Broiled Salmon with Homemade Teriyaki Sauce

This week kicks off my second big catering job this year. I'll be serving one meal a day for five days for 12-13 people. Today I'll be knee deep in prepping roasted tomato and sausage lasagna, perfect Caesar salad and dulce de leche brownies. Tomorrow it'll be all be about orange scented brioche french toast, berry salad with mint, strong coffee and cream and some breakfast sausages for good measure. Soup and salad night is next, complete with a s'mores platter and hot chocolate for stargazing and so on and so fourth. But before all of this, I wanted to quickly share this simple Salmon Teriyaki I made last week. It's not so much a "teriyaki" as it is a soy-ginger-honey marinade, but Queen Gwyneth Paltrow calls it teriyaki, and so it shall be.

In other news, my sister made me order a bridesmaid dress for her wedding in June that is not actually a maternity dress even though it is technically an empire waist style. I will be 9 months pregnant. She has ordered me extra fabric in hopes we can rig it to fit over my belly. She has done this because it is absolutely necessary and crucial to her that the dresses all be the same color and fabric as her other non-pregnant bridesmaids. I realize this is a gamble. But it is a gamble to argue with my sister who is in the throes of wedding planning too. Her original thought was that I should order a size twelve dress so that it could fit over my belly and then we could just get the top part altered. I'm a four in real life and six in bridal, for reference. I said no. Because, obviously.



Yeah, so back to salmon because I'm a natural at writing transitions. This is a grown up teriyaki salmon with fresh flavors that don't completely mask the fish in an overly sweet sauce. It's light but has tons of flavor and a perfect fit for the upcoming Summer months. Gwyneth likes to cut cubes of fish for her kids before broiling to make "bites" with extra sauce for dipping. Next time I think I'll add a sprinkle of sesame seeds along with the green onion for garnish. Served with some brown rice and an Asian cucumber salad this was a winner, winner salmon dinner. I love how the salmon gets perfectly browned under the broiler.

You'll need to start the marinade about 1-2 hours before you need it but I recommend making it the day before so you can marinate the salmon in it longer. Read the recipe completely before starting. It's not complicated at all, but you should plan ahead with this one, even if it's only by a few hours.

Broiled Salmon with Homemade Teriyaki Sauce
adapted from My Fathers Daughter, by Gwyneth Paltrow

serves 4

1/4 cup soy sauce
2 tablespoons mirin
3 tablespoons honey
1/3 cup water
1 teaspoon peeled and finely grated ginger
a fistful of cilantro, chopped
4 6-ounce salmon fillets, skin discarded
1 tablespoon finely minced fresh chives, for serving

Combine the soy sauce, mirin, honey, water, ginger, and cilantro in a small saucepan over high heat. Once it boils, turn the heat to low and let it simmer for 2 minutes. Remove the saucepan from the heat and let the sauce cool down. Once it's cool, pour into a large bowl or plastic bag and add the salmon. Marinate in the fridge for at least an hour, up to overnight. 

When your ready to eat, pre-heat the broiler.

Put the salmon on a heavy baking sheet with whatever sauce adheres to it and broil until cooked to your liking, 7-8 minutes, but check after 5 minutes if your salmon is on the thin side. While it's cooking, strain the extra sauce into a clean saucepan, bring to a boil, and let it reduce. It won't ever get thick - just expect that.

To serve, drizzle the cooked salmon with some of the extra sauce and a sprinkle of chives.

Make it kid friendly: Cut some of the salmon into 1-inch cubes, broil alongside the larger pieces, and serve without chives. Kids love these, especially if you call the teriyaki "honey sauce"