Spicy Furikake Salmon with Quinoa and Quick Pickled Cucumbers
Wild copper river sockeye salmon Hawaiian style. Mayo and Furikake seasoning with your choice of spice make for a tasty, quick dinner served with quinoa, shredded red cabbage and quick pickled cucumbers.
Ingredients
- For the Quinoa:
- 1 ½ cups quinoa*
- 3 cups chicken or vegetable broth/water
- ½ teaspoon salt if using all water
For the Pickles:
- 1-2 large Japanese/English/Persian cucumbers washed and sliced. Peeled optional (3-4 cups sliced cucumbers total)
- 1 large carrot peeled and shredded
- 2 tablespoon seasoned rice wine vinegar
- 2 teaspoon Tamari or soy sauce
For the Salmon:
- 2 lbs wild Copper River sockeye or coho salmon
- lemon wedges
- Mayonnaise
- Furikake seasoning**
Spices:
- Prepared wasabi
- Sriracha
- Shichimi Togarashi spice***
Additional items :
- ⅓ cup Mayonaise
- 2-3 teaspoon sriracha
- 2 cups shredded red cabbage
- ½ cup diced scallion
- lemon wedges
Instructions
- 1. Preheat Oven to 400 Deg F. Line a baking sheet with foil. Set aside. While the oven is preheating prepare the quinoa and cucumbers.
- 2. For the quinoa - rinse the quinoa for a few min under cool water in a strainer and let drain. Add it to a medium saucepan with the broth or water. Add salt if only using water. Bring to a boil then lower to a simmer. Place a lid on the pan and cook for 15 minutes or until all the liquid is absorbed. Remove from heat and slide the lid off just slightly to allow steam to escape.
- For the cucumbers - you can peel all the way, in strips or leave peels on. Wash the cucumbers then thinly slice. Peel and shred the carrots. Place into a bowl and add in the vinegar and tamari or soy sauce. Chill until ready to use.
- Cut salmon into 4-6 ounce pieces. Check for any bones and remove with tweezers, rinse then pat the fillets dry. Place the salmon fillets a few inches apart on the foil lined baking tray. Squeeze a little lemon juice over the top of the fillets. For less spicy salmon - spread about 2 teaspoons or so of mayo onto each fillet then generously sprinkle with the furikake seasoning, a tablespoon or so for each.
To make these spicy there are several options:
- 1 - mix in some of the prepared wasabi with the mayonnaise before spreading over the salmon.
- 2 - mix the mayonnaise with sriracha then spread on the fillets.
- 3 - after you spread the mayonnaise sprinkle a half a teaspoon or so of the togarachi spice.
- Choose any of these, then top with furikake. You can also use just the mayonnaise and furikake and serve the wasabi on the side or sprinkle with the togarachi after baking.
- Bake the salmon for 8 minutes. Remove from oven. Run a thin spatula under the salmon between the skin and the fillet to separate if you don't want to eat the skin. The skin isn't crispy in this recipe so I serve it without it.
- Fluff the quinoa and divide amongst plates top with the salmon. Mix ⅓ a cup of mayonnaise with 2-3 teaspoon sriracha and drizzle over the baked salmon. Serve with shredded red cabbage, some of the quick pickled cucumber and carrots, a few teaspoons of diced scallion and a squeeze of lemon juice.
Notes
*I highly suggest making the quinoa with broth. It has a much better flavor. Rinsing the quinoa is a must to rinse out any dust from the grains settling in the container/bag as well as take away the bitterness. I also suggest using broth for a better flavor. You can use any kind of quinoa you like. I happened to have white quinoa on hand. You can also serve with white or brown rice in place of the quinoa.
**Furikake has become increasingly popular. You can find it online ( I get mine at www.chefshop.com), Asian and international grocery stores and even Trader Joe's carries it now.
*** Shichimi Togarachi is a spicy Japanese chile seasoning blend and can be found various places online as well as well stocked Asian and international stores.