel (orange or yuzu), seeds and, occasionally, aonori.
Tip: It is essential that before you toss the salmon with salt, you press the pieces between stacks of paper towels to remove excess moisture. This step ensures that the small pieces of fish start soaking up the sauce as soon as they are spread in the pan rather than releasing water into the sauce.
Salmon trimmings with soy honey ginger sauce
Ingredients
- 1 kilogram salmon trimmings (2.2 pounds) excess water pressed out
- 2 tablespoons rock salt or one tablespoon refined salt
- ¼ cup Japanese soy sauce
- ½ cup honey
- 1 teaspoon grated ginger
- ¼ lemon
To serve and garnish
- cooked rice
- scrambled eggs
- aonori
- shichimi togarashi
Instructions
- Toss the salmon trimmings with the salt.
- Into a large frying pan, pour the soy sauce and honey, then stir in the grated ginger.
- Over medium heat, bring the mixture to a soft boil.
- Spread the salted salmon in the hot sauce and leave to cook for two minutes.
- Stir the salmon and continue cooking with occasional stirring for another two to three minutes or just until done.
- Squeeze the lemon quarter over the salmon then give the fish a quick stir.
- Ladle rice into bowls, arrange scrambled eggs and salmon on top.
- Sprinkle with aonori and shichimi togarashi, and serve immediately.
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