This outstanding gluten free recipe is revised from one which appeared in Bon Appetit magazine nearly a decade ago. There are 3 components: the rice, the vegetables and dressing, and the salmon.
Prepare the Rice first:
Fry 1 Tablespoon homemade ghee or butter, then add:
- 1 cup rinsed basmati or long grain rice
Stir fry for a minute or so, so that all the grains of rice are coated with the ghee or butter
Add:
- 1 cup water
- 2/3 cup coconut milk
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
Bring to a boil, turn down the heat, cover and cook until the rice is done. Season with pepper. Set aside, covered, to stay warm.
Prepare the vegetables :
Fry the following aromatics in 1 Tablespoon toasted sesame oil for one minute:
- 2 teaspoons minced fresh ginger
- 1 clove garlic, minced
Add sliced vegetables and stir fry for just a couple of minutes, then set aside:
- 1 red bell pepper, sliced
- Sliced shitake mushrooms, stems removed
- 1 bunch of bok choy, sliced
- Other options include carrots, scallions, celery, spinach, baby spinach, watercress, zucchini, bean sprouts with the ends removed etc.
Set the vegetables aside.
Make the dressing for the vegetables:
- 6 Tablespoons rice vinegar or homemade cider vinegar
- 3 Tablespoons gluten free soy sauce
- 2 Tablespoons toasted sesame oil
- 2-4 Tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
- 1 Tablespoon minced fresh ginger
- 1 teaspoon sugar
Set the dressing aside.
Prepare the serving plates: You will need 4-6 dinner plates ready to go.
Prepare the fish:
Choose very fresh salmon fillets, with the evenest possible thickness for uniform cooking. Instructions assume that there is a “skin” side, but if there is no skin side just proceed anyway.
Make a dry rub of one teaspoon of each of the following spices:
- gluten free chili powder
- gluten free curry powder (make your own – that’s the best way)
- gluten free ground cumin
- gluten free ground coriander
- gluten free mustard powder (difficult to find – if you can’t find gluten free, leave this out)
- salt
- sugar
Sprinkle each of 4-6 6-ounce salmon fillets (the flesh side of the fish, not the skin side) with a teaspoon or more of the spice mixture. If you want to do something ahead, you could set the spiced fish aside, wrapped, in the refrigerator for 2-3 hours at this point, but we don’t bother – we proceed immediately with the cooking:
Heat a Tablespoon of vegetable oil in a non-stick pan over medium-high heat. For 6 fillets, you might need 2 pans. When hot, add the salmon filets, skin side down, and fry for 3-4 minutes. Flip the fish, spice side down now, and finish the cooking – another 3-4 minutes on this side. The fish should flake easily when done.
To Serve:
On each plate, arrange a serving of rice, a serving of vegetables, and a piece of salmon. Drizzle the vegetables with a little of the dressing (a tablespoon or so).
Can be served with a rose wine, a dry red wine such as Tohu Pinot Noir from New Zealand, or a New England Hard Cider. The dish is surprisingly well paired with a dry pinot noir, just for the record.