A little while ago, Ward bought Nobu West, and he’s been having quite a lot of fun with the recipes in the book.
One of our absolute favorites is a recipe called Slow-cooked Salmon, but the first time he made this dish, Ward made one of those highly lovely “mistakes” that always bodes well for creative kitchen wizardry, and we’ve been having Ward’s drunken Sake version of this dish ever since.
When Ward was in the “I think I’m going to make this” mode for this recipe, he’d actually had his heart set on another recipe. It required marinating the salmon in half a cup of sake - but he wanted to make it that day, and the recipe called for one to two days in the marinade.
As luck would have it, Ward then turned his attention to the Slow-Cooked Salmon recipe, but with his mind still on the other salmon recipe, he went with the half cup of sake - instead of the tablespoon the recipe calls for! The result? Incredibly buttery salmon.
Here’s the recipe, from Nobu West, with Ward’s little Sake tweak added. The trick to cooking this dish is maintaining the temperature at a consistent 65°C (or 149°F, according to this celcius/fahrenheit converter).
Slow-Cooked Salmon in Sake
2 salmon fillets, about 100g each, skinned and boned
1/2 cup sake
1 tablespoon light soy sauce
1 tablespoon Dashi
1 cm piece of root ginger, peeled and finely shredded
30g butter
1 garlic clove, slicedFor the garnish:
100g snow peas, shredded (we just julienned the snow peas)
olive oil for sautéing
salt and freshly ground black pepper
shiso cress or arigula (or pea sprouts, which is what Ward used in the picture)1. Bring a pan of water up to 65°C (149°F) and maintain the temperature with the aid of a thermometer.
2. Place all the ingredients with the exception of the garnish items in a boiling bag. Immerse the bag in the water, and checking with the thermometer, maintain a temperature of 65°C for 12 minutes. Regulate the temperature by removing the pan from the heat if it becomes too hot and vice versa. Make sure no water enters the bag; it must remain completely waterproof.
3. Meanwhile, sauté the shredded snow peas for the garnish quickly in a little olive oil and season with salt and pepper, then arrange in the centre of a plate.
4. Remove the salmon carefully from the bag (it may be easier to pour it into a small dish first) and slice gently or leave whole if preferred, then place on top of the snow peas. Spoon a little of the juices from the bag around the salmon and garnish with shiso cress (or whatever you’re using as garnish).
You might be tempted to forego the snow peas, but they are absolutely delicious and go perfectly with the salmon.
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