Pan Fried Salmon with Crusted Spicy Mayo and Eel Sauce

The Best Pan Fried Salmon

If you’re a fan of fish and you love Salmon, this recipe is going to blow your mind; especially if you like sushi. With the exception of rice and Nori, this dish has almost everything you would expect in and on a traditional salmon or “Vegas” roll(no cream cheese either). The main difference is that this recipe uses a 4 oz pan fried salmon fillet instead of the itty-bitty pieces of fish, thinned out through the center portion of a sushi roll. Then the addition of spicy mayo, crushed french onions and eel sauce top off the best pan fried salmon, garnished with sliced cucumber.

Fresh or Frozen Salmon

Most of you don’t know much about my background, where I come from or what I’ve accomplished in my life. I’ve stayed very private because, for me, this is about the food, not me and my life. You might care to know, however, that I spent some time in the fishing industry and fished commercially for a living in Alaska for while so, I know a thing or two about seafood. I’ve also been trained professionally and my wife loves salmon. That means this recipe has to be top notch if I’m going to spend my valuable time writing, filming and posting about it.

Salmon is one of those commercialized fish that’s sold fresh or frozen. I will always recommend buying fresh, when it comes to fish because the freezing actually changes the filet’s drastically and they’re never the same again once they’re thawed. But, that being said, if you purchase your salmon frozen this recipe will still be amazing. Just know that, if you have the option and it’s affordable, you should always buy fresh. Your results and the quality, in my opinion, will always be 3 to 4 times greater than cooking with pre-frozen fish.

The Secret to Pan Fried Salmon

The average salmon filet portion size, per person, is cut 3 to 4 ounces but you can cut yours as big or as small as you like. Just season with kosher salt and pepper, pre-heat a non-stick pan to medium heat, add a couple tablespoons of olive oil to the pan and sear each filet, meat side down first for, approximately, 2 minutes. Flip and sear for an additional 3 minutes to crisp up the skin and reach a medium to medium rare filet. If you prefer your salmon cooked less, just reduce your cooking time by a minute on the first side. Then remove from the heat and add the toppings.

If you don’t like spicy mayo, try using my Oriental Dressing instead. It will make an excellent substitution because it isn’t spicy and it has Asian ingredients, too.

Pan Fried Salmon with Crusted Spicy Mayo and Eel Sauce – poormansgourmet

Pan Fried Sushi Style Salmon

1 lbs Salmon Filet, cut 4 oz portions
1 tbs Spicy Mayo
1 tbs Unagi or Eel Sauce, per filet
1/2 cup French Onions, crushed
Kosher Salt and Pepper to taste
Olive Oil for pan frying

Spicy Mayo
2 tbs Mayonnaise
2 tbs Sriracha

Eel Sauce
1/4 cup Soy Sauce
1/4 cup Mirin
2 tbsp Sugar
2 tbsp Sake

Kosher salt and pepper the salmon, pan fry in olive oil(both sides 2 to 3 min), smear top of Salmon with Spicy Mayo, add crushed French Onions and drizzle eel sauce. Watch the short video tutorial and I’ll show you exactly how it’s done.

Miso Soup

The Best Miso Soup

I love Japanese food and my wife and I order sushi quite often but one thing I like to get, as an appetizer, is Miso Soup. If you don’t don’t know what Miso is, I can tell you that it’s a Japanese seasoning produced by fermenting soybeans with salt and kōji and sometimes rice, barley, seaweed or other ingredients. There’s several different varieties of Miso but the most common are white and red. I’ll be demonstrating how to make Miso Soup using the red Miso and I’m going to show you how to make a soup with the most basic ingredients,Tofu and Green Onions.

Dashi ingredients, Kombu and Katsuobushi.

Dashi Fish Broth

Most soups are made from broths or stalks and this recipe is no different. The broth that needs to be prepared for this Miso Soup recipe is called Dashi and it’s really easy to make. All you have to do is combine Kombu(dried Kelp) and katsuobushi(bonito flakes or dehydrated Skip Jack Tuna) with boiling water and let it steep, like tea, for 10 minutes. If you don’t know what these ingredients are or where to find them, you can go to any Asian market and ask the attendants. I buy them both dehydrated and I just reconstitute them with the boiling water. The water absorbs the flavor, like tea, and creates the broth called Dashi. Then, all you have to do is strain the broth to make the Miso Soup.

Be sure to try my Red Sauce Wonton and my Wonton Soup Recipe.

Extra firm Tofu and fresh chopped Green Onions.

Tofu and Green Onions

As I mentioned above, there are several different varieties of Miso and there are also several different Miso Soups. If fact, eventually I want to show you how to make a spicy Beef Ramen Miso Soup that I think is just amazing but I’ve got to teach you the basics first so you understand recipe like that one, later. So today I’m going to teach you how to make a Miso Soup with Tofu and Green Onions.

Miso Soup Ingredients:

2 cups dashi
1 Green Onions, chopped
4 oz Tofu, Extra Firm
3 Tbsp miso

Dashi
4 cups water
1 oz kombu (dried kelp)
1 cup katsuobushi (dried bonito flakes) (1 loose cups = 10 g)

Just watch the video tutorial and I’ll show you just how easy it is to make Dashi and this Tofu and Green Onion Miso Soup.

Yakitori Chicken

Easy Yakitori Chicken

One thing I’ve learned about Yakitori Chicken, it isn’t just Shish Kebabs you find at your local Chinese buffet. In fact, it isn’t Chinese at all, it’s Japanese. Much like Sushi, American Chinese restaurants are just adapting adding to their menu’s because of the popularity they’ve gained over the years. Truthfully, both the Sushi and Yakitori aren’t prepared very well and, are generally, “okay” at best. If you’ve decided you like or even hate these recipes from a buffet, understand that your opinion is most likely skewed and based on your lack of experience. The food hasn’t been prepared right. Therefore, most folks wouldn’t know an authentic recipe if it hit them in the face and wiggled. So, since that’s what you’re probably used to, I’m going to help you stomp out a buffet style recipe but with some more pep.

Raw Yakitori Chicken ingredients: liver, hearts and chicken thigh meat.

Traditional Yakitori Chicken

There truly is an art to Yakitori Chicken. One of my favorite things about the Japanese culture is their dedication to perfection. Even famous chefs like Gordon Ramsey are intimidated by sushi and noodle chefs and, I’d be willing to bet, Yakitori chefs are no different. Yakitori Chicken is barbecue that uses the entire bird and doesn’t leave anything to waste. Though I don’t use a whole chicken in this recipe, I’ve picked out a few things that are commonly used for it. Boneless chicken thigh meat, chicken liver and hearts. Each are prepared just a little differently.

Skewed Yakitori Chicken thighs, liver and hearts, ready for the oven.

Yakitori Chicken Skewers

I like to use disposable wooden skewers for the Yakitori Chicken, instead of metal, because they stay cool and make it easier to flip back and forth. The Chicken thighs are cut into bite size pieces and marinated. I like to use my Teriyaki Sauce recipe because it’s practically the same thing as basic Yakitori sauce. The main difference is just the quantities of each ingredient vary but this is a really great and simple alternative to make this recipes easy. I brush olive oil on the hearts and liver portions to keep them moist. There’s also a splash of liquid smoke but if you’re going to grill, you won’t need it but you should salt and pepper to taste.

Yakitori Chicken Ingredients:

4 Boneless Chicken Thighs
1 lbs Chicken Liver
1 lbs Chicken Hearts
1/3 cup Teriyaki Sauce
2 tbsp Olive Oil
1/2 tsp Liquid Smoke
Salt and Pepper to taste

I use Himalayan Salt and White Pepper. You’ll also need about a dozen Skewers to make this Yakitori Chicken on the Grill or baked in the oven at 375 degrees Fahrenheit for 30 minutes.