Salmon In Crisp Rice Paper With Sweet Spicy Sake Essence Recipes

Steps:

• in a saucepan, combine sake, mirin, vinegar, ginger, garlic and jalapeno, bring to boil and reduce to about 1/2 c (about 15 minutes).
• meanwhile heat oil in a skillet, saute peppers, zucchini, carrot until crisp tender.
• add to the sake mixture with soy sauce and keep warm.
• salt& pepper each salmon fillet and drizzle with oil.
• wet rice paper wrappers one at a time in a bowl of warm water, then remove rice paper to a clean cloth towel on the work surface.
• place salmon in center of rice paper, fold rice paper over, tuck in sides and fold again.
• repeat with remaining fillets.
• heat 3 tbsp of oil in a skillet.
• place rice paper bundles seam side down, saute for 3-5 minutes, turn over, cook1-2 minutes more.
• spoon sauce into 4 plates, top with salmon, garnish with cilantro.

Steps:

• Season the salmon on all sides with salt and pepper. Heat a large cast iron or nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the olive oil and sear the salmon fillets skin side down until the skin is browned and crispy, 2 to 5 minutes. The salmon's orange flesh will begin to turn pale coral as the heat slowly creeps up the sides of the fish; you want that coral color to come up about two-thirds of the way at this point for a nice medium-rare. Carefully flip the salmon and cook the second side until the flesh feels firm, another 1 to 2 minutes. When you press it, it should not feel wobbly. Transfer the salmon to a plate skin side down and keep the pan with the rendered fat over the heat.
• Add the rice to the fat in the pan and spread in an even layer, packing it down as if making a rice pancake. Reduce the heat to medium and cook until the bottom is lightly browned and toasted, about 5 minutes. You should hear it crackle. Flip the rice like a pancake, using a spatula if needed. You may not be able to flip it all in one piece, but that's OK. Cook until lightly toasted on the second side, another 1 to 2 minutes. Go longer if you want crispier rice, but the trifecta of crispy-chewy-soft tastes wonderful.
• While the rice is cooking, stir together the gochugaru, maple syrup, rice vinegar and 1 teaspoon salt in a small bowl. When the rice is done, divide it evenly among the plates. In the now empty pan, add the gochugaru mixture and cook, stirring constantly, over medium-high heat until it bubbles up and reduces significantly, 15 seconds to 1 minute. It should look pretty sticky. Turn off the heat and add the cold butter, stirring with a wooden spoon or tongs until fully melted and incorporated into the gochugaru mixture. Pour this glaze over the salmon and serve with cucumbers or pickles if you'd like.

Steps:

• To make the sake essence: In a heavy, 2-quart saucepan, combine the sake, mirin, rice vinegar, ginger, garlic, and Serrano, bring to a boil over high heat, and reduce to about ½ cup, 10 to 15 minutes. Meanwhile, heat the oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Sauté the peppers zucchini and carrot until crisp-tender, about 2 minutes. Add the soy sauce and vegetables to the sake essence; set aside and keep warm. To prepare the salmon: Sprinkle both sides of each salmon fillet with salt and pepper and drizzle with a little of the vegetable oil, using 1 Tbs. total for the four fillets. Wrap each fillet in rice paper. Heat the remaining 3 tablespoons oil in a heavy, 12-inch skillet over medium to medium-high heat until it's hot and shimmering, but not smoking. Put the wrapped fillets in the skillet without touching and sauté, turning to brown top and bottom, until the rice paper is golden brown, 2 to 3 minutes per side; don't overcook (if the fillets are very thick, you can also brown the sides for 1 minute each, but most fillets will be cooked through- just barely opaque - if just the top and bottom are seared.) Transfer to paper towels and let drain. Stir the chopped cilantro into the sake essence and spoon some onto each of the four warm dinner plates. Put a salmon fillet in the center of each plate, top with a cilantro sprig, and serve at once.