Broiled Miso-Citrus Salmon

I got this recipe from Ming Tsai's Simply Ming. Ordinarily, I am not a big fan of fusion food, but this was really tasty. I made Umeboshi Rice with it as a side, but the color didn't come out very pretty.








Ingredients
4 salmon fillets (5-8 oz), cleaned and deboned
2.5 cups Miso-Citrus Marinade
Freshly ground black pepper
1 plastic bag

Directions
We get a CSA (community supported agriculture) once every two weeks, and they pack all of our lovely vegetables and fruits in these big plastic bags. Instead of throwing them away, I usually keep them for purposes like this! If you don't have a large plastic bag, a ziplock bag will do in a pinch.

Pour 1/2 a cup of the marinade into a separate bowl and set aside. This will be your glaze after the fish is done. Pour the remaining marinade in the bag and gently add the fish. Take out most of the air and tie off the bag. Place in a bowl to prevent contamination from dripping, and refrigerate for 4 hours.







Place a rack in the center of the oven. Place a heavy baking sheet or cookie sheet lined with aluminum foil on the sheet. Place the sheet under the broiler and turn the temperature to broil. When the tray is very hot, remove it and spray with olive or vegetable oil. Do not turn off the broiler.

Remove the salmon from the marinade. Throw the marinade away. Place it on the aluminum foil, flesh side facing up. Pat dry. Lightly season with pepper. Gently flip the salmon and place it skin side up on the tray. Broil for 6-8 minutes, or until medium rare.

Be sure not to burn or char the skin, like I did! If the skin starts to char, lower the oven rack by one notch. It still tasted good!

Serve with the reserve marinade and Umeboshi rice.

Yaki Miso Nasu (Grilled Eggplant with Sweet Miso Sauce)

When I was living in Japan, I started the study of Aikido, a Japanese martial art. Back in those days, I had lots of time, and lots of energy. I worked half a day on Fridays, so I would go to the dojo and practice from 2-10! now that I think about it, it was pretty crazy.

My Friday routine continued after Aikido practice. I would go to the local izakaya (Japanese style pub) with a couple of the guys from my dojo. We would order large nama beer (draft beer) and tebasaki (grilled chicken wings). The local master of the
izakaya would also make special little dishes (kosara). One of those dishes was this dish, Yaki Miso Nasu. 


It is a relatively simple preparation. Make a tare (grilling sauce) of miso, sake, sugar and other spices. Slab it onto the eggplant and grill. Simple and delicious!







Yaki Nasu with Thai Chicken Satay


















Tare (Sauce)
1 Cup Dashi
2 tablespoons Sugar
2 tablespoons Mirin
1/2 cup miso (preferably 1/4 cup red and 1/4 cup white)
2 tsp cornstarch

4 small Japanese eggplants, cut in half lengthwise (you could also use 2 larger Chinese eggplants). I don't suggest you use Italian eggplants, as they retain too much water.
oil for brushing
Sesame seeds for garnish

Wisk all the Tare ingredients together to make the sauce. Heat over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the sauce thickens. Remove from heat.

Slice the eggplants lengthwise. Score with a pairing knife in a criss-cross pattern (This will help the tare absorb more deeply into the flesh)

Fire up the ol' barbe, and brush the eggplants with some oil on the flat side. Also place some oil on the grill. Place the eggplant on the grill, flat side down, for a few minutes until you get some nice grill marks on the eggplants. Flip and give the flat side with a good basting with the tare. and continue to cook until the eggplants get soft, the tops turn a nice brown and carmelize and the flesh is cooked through.

You can also do this with a broiler in your oven if you dont have a bbq. But the traditional slow cook methodology of the coals really make this dish!