SALMON TERIYAKI BOWLS

For the teriyaki sauce:

• 1 slice fresh ginger, smashed with a cleaver
• 1/3 cup low sodium soy sauce
• ¼ cup mirin
• ¼ cup sake or rice wine
• 3 tablespoons honey
• 1 teaspoon cornstarch, mixed into a slurry with 1 teaspoon water

Remaining ingredients:

• 4 salmon filets, with skin (4 to 6 ounces each)
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• Fresh ground Zen Chantaburi black pepper to taste
• Pinch of garlic powder
• Wasabi (optional)
• 1 teaspoon vegetable oil
• 6 cups of cooked Japanese short grain rice
• Toasted sesame seeds
• Roasted seaweed sheets

Combine the ingredients for the teriyaki sauce (except the cornstarch slurry) in a small saucepan and set aside.

Rinse and pat the salmon dry with a paper towel.

Rub the salmon with salt, pepper, and garlic powder. If using wasabi, you can take a small dab of wasabi and rub it onto each piece of salmon now (you can also just serve it on the side later).

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Take the saucepan prepared earlier and bring the sauce mixture to a simmer. Stir in the cornstarch slurry, and continue to simmer for 5 minutes, or until the sauce is thick enough to coat a spoon. Turn off the heat.

Add a tablespoon of oil to a cast iron skillet or other thick, oven-proof pan, and place over medium heat. Place the salmon in the pan skin-side down…

Brush with a small amount of teriyaki sauce. Be careful not to let the sauce drip down the sides to the pan; if it does get to the pan, it will burn and become bitter. Sear the salmon for 3 minutes.

Brush a bit more teriyaki sauce onto the salmon and transfer to the preheated oven. After 3 minutes, brush more sauce on the salmon and then again after another 3 minutes.

After a final 2 minutes of baking, remove the salmon from the oven. (The salmon will have been roasting for a total of 8 minutes).

Serve the salmon over rice and drizzle with more teriyaki sauce. Sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds and roasted seaweed.  Enjoy the salmon teriyaki immediately with more teriyaki sauce and wasabi on the side!