Teriyaki Mushroom Sauce with Grilled Salmon

2010-09-11T05:26:00.000-07:00

The people who sell you ready-made teriyaki sauce are ripping you off! Not only is it expensive, but the taste of the bottled stuff is flat, chemically and too-sweet.
The secret is, teriyaki sauce is really only 3 ingredients. Sure, you can get all fancy and put more, like sesame seeds, a little grated ginger and garlic. But plain and simple, teriyaki sauce is equal parts sugar, sweet cooking wine (mirin) and soy sauce. Though, if you’re like me, and prefer a less-sweet version, I use a lot less sugar.

Ingredients:

Four 6-ounce salmon fillets
salt and freshly ground black pepper
12 ounces fresh king oyster mushrooms or fresh shiitake mushrooms, sliced
1 1/2 tablespoons cooking oil, separated
1 stalk green onion, thinly sliced (optional)
for the Easy Teriyaki Sauce
1/4 cup soy sauce 1/4 cup mirin (Japanese sweet rice wine)
2 tablespoons sugar (or more if you like a sweet teriyaki)

Method:

1. To make the Easy Teriyaki Sauce, whisk all the sauce ingredients in a small sauce pan and simmer on low for 3 minutes, until the sauce has thickened slightly.

2. Brush salmon fillets with 1 tablespoon of the cooking oil, season with salt and pepper. Heat a frying pan over high heat. and cook for 3-4 minutes on each side, until just cooked through. Remove the salmon to a plate to let rest.

3. Return the frying pan to the stove on medium-high heat. When hot, add the remaining 1/2 tablespoon of cooking oil. Add the mushrooms and saute for about 2 minutes. Reduce heat to low and add the teriyaki sauce, let simmer for 1 minute. Serve the teriyaki mushrooms on top of the salmon. Garnish with green onion, if desired.

Styr Fry Ginger Beef Recipe

2010-09-11T04:56:00.000-07:00

The trick to a good stir-fry is working with a very hot, relatively stick-free pan. I say relatively stick-free because you don't want one of those stick-free pans with the coating that peels off, but say more like a well-seasoned wok or a cast iron frying pan. Hard anodized aluminum will work too, as its surface is bonded into the pan and can take high temperature cooking. Cooking on high heat allows you to get a good sear on the meat and vegetables without overcooking them.
The beef strips marinate in a soy, vinegar, honey, ginger marinade, and then fry up quickly with garlic, chile, and more ginger. Top with cilantro and serve over rice. Quick, easy, good.

Stir Fry Ginger Beef Recipe

Ingredients

Marinade

2 Tbsp unseasoned rice vinegar
5 Tbsp soy sauce
1 Tbsp honey
1 Tbsp peeled, grated fresh ginger
1 teaspoon chile pepper flakes
1 teaspoon ground cumin

Beef and stir-fry

1 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 lb top sirloin steak
1 Tbsp corn starch
2 Tbsp vegetable oil (preferably peanut)
1 Tbsp sesame oil (optional)
3-4 green onions, cut on a diagonal, 1/2-inch apart, including the greens
2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
2-3 hot chiles, preferably red serranos, seeded, sliced
1-inch nob of ginger, peeled, cut lengthwise into matchstick shapes
1/2 cup loosely packed, chopped cilantro

Method

1 Chill the steak in the freezer for 30 minutes before you slice it, this will make it easier to cut in thin slices. Slice the steak first crosswise in 1/2-inch thick slices. The cut each slice lengthwise into strips.
2 In a medium bowl, whisk together the marinade ingredients; the soy sauce, vinegar, grated ginger, honey, red chile flakes, and cumin. Mix the beef in with the marinade to coat and let it sit for at least 30 minutes, and up to 4 hours, in the fridge.
3 In a small bowl, mix the corn starch with 2 tablespoons of cold water to make a slurry.
4 Heat the oil in a wok, or a large sauté pan, over high heat until it is nearly smoking. As the oil is heating up, pat the beef dry and separate it into small batches no larger than what can fit into the palm of your hand. Working in batches, sauté beef until just brown outside but rare inside, no more than 1 minute. Transfer beef to a bowl.

5 When all of the beef is cooked, put the chiles and garlic into the pan and stir-fry 30-45 seconds. Add the julienned ginger and cook for 30-45 seconds more. Add the beef back to the pan. Add the cornstarch slurry. Add the scallions and mix everything together. Cook for 1 minute.
Turn the heat off and mix in the cilantro. Serve at once with steamed white rice.

Serves 4-6.