Once you have your rice cooking, this is a dinner that comes together in minutes, even making the teriyaki sauce—which is super simple and much better than a bottled sauce. I don’t enjoy cooking fish at home unless it is impeccably fresh. We are fortunate here in Bozeman because the Co-Op sources delicious (and sustainably sourced) fish using the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch list as a guide. Buy individual fillets or a larger piece, it makes no difference except for your cooking time. I like broiling because it is quick, but you could make the teriyaki in a sauté pan and cook the fish right in there, spooning the sauce over the fish as it cooks, which takes only minutes.
The basic sake-mirin-soy version is delicious (thanks to Bon Appétit magazine for the best ratio: 2:1:1), but you can enhance the teriyaki sauce with some fresh ginger, brown sugar, chile flake, and/or a few drops of sesame oil if you wish. In my photo is half of a generous inch-wide Ora King Salmon fillet, a flaked off piece of Black Cod (which I cooked because we have one non-salmon fan in the house), and zucchini and crookneck squash that I cooked w/green garlic and scallions in a spoon of coconut oil. It makes a delicious and nutritious meal—I hope you’ll try it!
Teriyaki Sauce for Salmon Rice Bowls
recipe adapted from Bon Appétit magazine, "Salmon Teriyaki" July 2017
Ingredients
- ½ cup sake
- ¼ cup mirin
- ¼ cup soy sauce
Instructions
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Bring sake, mirin, and soy to a simmer in a small saucepan and reduce by about 2/3, which will take 5 minutes max.
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Pour some of the teriyaki into a small bowl (saving the remainder for drizzling over the completed rice bowl after cooking) and spoon or brush it over the fillets before cooking. Broiling takes 3 - 6 minutes depending on your equipment and size of the fish—just keep and eye on things and pull it out to check it if you're unsure.
How to check if the fish is done: Using a fork or knife, take a peek into the middle and see if it is too rare and needs a minute or two more cooking, or if it is just beginning to turn opaque and is Just Right. Remember it will continue to cook after you remove it from the broiler, so slightly underdone is the way to go.
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Assemble in a rice bowl w/a side vegetable. Drizzle remaining teriyaki over the top. Sesame seeds and green onion slivers are nice sprinkled on top.
