Salmon To My Rescue.

I'm exhausted. Last week, I felt like I had one of those weeks where it was great one minute but next it turned into crap. It's times like these when I find the most comfort in cooking. It clears my head and forces me to focus on something else. This week more than ever I just needed to cook. What to make though to lighten my spirits? Althought this wasn't the first thing that popped in my mind, but when it did it brought a smile on my face. It must be something sweet right? Nope. Maybe it's a rich and meaty dish I'm craving? Nope. The key to my happiness is salmon! In this post: Miso Gouchijan Salmon with Almond Shredded Napa Cabbage Salad and Miso Shitaki Mushroom Soup.



While salmon is a popular fish and is a staple on many restaurant menus, I don't think it gets much respect. I feel it ends up being the dish you order when you don't know what to get. I hardly order salmon when I go out to eat anymore. It has broken my heart way too many times. It either comes out too dry and flavorless, or smutter in some heavy sauce, or even wrost, rolled up and stuff with some sort of over powering cheese mixture. Whatever it is, it over kills the taste and texture of the fish. Salmon is a simple fish. It just wants to be love and appreciated. There's no need to hide it with flashy sauces or over stuffing.




My favorite method of cooking salmon is in my toaster oven. It's easy and clean up is a breeze. I usually set it between 350 degrees to 400 degrees for about 20 minutes to 30 minutes for a quarter pound fillet. A few summers back I would have salmon at least once a week. Flavored with just lemon juice, kosher salt, black pepper, and served along with a pickled cucumber dill and tomatoes salad, it was the perfect light summer lunch.

Usually I look forward to grocery shopping, but last week I was just feeling very sluggish. I usually do my fresh grocery shopping at the Reading Terminal Market, since it's only a few blocks from where I live. I love this place and all the local vendors, but this time I didn't feel like lingering around the market, picking and inspecting vegetables, or dealing with the crowd. I just wanted to dash in and out, grab my salmon, and head straight home. The only drawback with that is you only get to work with what you have. What to marinate the salmon with? I would have been happy with just kosher salt and black pepper, but a quick look in the fridge reveal a pleasant surprise, miso and gochujang (Korean hot pepper paste).



Miso Kochujang Salmon
Serves 2

Ingredients:
2 quarter pound pieces of salmon
1 tablespoon of miso
1/2 tablespoon of sesame oil
1/2 tablespoon of gochujang (Korean red pepper paste)
1/2 tablespoon of rice wine
1/2 tablespoon of soy sauce


Directions:
Preheat your oven or toaster oven to 375 degrees.

Rinse and pat salmon pieces dry and set aside.

In a bowl, combine miso, sesame oil, gochujang, rice wine, and soy sauce. Adjust the amount of kochujang to your taste.

Spread the mixture all over the salmon pieces, but save about 1 tablespoon of it. Marinate for no less then 30 minutes.

After it marinates, place salmon in the oven skin sided up and spread reserved mixture on top of the skin.

Cook for about 20 to 30 minutes.



I served my salmon with a side of Almond Shredded Napa Cabbage Salad (more on that recipe in the next post , and a simple Miso soup with Shitaki Mushrooms. Next time I would marinate the salmon longer, but since I was short on time I was only able to marinate it for 30 minutes. I was afraid the gochujang might have been too spicy for my taste, but the miso, the soy, and the rice wine mellow it down and it gave a nice kick to the salmon. Definitely would be making this again.





What's your favorite way of cooking salmon?

I miss you too Guangzhou.

So I was getting ready to sleep last night (hmm...maybe more like early in the morning since it was 2am), about to turn off the TV when what do I see on screen, Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmern on the Travel Channel. Not usually a regular viewer of the show but I had to watch it this time. He was visiting my birth city, Guangzhou, China! More on that and my Monday night dinner below.

I was in Guangzhou about 9 years ago and I was also there 6 years before that. Definitely don't remember anything from my first visit, but my second visit is something I will never forget. I visited the house I spent my baby years in, met relatives I never knew I had, took embarrassing "professional" "beauty" pictures, had my grandfather questioning me why my hair was blonde (it was a weird phase I was going through), and of course, got to taste some amazing food. So, I just had to watch this episode of Bizarre Foods, even though I had work in the morning.

Here's a little info on Guangzhou. It's located on the southern part of China in the Guangdong providence. From Hong Kong, you can take a 2 to 3 hour train into the city. It use to be also known as Canton and is the 3rd most populated city in China.

It was really interesting seeing Andrew Zimmern visiting the local markets, talking about the "breath of the wok" (something my aunt and uncle, who recently moved from Guangzhou to the US, points out a lack of when eating certain Chinese restaurant dishes here), and eating sweet potato leaves (easily becoming one of my favorite greens). What got me really drooling was when he ate at the simply named but very popular restaurant called Guangzhou Restaurant. During my stay in Guangzhou, I was eating there close to every other night. This is where I fell in love with eggplant in a dish loosely translated as Eggplant stir-fry with Small Dried Salty Fish. *sigh* For now I guess I have pictures to take me back.

For more info on Bizarre Foods' Guangzhou episode, you can read Andrew Zimmern experience in the city on his blog, post titled Guangzhou: "Cooking Fresh, Local, and Best"
For more info on Guangzhou Restaurant and other places to eat in Guangzhou, check out Bizarre Foods' Guangzhou guide at Food Guide.

On a more happy smiley face note, I had lobster on Monday! For those living in the Philadelphia region, ShopRite had a lobster sale, $5.99 a lb. Not sure if the special is still going on though. This was very good news for my dad who was more then happy to take advantage of this. A few good smacks of ginger, a quick chop of scallions, and less then 30mins later you have Lobster with Ginger and Scallion. A dish you can find in most Chinese restaurant, but its simple enough to make at home. I believe this is really a wok only dish and cooking it in a pan can be a challenge.









Lobsters with Ginger and Scallion

Ingredients

Lobsters - 2 lobsters about 3.25lbs in total weight

Scallions - 3 to 4 stalks

Ginger - 4 to 5 .25inch thick slices

Sugar - 1 teaspoon

Sesame oil - 1 tablesoon

Salt - less then 1 teaspoon

white pepper - less then 1 teaspoon

Cornstarch - about 2 to 3 teaspoons

Water - about 6 tablespoons


Chop the lobster into large pieces.

Smashed the slice ginger and cut the scallions into inch and a half pieces.

In a bowl, mix the cornstarch, water, sugar, salt, sugar, sesame oil, and white pepper together.

In a wok heat about 2 to 3 tablespoons of oil. Once the wok is hot, add the ginger and scallion.

Cook for about a minute and add in the lobster. Stir and cook until almost done.

Add in your cornstarch mixture. Stir and serve when lobster is cook through.

Have you ever travel to Guangzhou or other cities in China before? If yes, what was your experience like? If no, would you want to travel to China and to where?