Recipe

Asian salmon with stir-fried vegetables and noodles.

This recipe was something that Louisa and her daughter Sophie prepared together in the book ‘Husband, Wife, Strangers’. Sophie’s university studies mean that she is well-versed with salmon, and knows that they are cold-water fish. So, whilst Pacific salmon are found off the north-eastern coasts of Asia, the term ‘Asian salmon’ used here applies to the flavours, rather than the habitats of its star ingredient!

Either way, the dish tastes fabulous. See what Sophie has to say about it:

‘I love this supper, it’s a real treat. The deep flavour of the salmon stands up brilliantly to the aromatic punch of the marinade. But I’m passionate about the oceans and you have to choose your fish wisely, so look for certifications that prove it has been sustainably sourced.’

The preparation of the marinade takes a little time, but can be undertaken in a leisurely manner well ahead of mealtime. Indeed, the salmon is best left to marinade for a good few hours before cooking. The cooking itself is a relatively swift exercise. Perfect for entertaining!

The recipe here is for four persons, but reduce or increase the amounts of ingredients for different numbers of diners.

As regards the salmon, you want the skin on for cooking. It’s up to you whether you eat it or not. It’s great when it’s crispy, but that’s not going to happen with this cooking method. You can use ready-cut fillets or a single larger piece. It could be argued that the latter will cook slightly better, but then it has to be portioned up before serving. Either way, Louisa allows between 120 and 140 grams per person, depending on how hungry everyone is! She’s lucky enough to have a fishmonger in Barnes, where she lives, but supermarket fillets typically weigh around 120 grams.

Louisa insists you should not overcook the salmon – it should be moist in the middle and only just done when it’s served. Don’t be afraid to take it out of the oven and gently check with a knife and fork while it’s cooking. When you think it’s nearly done, turn the oven off and open the oven door. The salmon will finish cooking in the residual heat of the oven.

As for how spicy you like it, Louisa has learned to slice off and taste a tiny bit of the fresh chilli before she starts preparing it. Some chillis can be really hot, others less so.

The marinade is required early on, as the salmon will sit in it, covered, for a good few hours in the fridge. But Louisa prepares everything at the same time – that way it’s all taken care of in one go and the clean-up is much easier!

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Ingredients

The ingredients list might look long, but they are mostly for the marinade!

• 4 salmon fillets, skin on

• 1 red chilli (to taste)

• 1 thumb-sized piece of fresh ginger, skin removed

• 1 pack of fresh coriander, stalks and leaves separated (keep both)

• 3 cloves of garlic

• 1 dessertspoon of lemon grass paste (hunt for it in supermarkets, or an Asian food store. It can be hard to find)

• 1 dessertspoon of lime juice

• 1 dessertspoon of fish sauce

• 1 generous dessertspoon soft brown sugar (use runny honey if you prefer)

• 4 dessertspoons dark soy sauce

• 1 dessertspoon oyster sauce (optional, but great if you have it around)

• 12 medium sized mushrooms

• 1 red pepper

• About 20 small, bite-sized broccoli florets (see Louisa’s tip, below)

• 4 spring onions

• 4 nests medium dried noodles (substitute for straight-to-wok noodles if you prefer)

• Sunflower oil

Method

1. First thing – make up the marinade. You can do this well ahead of time, even the day before if you want! Use a mixing bowl or jug and add:

• ¼ to ½ a red chilli, finely minced

• ½ of the knob of ginger, finely minced

• The coriander stalks, minced

• 1 clove of garlic, crushed into a paste

• 1 dessertspoon of lemon grass paste

• 1 dessertspoon of lime juice

• 1 dessertspoon of fish sauce

• 1 oversized dessertspoon of soft brown sugar

• 4 dessertspoons of dark soy sauce

• 1 dessertspoon of oyster sauce (if you have it)

• 1 dessertspoon of sunflower oil

• A few good grinds of black pepper

Mix all the ingredients together, then set the marinade aside.

2. Four or five hours before you are ready to cook, wipe the salmon fillets and lay them in a dish. Now gently spoon over the marinade, leaving all the bits on top of the salmon. Cover and leave to marinade in the fridge. The photo below shows the prepped salmon fillets (only two in this case, because Louisa was cooking just for Sophie and herself). But don’t forget to halve the marinade, noodles and vegetable ingredients if you are only using two salmon fillets!

3. Now you can prep the vegetables. Again, well ahead of mealtime if it makes life easier!

• Thinly slice the remaining chilli (¼ to ½ a chilli)

• Chop the remaining ginger into matchsticks

• Thinly slice the remaining garlic cloves

Put all these ingredients into one small dish and set aside. Cover them and put them in the fridge if you’re not going to be cooking soon.

4. Clean and slice the spring onions, and set them aside in a little dish. Cover them and put them in the fridge if you’re not going to be cooking soon.

5. Slice the mushrooms and red pepper into bite-sized pieces and put them in a dish with the prepared broccoli florets. Cover them and put them in the fridge if you’re not going to be cooking soon.

6. Separate the coriander leaves and put them in a dish. Cover them and put them in the fridge if you’re not going to be cooking soon.

So, now you have several bowls of ingredients ready to go! And there’s no time pressure at this point, you could be doing this in the morning if you are planning to cook the meal in the evening! You should now have several dishes, all covered and in the fridge unless you are ready to cook:

• Your salmon sitting in its marinade

• A dish with the red pepper, mushrooms and broccoli, all sliced up and ready to go

• A dish with the aromatics– chilli, ginger and garlic

• A dish with the spring onions

• A dish with the coriander leaves

Now you need to decide when you want to eat! Having done so, about twenty minutes before, Louisa would typically pour a glass of wine! Having taken a sip, she would:

7. Take everything out of the fridge and line the dishes up in the order in which they are going to be used (see below). 

8. Put the oven on to 180°C to heat. You’ll be cooking the salmon in there. 

9. Warm some bowls in which to serve the meal (80 to 100°C).

Right, let’s cook the noodles and salmon:

10. Get a pan of water on to boil, and cook your dried noodles. Follow the instructions on the packet, but only cook them for 60% of the fully cooked time. So if the pack says five minutes, cook them for three. And that’s because they’re going to cook some more when you tip them into your wok with the veggies. Once they are done, drain them briefly in a colander and tip them back into the saucepan in which they were cooked. Add a tablespoon of sunflower oil and gently ease them around to make sure they are all coated with oil and won’t stick together. Put the lid on the pan and set it aside.

11. Now remove the salmon fillets from the marinade (but leave all the nice bits on the top of the salmon) and lay them out on a baking tray. It’s a good idea to use baking parchment to stop them sticking. Bake them in the 180°C oven for about 8 minutes. Keep the marinade – you’re going to need it very soon!

12. When the salmon has cooked for around eight minutes, take it out of the oven and check it carefully with a knife and fork. Give it a minute or two more in the oven if it needs it, but once it’s nearly done turn the oven off and open the door. This will finish off the cooking.

Now cook your vegetables as follows:

13. Put two dessertspoons of sunflower oil in a non-stick wok and set it over a high heat. Once it’s good and hot, carefully tip in the red pepper, mushrooms and broccoli. Season and quickly stir-fry for two minutes. Your best plan is to use a non-stick spatula in one hand and a large non-stick spoon in the other!

14. Now add the chilli, garlic and ginger. Turn the heat down to medium. Toss it all around and stir fry for one more minute. Don’t let the garlic stick and burn – it will taste horrible if you do.

15. Now add the marinade. It will sizzle, hiss and smell gorgeous!

16. Now add your noodles and stir-fry for two minutes, before folding in the spring onions and most of the coriander leaves. Keep some coriander back for garnish. 

17. Plate up into the warm bowls, a pair of tongs is best for lifting the noodles out of the wok. Spoon the vegetables over the top. Now add a piece of salmon to each bowl and the coriander garnish to the side. Enjoy!

Louisa’s tip for the broccoli

A simple tip, but great if you want little florets, rather than big ones. If you just cut the big floret, you get bits of broccoli everywhere! Try it this way:

Step 1

Remove a floret from the stem of the broccoli

Step 2

With a sharp knife, make a square cut into the end of the floret.

Step 3

Now tear the floret into four pieces. Job done!