Cooking
Inspired by chirashi, Kay Chun’s one-pot dinner combines plump, silky salmon with vinegared rice, crunchy cucumbers, cabbage and a sesame-soy vinaigrette.
When I want to do something nice for myself, I eat fish. More specifically, I eat salmon. This hefty, fatty fish feels so wholesome but also like a special treat, simultaneously very healthful and a little luxurious.
Salmon can get pricey, though, so I tend to stretch it out with inexpensive sides — rice (always), some crisp cucumbers and something sour (kimchi?) to balance out the richness of the fish. Basically, I’m aiming for Kay Chun’s sesame salmon bowls.
This one-pot meal inspired by chirashi (Japanese rice and raw fish bowls) is built on rice that has been cooked in seasoned, vinegared water to give it that distinctive sushi rice flavor. Cucumbers and shredded cabbage add crunch; some avocado slices and a soy-sesame-oil vinaigrette provide extra umami richness. Will I add a sprinkle of furikake or some sheets of seasoned nori? Maybe some pickled ginger because I love pickled ginger? Absolutely — if you’re going to make yourself a nice dinner, make it as nice as you like.
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Sesame Salmon Bowls
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If your fish isn’t orange and oily but it’s instead firm and flaky, here’s Zainab Shah’s sheet-pan fish tikka with spinach. Emily Weinstein included this fast dinner in our Weeknight 100 list last year, writing that “the star of this smart recipe is vibrant tikka marinade, which flavors both fish and greens.” And if fish isn’t your thing, here’s a helpful note from Kelsey, a reader: “I know this is exactly the kind of thing you’re NOT supposed to say in the comments, but I used tofu instead of fish, and it turned out great.” (By the way, you can listen to Emily talk about her new “Easy Weeknight Dinners” cookbook on this week’s episode of “The Wirecutter Show.”)
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