Sluttishly Savoury: Teriyaki Salmon

Last week I had one of my sporadic "oh god, I can't keep cooking everything with onions, garlic and tomatoes" and went in search of new flavours. I often cook Indian food, love Chinese spices, will walk for miles for a jar of chipotle sauce for Mexican recipes, but I realised I rarely experiment with Japanese cuisine. It seems like such a faff - and why spend ages making substandard tempura or sushi when there are restaurants doing it so well?

But then I remembered teriyaki sauce - that delicious, sticky marinade that ignites your umami taste buds. I love it, but don't make it often enough to warrant trekking around the supermarket finding bottles of mirin and rice wine that will get sticky and dusty before I remember to use them again. So I've made my own non-traditional teriyaki sauce that incorporates the sweet/savoury combination of the original that makes it so moreish, and such a perfect companion to the salmon in this dish.

Salmon can be pricey so look for supermarket offers - you can get a pack of two fillets for £4 in Sainsbury's at the minute, or three packs for £10 if you eat a lot of it. Or get a large tail piece from the fish counter and cut it into pieces yourself. Not a salmon fan? Use the teriyaki sauce with any white fish or chicken. If you don't fancy noodles, it will go nicely with rice or steamed vegetables.

Teriyaki salmon with noodles (serves 2)


You will need:

• 2 salmon fillets
• 3 or 4 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 garlic clove, crushed
• 5cm piece of ginger, grated
• 1 red chilli, finely chopped
• 1 tbsp sugar
• Zest and juice of a lime
• 1 sheet of noodles
• 3 spring onions, chopped (white parts only)
• Small handful of coriander, chopped

Make it!

1. Mix the soy sauce, garlic, ginger, chilli, sugar and lime zest in a bowl to make your teriyaki sauce. Place the salmon fillets in it and coat well with the sauce, then set aside for half an hour. You can run to the shops for noodles now. You thought you had some in the back of the cupboard, didn't you?
2. Grab a saucepan and a frying pan. Get some water boiling in the saucepan while you heat a little oil in the frying pan over a medium heat. 
3. Lift the salmon fillets out of the bowl, keeping the leftover sauce. Fry them for a few minutes on either side until cooked through and flaky. At the same time, cook and drain the noodles.
4. Tip the rest of the teriyaki sauce into the saucepan and stir around with the noodles for a few minutes, until it reduces and coats them with a sticky glaze.
5. Serve the salmon on a bed of noodles, garnished with the spring onions and coriander.