If you’ve followed the recipes in my column over the years, you’ll know that I believe with some Asian-style noodles and an umami-rich broth you’ll have the building blocks to create a tasty meal. All you need to do after that is add a few other complementary ingredients, and there are many directions in which you could go.
Steering me recently in that regard were the nice looking salmon fillets I saw for sale at a seafood store. I thought they, when roasted and paired with items I already had in my refrigerator and pantry, such as boxed broth, Asian-style flavourings, broccolette and packets of nama (fresh) udon noodles, could yield a tasty dish, and they did.
To make this meal that served two, I made a simmering broth enhanced with such things as ginger, sesame oil, garlic and soy sauce. My nama udon noodles were then cooked, drained and divided between two shallow serving bowls (see recipe Note for more information).
A roasted salmon fillet was set on the noodles in each bowl, along with some pieces of cooked broccolette. The broth was then poured into the bowls, the salmon was topped with a drizzle of hot chili sauce and some green onions, and these meals in a bowl were ready to serve. They’ll make a nice dinner on a cool December day.
If you didn’t know, broccolette, also called broccolini, is a cross between broccoli and gai lan, also called Chinese broccoli or Chinese kale. It is sold at many grocery stores.
Salmon with Ginger Sesame Broth, Broccolette and Udon Noodles
Roasted salmon fillets set on udon noodles topped with a flavourful, Asian-style broth and bright green pieces of broccolette.
Preparation time: 30 minutes
Cooking time: 12 minutes
Makes: two servings
2 cups chicken or vegetable broth
2 tsp finely chopped fresh ginger
1 large garlic clove, minced
2 tsp soy sauce
1 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp honey or brown sugar
1 tsp rice vinegar
2 (5 oz./140 gram) sockeye or other salmon fillets
2 tsp vegetable oil
• salt and ground white pepper, to taste
4 to 6 stems of broccolette (also called broccolini), each halved lengthwise, then cut widthwise into 1 1/2-inch pieces (see Eric’s options)
2 (200 gram) pkgs. nama (fresh) udon noodles (see Note and Eric’s options)
• sriracha or other smooth hot Asian-style chili sauce, to taste (optional)
1 green onion, halved lengthwise, then thinly sliced, widthwise
Place the broth, ginger, garlic, soy sauce, sesame oil, honey (or brown sugar) and vinegar in a small pot. Set this flavoured broth aside for now.
Preheat oven to 400 F. Bring a large pot of water to a boil for the broccolette and noodles.
Line a shallow baking pan large enough to hold the salmon with a single layer of parchment paper. Set in the salmon, skin-side down. Brush the top of each salmon fillet with 1 tsp of the vegetable oil; season with salt and pepper.
When oven is preheated, roast salmon 12 minutes, or until just cooked through.
While salmon cooks, set the flavoured broth over medium-low heat and slowly bring to gentle simmer. Also, put the pieces of broccolette into the pot of boiling water and cook until just tender, about three minutes. Scoop the pieces of broccolette out of the pot with a slotted spoon, set on a plate and cover to keep warm.
Now add the noodles to the boiling water and cook until tender, about two to three minutes, gently pulling them apart with tongs as they cook. Drain the udon noodles well.
When salmon is cooked, remove it from the oven.
To serve, divide the udon noodles between two shallow serving bowls. Top the noodles in each bowl with a piece of the salmon and some of the broccolette. Ladle a cup or so of the broth mixture into each bowl. Top salmon with a drizzle of the sriracha (or other hot chili sauce), if using, sprinkle with green onions, and serve.
Note: White in colour, nama (fresh) udon noodles are available in the Asian food aisle of most grocery stores. I bought them at Fairway Market. You’ll also find them at Asian food stores. In the recipe I used Six Fortune brand nama udon noodles.
Eric’s options: Instead of udon noodles, cook, drain and use another style of fresh or dried Asian-style noodle in the recipe, such as egg or rice noodles, to taste. If you can’t find broccolette, also called broccolini, try using small broccoli florets in this recipe, to taste.
Eric Akis is the author of eight cookbooks. His columns appear in the Life section Wednesday and Sunday.
