Light Stunt: Salmon Teriyaki

Salmon Teriyaki

One dish that is in my weeknight dinner rotation is the chicken teriyaki dish I published two years ago. I'll prepare it about once or twice per month. Recently, Mrs. Stuntman requested salmon for dinner one evening so I found a recipe for it in my new Chef Carla Hall cookbook when it occurred to me to compare the two teriyaki sauces.

The Challenge

A recipe contest: Is America's Test Kitchen's teriyaki or Chef Hall's teriyaki better?

The Source

Adapted from page 92 of Carla's Comfort Foods: Favorite Dishes from Around the World by Carla Hall with Genevieve Ko.

Ingredients

1/4 cup packed brown sugar (light or dark is fine)
1/4 cup water
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon rice vinegar
1 1-inch piece of fresh ginger, peeled and sliced into thin disks
1 garlic clove, smashed with the side of a knife
4 6-ounce center-cut salmon fillets
2 green onions, sliced thin (for garnish)
1/2 teaspoon sesame seeds (for garnish)

Method

1. Place broiler rack 6 inches from the heat source and preheat the broiler to high. In a small saucepan, combine the first six ingredients and bring to a boil, stirring the mixture so the sugar dissolves. Reduce the heat and simmer until the mixture thickens, approximately ten minutes. Once complete, remove the ginger and garlic with a slotted spoon and discard.

2. Place the salmon fillets on a foil-lined sheet pan and broil until the fillets are opaque on the surface, approximately five minutes. Remove from the broiler and glaze the sauce onto the fillets and return to the broiler until opaque on top, but still translucent in the center, approximately three minutes. Remove from the broiler and let it rest to allow for any carryover cooking. Transfer the salmon to serving plates and garnish with the green onions and sesame seeds. Serve with steamed white rice.

Successful?

In a word, yes. It's subjective, but Mrs. Stuntman liked Chef Hall's better.

Light Stunt: Bulgogi-Korean Marinated Beef

Bulgogi

After the frenzy last week from being featured on Chef Fabio Viviani's blog, I hope I have been able to retain some new readers. That picture you see to the right? Yeah, it's old. I got a haircut in January but didn't update my avatar until recently. I'm one of millions of guys who is losing his hair on the top of his head and, rather than fight the inevitable, I decided to accept fate and move on. I have updated the picture in my About Me page.

From either of those pictures, one might be able to determine that I'm Asian. I will further specify that I am of Korean descent. I was adopted by American parents when I was an infant and my mother used to prepare a version of the dish when I was younger so I might have a connection to my heritage. I remember one day she remarked that her version was a lot of work to prepare so I found one that was much simpler and makes for a perfect weeknight meal since it's just broiled for a few minutes.

The Challenge

Replicate a dish from my childhood.

The Source

Amy of Kimchi Mom was kind enough to allow me to publish her recipe. I did make a few ingredient substitutions.

Ingredients

1 to 1 1/2 pounds chuck steak, sliced thin
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 tablespoons clover honey
2 tablespoons white sugar
2 tablespoons sesame oil
1 to 2 scallions, sliced thin, plus more for garnish
4 to 5 cloves fresh garlic, minced
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds, plus more for garnish

Method

1. Marinate the beef: Place the beef in a resealable bag. Combine the remaining ingredients in a bowl then pour the marinade over the beef in the bag, then toss the beef in the marinade to ensure all slices of beef are well-coated. Refrigerate for 1 hour or more.

2. Cook the beef: Place a rack in the oven about 6 inches from the heat source and preheat the broiler. Remove the beef from the marinade and place on a foil-lined broiler pan, then discard the marinade. Broil the beef for approximately 5 minutes and then toss until the sugars are lightly caramelized. Garnish with additional sesame seeds and scallions then serve immediately with white rice.

Successful?

I ran into an execution issue with this dish because the flavors of the marinade, while there, were muted. I'm not sure what caused this because there were some variables to consider.

1) Ingredient substitutions: Amy's recipe uses maple syrup but I didn't have any so I used white sugar and honey. She also used ribeye but I used chuck steak, which is a tougher cut of beef.

2) Preparation time: Either way, I only marinated the beef for about 90 minutes so I recommend marinating it overnight.

Regardless, it was still delicious. It also was reminiscent of the dish my mother used to serve when I was still a child. If you're unfamiliar with Amy, she can be found on facebook, twitter, YouTube, Pinterest, G+ and bloglovin'. She also has a graphic and web design business so please consider her if you're in the market for those services.

I didn't address Next Food Network Star last week, but I wasn't surprised by Chris's departure. Some information surfaced recently which leads me to believe that Nikki didn't win and I was astonished to learn Chad went home, especially when compared to Russell. From the way the episode was edited, the judges have picked a favorite in Stacey, but I'm not as enthusiastic about her culinary point of view. What's your analysis of the series? Comment below.