For my dinner party I wanted to start with a fish course; I like Asian flavors for salmon, so I created a sesame-soy marinade with a little bit of sriracha for heat. While the salmon lay soaking up those wonderful flavors, I put together an accompaniment for the plate. I wanted something with crunch and texture to help offset the softness of the salmon, so I decided to make brown rice cakes that I pan fried until they were nice and crispy. I should have made more–they were the hit of the night!
Sesame-Soy Salmon
Ingredients:
1 Tbsp soy sauce
2 Tbsp rice vinegar (I used garlic flavored)
1 tsp toasted sesame oil
1 Tbsp toasted sesame seeds
1 tsp agave, honey or brown sugar
1/2 tsp sriracha (more if you like it spicy)
1.5 lbs salmon, cut into individual portions
Directions:
- In a large ziploc bag, mix together soy sauce, vinegar, oil, sesame seeds, agave and sriracha. Add salmon and marinate for at least 1 hour.
- Remove salmon from marinade, place on baking sheet and bake uncovered at 400 degrees for 6-8 minutes or until cooked through.
Crispy Brown Rice Cakes
Ingredients:
1/2 tsp sesame oil
2 tsp vegetable oil
2 garlic cloves, finely minced
5 cremini mushrooms, finely chopped
1 carrot, finely grated
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup cooked brown rice
1 egg
oil for frying (I used vegetable)
Directions:
- Heat oils in deep saute pan and cook garlic over medium-low heat until browned, 5-6 minutes. Add mushrooms and carrots and cook 5-6 minutes until soft. Remove from heat.
- Combine mushroom mixture with cooked brown rice and salt. Allow to cool (you don’t want to scramble the egg). Add egg and stir until evenly mixed.
- Heat 1/4 inch of oil in saute pan.
- Divide rice mixture into balls about the size of a ping pong ball (I made 15 or so), then flatten into thick patties. When oil is hot, fry patties 2-3 minutes on each side until golden brown and crispy.
The cost:
salmon: 9.16
rice: 2.99
carrots: .99
cremini mushrooms: 1.99
other ingredients: <1.00
Grand total: $16.13; serves 8-9 as an appetizer