Teriyaki Salmon

The fish pictured here is Australian Ocean Trout served on a classic Japanese wave design fish plate, on a tenugui cloth.

This recipe is easy and delicious, take a little care with the teriyaki, don't have it too hot or it will burn.

4 salmon (or ocean trout) portions, skin on*, about 500g (1 lb) in total
piece daikon, grated (for garnish)*
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup mirin

  To serve: soy sauce, handful snipped chives

1.      Prepare daikon, peel and cut off a chunk of daikon, then grate it finely, gently squeeze out excess moisture, set aside.

2.      Mix soy sauce and mirin together to make a teriyaki sauce, (I do this in a glass measuring jug), then microwave it long enough to heat but not boil.

3.      Heat your griller and line with foil. Brush with the oil.

4.      Place fish on the grill plate, skin side up, and brush with the teriyaki sauce*. Slide it under the grill. Every minute or so, brush a little more teriyaki sauce over the fish. turn it over and cook the other side, brushing with the teriyaki sauce, until it is done. About 5 minutes each side. Fish is done when tested with the point of a sharp knife, it flakes easily.

5.      Serve with a little daikon oroshi (grated white radish), shaped like a little yama (mountain) to garnish, and snipped chives.

6.      To eat, pour a little soy sauce over the daikon oroshi and add it to small bite-sized pieces of the fish that you break off with your chopsticks.

soy sauce, daikon and chives are added while eating 

Variations: If you like ginger add a little freshly grated ginger to the teriyaki sauce, and a tiny bit to the top of the daikon "mountain".
If preferred pan fry skin-on or skin-off fillets in a fry pan, but keep ladling over the juices as it cooks.

*Daikon is called white radish in English and means “large root”. They are sometimes available in Australian supermarkets and farmers markets. Omit if not available or use onion instead. See my previous blog post to learn more about daikon.

*teriyaki tends to burn easily because of the sugar content of the mirin, a little chicken or Japanese stock dashi can be added to the teriyaki sauce help avoid this. Note that this authentic Japanese teriyaki sauce is thin, if you want a thicker glaze add a little cornflour mixed with water to thicken it (over heat) before using. Both the thin and thick style are used in Japan.

*Japanese cook fish with the skin on to keep it moist. If you can’t get “skin on” fish, this recipe will work with fish fillets that have the skin removed.