Salmon
Confit
Chef Koji Terano of Sushi-Ko — Washington, D.C.
Adapted by StarChefs
Wine Pairing:
Bourgogne Rouge, Rene Manuel, Laboure-Roi 2000 (France)
Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients:
- 14 ounce salmon filet (Note: For this recipe, it would
be better to use a back/top filet of Salmon. This cut is generally
thicker. The ideal trimmed 14 ounce filet would be 3 inches wide
by 8 inches long by 2 inches thick)
- 1 pound onions, chopped
- ½ cup soy sauce
- ¼ cup rice vinegar
- 2 Tablespoons Ikura (salmon roe)
- ½ cup chives
- 1 Japanese cucumber (Pack in Salt for 10 minutes, wash &
slice ¾” thick)
- Dill for garnish only
- ½ cup Soybean oil, plus additional for cooking (Note:
The ½ cup of soybean oil will be used for making chive
oil. You will need enough additional soybean oil to cover the
salmon while it’s cooking. (The smaller the pan, the less
oil you will need.) Also, you will need a small amount for the
onion sauté)
Method:
Prepare the Chive Oil:
Fill a bowl with ice and cold water. Bring water to a boil in a
small saucepan. Blanch the chives in the boiling water for 10 seconds.
Strain the chives from the pot and immediately plunge the chives
into the ice water to stop the cooking. Remove the chives from the
ice water and squeeze out any excess water. Drain the chives thoroughly
on paper towels.
Chop the chives. In a blender, combine the chopped chives and
½ cup of soybean oil. Puree until smooth. Pour chive oil
into a squeeze bottle and refrigerate at least 8 hours and up to
1 day. Pour oil through a fine sieve and strain out any remaining
solids. Set aside until needed.
Prepare the Cucumber:
In a small container, pack the Japanese cucumber in salt for 10
minutes. Then remove from the salt and wash thoroughly. Slice cucumber
into ¾ inch thick slices.
Prepare the Salmon:
Preheat the oven to 125 degrees. Sprinkle the salmon filet generously
with sea salt. Let sit for 30 minutes. Slice salmon filet both vertically
and horizontally through the center into quarters. Cut each quarter
into 6 equal pieces. (Slice each quarter as if slicing a loaf of
bread.)
Fill an ovenproof dish with soybean oil. Place sliced salmon into
the oil. Make sure the fish is completely covered by the oil. Cook
the fish uncovered in the preheated oven for about 30 minutes. The
fish is cooked when a piece breaks apart as you start to bite it.
Prepare the Soy-Onion Sauce:
In a small sauté pan over medium heat, sauté the chopped
onions in soybean oil. Cook slowly until the onions are completely
caramelized. Be careful not to let the onions burn. When cooked,
the onions should have a consistency similar to that of jam.
Remove the onions from the heat and allow to cool. In a blender,
combine the cooled onion mixture, the soy sauce, and the vinegar.
Puree until smooth. Refrigerate until needed.
To serve:
Arrange 3 slices of salmon on a plate in a circle. The pieces should
not be touching. Top each piece of salmon with a small amount of
soy-onion sauce. On top of each of the three salmon pieces, stack
another slice of salmon positioned at a 90 degree angle to the original
piece. Therefore, each “stack” should have 8 corners.
Top each piece of salmon with a small amount of soy-onion sauce.
In between each salmon stack, place a cucumber slice. Top each
cucumber slice with one teaspoon of Ikura (salmon roe). Garnish
the center of the plate with a sprig of dill. Drizzle the chive
oil around the outside edge of the plate. |
