12.05.2007

A LITTLE CRISPY





Salmon two days in a row? I know. I know. Pretty excessive but sometimes when we're working late, it's hard to pick up anything but fish from Fish Tales. They're open later.

Anyway, I won't dwell on the logistics of dinner and I'll cut to the chase. We'd done a crispy panko salmon back in September and I'd claimed then we'd make this again very soon. What a liar I am! It's December and I'm just now getting to it. And it's not even the same recipe!

But it was a good one. And it's a variation on that dinner we had back in September.

We started with miso soup. This was my virgin experience with miso but after mixing up a batch, I realize I had no reason to be concerned. It's the easiest soup in the world to make:
- water
- miso
- swiss chard
- green onion

I forgot two key ingredients when I was at the store - seaweed and tofu. In the end, the swiss chard was an OK replacement for the seaweed. I missed the tofu. But oh well. And I need the lighter miso. We have the dark kind. Not as good for soup. But still ... not bad. I'll refine this one.

Our main course was the previously mentioned salmon:
- salmon (baked with panko, honey, mustard, soy sauce and red pepper flakes)
- swiss chard
- garlic
- olive oil
- oyster sauce
- hoisin sauce
- red onion

The salmon was crispy and cooked just right in the center. The coating with the mustard and honey gave it a sweet flavor with a subtle bite from pepper flakes. It's just one of those perfect flavor combos. The hoisin was mostly a garnish, but it was a nice addition. The raw red onion had mostly the same mission. But it too ended up packing a big flavor punch that made the dish a better one.

The swiss chard was packed with garlic and the oyster sauce gave it a nice finish.

Meena and I agreed. We WILL make this one again soon. We promise this time.

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