Soy Ginger Salmon with Rice & Broccoli

Warm days are coming. And boy, do we need it. Because while many of us are still practicing stay-at-home or safer-at-home, the outdoors are a welcome breath of literal fresh air. Why not take advantage of the sunny days to come and also cook outside? And if you can—if you also have a picnic table, or even just an accommodating step, eat outside, too.

This salmon: smothered in a salty-umami-sweet-sticky sauce, is served over rice with a side of grilled broccoli. It couldn’t be more simple. But a good fillet of salmon doesn’t need much to shine, and this sauce—well, you’ll want to make some extra. Drizzle it over the broccoli for an extra pop of flavor there, too.

Soy Ginger Salmon with Rice & Broccoli

Published May 12, 2020 by Caitlin Sherwood

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Serves: 4   |    Active Time: 30 minutes

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Ingredients:

1/4 cup soy sauce

2 tablespoon maple syrup

1/2 teaspoon corn starch

1 teaspoon Sriracha

1 clove garlic, finely grated (on a microplane)

4 quarter-sized sliced of fresh ginger

4 four-ounce pieces of salmon

1 head of broccoli, roughly chopped into large pieces

2 tablespoons cooking oil, such as avocado or olive

Generous pinch of salt

2-3 cups rice, cooked

3 green onions, sliced

2 toasted sesame seeds

Directions:

1. In a small sauce pan, whisk together soy sauce, maple syrup, corn starch, Sriracha, and finely grated garlic. Place on stove over medium heat. Add ginger coins, and bring to a simmer. As the sauce bubbles, it will thicken. Cook sauce, stirring frequently, until it is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon well. Remove from heat, and use a fork or spoon to remove and discard the ginger coins.
2. Heat grill to about 450°F.
3. While grill heats, toss the broccoli with the cooking oil to coat, and season with a generous pinch of salt.
4. Use a brush to coat the top of the salmon with about half of the soy sauce mixture. Using tongs, place salmon on pre-heated grill, skin-side down, along with broccoli
5. Turn flame down to medium, and close lid, cooking the salmon for 6-8 minutes.
6. Using tongs, turn broccoli to the second side. Then, brush the salmon with remaining soy sauce mixture, and close grill lid again, cooking for another 4-5 minutes, or until internal temperature of salmon reaches 130°F, easily flakes, and is opaque in the center. Transfer to a plate and allow to rest for 1-2 minutes.
7. While the salmon and broccoli cook, prepare rice according to your preferences.
8. Divide rice among serving plates. Top with salmon and broccoli. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and green onions. Serve.

Lemon Ginger Pound Cake

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Even a chocoholic like me can appreciate something bright and citrusy, especially when spring is in it’s early days. We can likely all agree that this spring is unique, in that we’re all spending a lot more time at home. And I, like so many others, am making sure to bake up a storm while staying home. This cake—great with a dollop of whipped cream, and a few fresh strawberries—is a sweet treat with a cup of afternoon tea, and a welcome indulgence.

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Lemon Ginger Pound Cake

Published March 31, 2020 by Caitlin Sherwood

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Serves: 10   |    Active Time: 75 minutes

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Ingredients:

For the cake:

Butter and flour for the pan

1 ½ cups all-purpose flour

1 ½ teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon fine sea salt

3/4 cup melted unsalted butter, melted and cooled

2/3 cups granulated sugar

3 large eggs, at room temperature

1/4 cup sour cream or plain greek yogurt, at room temperature

½ teaspoon finely grated fresh ginger

1 large lemon (about 3 tablespoons juice, plus zest)

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

For the glaze (optional):

1 cup powdered sugar

Juice from 1 lemon

Directions:

1. Place the oven rack in the center of the oven, and heat it to 350°F. Butter an 8 1/2-inch loaf pan (I used this one -affiliate link!), dust with flour and tap out the excess.
2. In a medium-sized mixing bowl, combine dry ingredients: flour, baking powder and sea salt. Whisk to combine.
3. In the bowl of a stand mixer (or with a hand-held mixer and a large mixing bowl,) cream together butter and sugar. Add in eggs, sour cream, ginger, lemon zest, lemon juice, and vanilla. Beat until fully incorporated.Scrape down the sides of the bowl as you go to ensure everything is mixed.
4. Gradually add dry ingredients to wet, incorporating until a loose batter forms and very few lumps remain. Scrape down the sides of the bowl occasionally.
5. Using a spatula, transfer batter to prepared pan. Bake for 45-60 minutes (if the cake looks as if it’s getting too dark too quickly, tent it loosely with foil) or until a toothpick, inserted into the center of the cake, comes out clean.
6. Transfer to a cooling rack, and let rest for 5 minutes. Carefully run a knife between the sides of the cake and the pan. Turn bred pan sideways. Cake should be loose in the pan. Take cake out of pan, and place on cooling rack for 1 hour.
7. Once cake is cooled, make glaze. Combine lemon juice and powdered sugar and whisk until smooth. Place cake on parchment paper or plate to catch drippings, and drizzle glaze over top of cake. Allow to set for 10-15 more minutes. Then, slice and serve.
8. Serving: Cake is good on it’s own, but also great with whipped cream and fresh berries.

Wontons in Gingery Broth

Happy New Year! We do not have any New Year’s Eve (or day) traditions, though I’d like to make this soup a repeating occurrence.

For many, cooking is purely functional—a thing you do so you can eat. If you’re in that boat, this soup might seem like far too much work, as it asks you to make not just the soup base but also the wontons. For me, cooking an activity in itself, almost—if not more—as enjoyable than the eating. If you’re a let’s-cook-something-interesting DIY-type, this recipe is right up your alley. I admit to one shortcut that I always take: buying wonton wrapper dough. You can find wonton wrappers in the freezer aisle of most Asian Markets (try H Mart or Pacific Ocean).

Making little wontons is fun (they’re cute!) and the soup is fantastic. Any day off from work (even just a standard Sunday) is perfect for this recipe.

Wontons in Gingery Broth

Published January 7, 2020 by Caitlin Sherwood

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Serves: 6   |    Active Time: 70 minutes

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Ingredients:

For the Broth:

8 cups chicken broth

2 green onions, roots and white parts removed

1 inch of ginger, cut into thin slices (coin shapes)

3 cloves garlic

For the Wontons:

1/2 pound ground chicken, turkey or pork

2 green onions, roots and dark green parts removed, then minced

1 inch ginger, grated on microplane

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/8 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoon sesame oil

2 tablespoons soy sauce

1/16 teaspoon ground black pepper

1 package (30-40 count) soup wonton wrappers, thawed (you can find these frozen at most Asian Markets)

For the Soup:

1 cup snow peas

1 cup shiitake mushrooms

1 carrot, cut into matchsticks

Salt, to taste

For garnish: 2 green onions, sliced

For garnish: 1-2 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds for garnish

For garnish: Red chili flakes

Directions:

1. Prepare the wonton filling: In a medium-sized mixing bowl, combine ground chicken with the minced green onion, garlic, and grated ginger. Add salt, sesame oil, soy sauce, and ground black pepper. Mix until ingredients are well distributed.
2. Assemble wontons: Prepare your work station by setting up a clean work surface (I use my counter, you can also use piece of parchment paper), and filling a medium-sized bowl with 2 cups of cold water (this will be used for sealing wontons). Working in batches, lay several wonton wrappers out flat on your work surface. Scoop 1 teaspoon of filling into center of wonton wrappers. Be careful not to overfill the wontons, as they will not seal properly. Using a finger dipped in your bowl of cold water, lightly dampen the edges of the wonton wrapper. You need just enough water to get the dough to stick. Now, fold the wontons (see image above as reference): Fold the bottom right corner up to meet the top left corner, creating a triangle. Press the edges with your fingers to seal the wonton. Then, fold the top-right corner of the triangle into the middle of the wonton, followed by the bottom-left corner, using a drop of water to make them stick. Place wontons in a large container with lid (ie., a pyrex or Tupperware). Repeat this step until the wonton filling is all used up. Place lid on container, and set in fridge until ready to use (Can be made in advance and refrigerated for up to 3 hours).
3. Prepare the gingery broth: Pour broth into a large soup pot. Add green onions, ginger slices, and whole garlic cloves. Cover, and bring to a simmer for 15-20 minutes to develop flavor. Then, using a slotted spoon, remove garlic, ginger, and green onions from broth and discard.
4. Assemble soup: Slice the shiitake mushrooms, and remove and discarding the stems. Place mushrooms in the soup and bring to a simmer. Cook for 1-2 minutes. Add the carrots, and then working one at at time, carefully lower the wontons into the soup with a slotted spoon. Gently stir occasionally to prevent the wontons from sticking to the bottom of the pot. Once all wontons are in, bring the soup back to a gentle simmer and cook for another 2 minutes, until wontons have floated to the top. Add snow peas to the soup, stirring gently. Cook for 1 more minute, until snow peas are bright green and tender. Taste broth, and season with salt as needed. Remove pot from heat.
5. Serve: Label soup into bowls, and top with sliced green onions, toasted sesame seeds, and red chili flakes to taste. Enjoy hot!