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Griddled salmon in suimono with somen noodles
Serves SERVES 4 Starters and mains
Ingredients
- For the dashi stock
- 2 x 12cm x 18cm sheets of kombu seaweed
- 15g dried bonito flakes
For the soup
- 2tbsp Japanese soy sauce
- 1 tbsp mirin (optional)
- 50g dried shiitake mushrooms, soaked in 750ml cold water
- 250g somen noodles (wheat noodles, but you could use brown rice soba noodles)
- 4 x 100g skinless salmon fillets
- 2tsp sunflower oil
- 75g sugar snap peas, sliced lengthways into 3
- 140g exotic mushrooms selection, broken up
- 1 carrot, thinly sliced lengthways and shredded
- 1 x 6cm piece daikon/mouli/ Chinese radish, peeled thinly sliced lengthways and shredded
- 1 x 6cm long piece of cucumber, peeled, deseeded, thinly sliced lengthways and shredded
- 1 green chilli, deseeded and thinly sliced
Method
Make the garnish first. When cooked, the green cabbage leaves resemble crispy seaweed. Heat the oil in a wok and when a little piece of the cabbage sizzles in the oil, turn off the heat and fry the cabbage in batches (it can spit a lot). When it calms down, turn the heat back on and fry for about 1 minute until crispy. Remove with a slotted spoon and place on a tray lined with kitchen paper. This can be made a little ahead of time.
To make the dashi stock, rinse the kombu, break it into pieces and place in a medium pan with 1.25 litres of cold water. Bring to the boil on a medium heat, add the bonito flakes and turn off the heat. Leave covered for 30 minutes. Strain through a fine sieve set over another pan and discard the solids.
Add the soy sauce and mirin, if using, to the stock to make the soup base. Place the shiitake mushrooms in a pan with their soaking liquid and simmer for 20 minutes. Leave to infuse.
Meanwhile, cook the noodles according to the pack instructions and drain. Refresh in cold water and drain again. Toss the salmon in the oil and season.
Heat a griddle pan until it smokes. Turn down the heat a little and griddle the salmon for about 3 minutes, waiting to get golden grill lines on one side. Turn and griddle for 2 minutes more. Transfer to a plate and keep warm.
Add the sugar snaps and exotic mushrooms selection to the soup. Boil for a few minutes. Add the carrot and noodles. Heat through.
To serve, divide the noodles and vegetables between the bowls. Drain the shiitake mushroom liquid into the soup mixture and discard the shiitake. Reheat the soup and ladle into the bowls, then add the daikon or mouli, cucumber and chilli to them. Top each one with a piece of salmon. Place a garnish of the crispy cabbage leaves on top of the fish and eat right away.
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