Wasabi-Glazed Salmon - Salmon Ladders - Outdoor Wednesday

A salmon ladder on the McKenzie River in Oregon. The ladder is a step-like structure designed to allow fish to migrate upstream over or through a barrier to spawn.



It's a Sisyphean effort. While these ladders help the salmon make their long way home, the journey is arduous. It's fascinating, almost mesmerizing, to watch them clear these and other hurdles encountered on the way to their spawning grounds. It's a lesson in determination and the biological imperative which ensures a constant flow of salmon to our markets. I feel almost - almost - guilty about using so simple a recipe for salmon, but, truth be told, it is one of my best finds. It's low in fat and very easy to make. The secret ingredient here is the wasabi paste that gives some oomph to a fairly standard teriyake glaze. I clipped the Weight Watcher's recipe from the Washington Post several years ago and it immediately made it to my permanent recipe rotation. I would advise anyone who is unfamiliar with wasabi paste to add it to the teriyake sauce in 1/2 teaspoon increments. You can always add more, but once it's in the mix there's no turning back. I enjoy mild to medium heat and do not find 2 teaspoons of the paste to be excessive. If you are in a real hurry, use commercially prepared teriyake sauce and add wasabi paste to it. If you can't find the paste, use a teaspoon of wasabi powder mixed with 1-1/2 teaspoons water as a substitute. Here's one of the easiest recipes your ever likely to find. Once you have tried it, you'll know why the salmon is called "king."

Wasabi-Glazed Salmon...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite courtesy of Weight Watcher's and the Washington Post

Ingredients:
3 tablespoons mirin
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
1 tablespoon reduced-sodium soy sauce
1 tablespoon honey
1 teaspoon finely chopped, peeled ginger root
2 teaspoons wasabi paste
Nonstick vegetable spray oil
4 salmon fillets (4 to 6 ounces each)

Directions:
1) In a small saucepan over medium-high heat, stir together mirin, vinegar, soy sauce, honey, ginger and wasabi to taste. (Add the wasabi incrementally, tasting as you go.) Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium and cook, stirring occasionally, until glaze thickens slightly, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat.
2) Meanwhile, spray a large nonstick skillet with oil and place over medium-high heat. Add salmon and cook, turning once, until fish is browned on the outside and opaque in center, about 4 minutes per side, depending on thickness of the fillet. Spoon sauce over the salmon. Serve hot. Yield: 4 servings.

From "Weight Watchers Take-Out Tonight: 150+ Restaurant Favorites to Make at Home, All 8 Points or Less" (Fireside, 2003). Each serving is 4 points.

This recipe is being linked to:

Outdoor Wednesday, an event sponsored by Susan at A Southern Daydreamer.