Just like artists, chefs often like to revisit previous recipes they have created and see if they can improve them. I originally wrote this recipe for my newspaper column and served it with crispy rice noodles.  In my revised version, I changed the noodles and made a homemade spring onion and garlic sauce for the stirfried vegetables.  The recipe is very easy and getting a stir fry right is all about cooking things in the order of which vegetable takes the longest to cook.

*After publishing this recipe I decided to change the name, see my discussion post coming soon!

This is a dish which I cooked for my students in my online cookery class on Friday. If any of my UK readers are interested in signing up for my online cooking courses please contact me.

Ingredients serves 4

4 x 170 gram salmon fillets

4 tbsp soy sauce

4Tbsp vegetable oil (marinade)

25 grams fresh ginger, peeled and finely chopped

20 grams garlic peeled and finely chopped

65g spring onions cut into 1 ½ inch pieces

1 medium red pepper, sliced thinly length wise

1 medium yellow pepper, sliced thinly length wise

1 pack of babycorn, cut lengthwise in half

100 g Green beans trimmed and cut in half

100g  carrot, cut into thin strips

240g rice noodles  (about 60 g per person)

150ml Spring onion and garlic sauce* (see ingredients below)

1 1/2 Tbsp vegetable oil (for stirfry)

Spring Onion and Garlic sauce

150ml chicken stock

1 Tbsp rice vinegar

2 Tbsp Oyster sauce

3 Tbsp Hoisin sauce

1 Tbsp Corn flour

1 Tbsp Dark Soy sauce

15g  spring onion finely chopped

1/2 Tbsp vegetable oil

Method

1. Mix half of the garlic with half of the ginger, then add 4 Tbsp vegetable oil and 4 Tbsp of  soy sauce. Stir well for one minute then add the four pieces of salmon, making sure the marinade coats both sides of the salmon, then refrigerate for ½ an hour.
2. Blanch the beans and babycorn separately in boiling salted water, add a 1/2 small teaspoon sugar to the water you cook the babycorn in. Blanch for 2 minutes then cool in cold water and drain.
3. In a small saucepan add ½ Tbsp vegetable oil on a high heat, add the remaining garlic and ginger. Cook and stir for two minutes, do not allow to brown, then turn the heat low.
4. Now add chicken stock, hoison, oyster sauce and bring to a simmer. Add the rice vinegar and soy sauce to the corn flour and mix to a smooth paste. Whisk the paste in and cook out until the sauce thickens. Turn down heat and stir in spring onion. Keep sauce warm.
5. Heat a large wok and add the remaining 1 ½ Tbsp oil. Begin stir frying the carrots for 1-2 minutes then add the peppers.  Cook for 3 minutes then add beans, spring onions and babycorn and cook for  further 2 minutes.  Remove from the heat when 3/4 cooked and stir the Spring onion and garlic sauce into your vegetables and cover with lid to keep warm.
6. Preheat oven to 180 C fan assisted.
7. Heat a large non-stick frying pan then add a 1 tbsp of vegetable oil and the four pieces of salmon skin side up. Turn the salmon over, browning all sides about four minutes.
8. If your frying pan has no plastic parts then put your pan into the oven on the middle shelf and cook for 10 minutes. If not, place the salmon into an oven proof dish and cook the same way.
9. While the Salmon is cooking in the oven cook the rice noodles in boiling salted water for 4-5 minutes then drain and keep warm.
10. To serve, place a nest of rice noodles onto four warm dinner plates. Fill each nest with a helping of the vegetables and then top with a piece of salmon.

Chef’s Tips

Pre cooking the babycorn with a pinch sugar will help to bring out the natural sweetness and stop the babycorn from going black.  Did you know the easiest way to peel ginger is with a teaspoon?

Oriental Salmon with Stirfried Vegetables ©Kevin Ashton 2023