Salmon

Salmon is a very popular fish in the American cuisine.  You will find it in restaurants and at the home table as well as being sold in most food stores around the country including the big box stores like Costco and other club stores.

In my childhood, my mother used to make fish (mostly mackerel) which was cooked in parchment paper with spices and vegetables. The preparation was easy and the dish was great – very flavorful and the fish very tender and juicy.

So, I thought about that experience and some of the asian dishes cooked in banana leaves or similar fashion and voila – this recipe came about.   It is a nice mix (in my opinion) of strong asian spices and a cooking method that while simple, results in a nice flavor and texture of the fish and the veggies used.

Well, with that preamble, let’s dig into the recipe:

Ingredients:

Vegetables and Spices topping:

• 1 cup dried mushrooms – reconstituted in warm water – usually it takes about 10-15 minutes to get the mushrooms to the right texture and ready to use
• 2 tablespoons minced ginger
• 1 carrot chopped in very small cubes
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 2 springs of green onions chopped
• 3 tablespoons black bean paste – you can find it in the grocery store in the asian food isle or you may have to go to an asian food store;    I use the Lee Kum Kee Black Bean Paste with Garlic (1st of the two shown below) but there are other options as you can see

   ;

Sauce for seasoning the fish

• 3 tablespoons sesame oil
• 3 tablespoon soy sauce
• 3 tablespoons dry cherry
• 1 tablespoon corn starch

Fish

• Salmon – 2 pounds – fillets
• sliced in 3 equal pieces

You need also parchment paper – 4 pieces; each piece is about 8-to-12 inches square – you will use it to make the pouches with the fish and toppings; plus you will need some additional sesame oil to spread on the parchment as you pack with the fish

Mix all the topping ingredients, then place a piece of salmon fillet on the oiled parchment paper and cover with the topping

You will need to cover all the fish with the vegetable and spice mixture and this way the fish will absorb the flavors to the max…

The fish is nicely covered with the toppings and as you see the amount is very generous to ensure good flavor for the fish.  Plus the topping will be nice to eat by itself with some steamed rice anyway

The nicely wrapped fish is baked in a pre-heated at 400F  and bake for about 15-minutes.  If you have not baked this type of preparation before you could use a sharp knife to slice open the package slightly and inspect the fish – to make sure it is cooked.

Well, the last thing left after that is to enjoy the nice meal — The last picture above shows the ready salmon and toppings served over rice.  Some chilled white wine is a nice pairing for this dish.  Enjoy!