Miso-Maple Salmon with Sesame Rice, Charred Broccoli & Cucumber Salad

Crisp-skinned salmon brushed with a glossy miso-maple glaze, served with sesame rice, deeply charred broccoli and a sharp cucumber salad. Savoury, slightly sweet, gingery and fresh rather than heavy.

Great

% Daily Values based on a 2,000 calorie diet

Step 1

Halve the cucumber lengthways and slice into thin half-moons.

Step 2

Mix together: rice vinegar soy sesame oil maple syrup sesame seeds optional chilli

Step 3

Toss with the cucumber and spring onions. Leave for 20–30 minutes while you cook everything else. The acidity here is important because it balances the rich salmon and sweet glaze.

Step 4

Mix together: miso maple syrup soy sauce rice vinegar mirin ginger garlic sesame oil You should have a thick but brushable glaze. Set aside about 2 tbsp separately for finishing. Don't let this reserved portion touch the raw salmon.

Step 5

Take the salmon out of the fridge around 15 minutes before cooking. Pat the skin very thoroughly dry with kitchen paper. Don't salt it — the miso and soy already provide plenty. Season the flesh side lightly with black pepper. Important Don't put glaze on the skin. Keeping the skin dry is what gives you the crisp texture.

Step 6

Rinse the jasmine rice several times until the water runs mostly clear.

Step 7

Add it to a saucepan with 450 ml water and a small pinch of salt. Bring to the boil, cover, reduce to the lowest heat and cook for around 10–12 minutes, or according to the packet. Turn off the heat and leave covered for another 5–10 minutes.

Step 8

Then fluff with a fork and stir through: sesame oil sesame seeds spring onions Keep covered.

Step 9

Heat the oven to 200°C fan / 220°C conventional.

Step 10

Cut ordinary broccoli into medium florets, keeping some stalk attached.

Step 11

Toss with: neutral oil black pepper Spread over a large tray. Roast for 15–20 minutes, turning once, until tender with distinctly dark, charred edges.

Step 12

As soon as it comes out, toss with: 1 tsp soy sauce ½ tsp sesame oil That keeps the soy from burning in the oven.

Step 13

Heat a large ovenproof frying pan over medium-high heat. Add 1 tbsp neutral oil.

Step 14

Place the salmon in skin-side down. Press each fillet gently with a spatula for the first 20–30 seconds so the skin stays flat against the pan. Reduce the heat slightly and cook skin-side down for 5–6 minutes. Don't keep moving them. The skin should become deeply golden and crisp. Depending on pan size, cook in two batches rather than crowding them.

Step 15

Turn the salmon over so the flesh faces down for around 30 seconds, then turn it back skin-side down.

Step 16

Brush the flesh generously with the miso-maple glaze.

Step 17

Transfer the pan to the oven. For fairly substantial ~300 g fillets, cook for approximately 6–10 minutes, depending on thickness. Start checking early. You want the centre moist and just cooked rather than dry. For a thermometer, roughly 50–52°C gives quite a soft centre; around 54–57°C gives a more traditionally cooked but still juicy result.

Step 18

Remove the salmon from the oven. Brush the tops with a little of the clean reserved glaze. Let the fish rest for 3–4 minutes. Don't cover it tightly or you'll soften the crispy skin.

Step 19

Divide the sesame rice between bowls or plates. Add the charred broccoli and cucumber salad. Place one salmon fillet on top, ideally skin-side visible rather than buried in sauce. Finish with: sesame seeds sliced spring onion optional coriander a squeeze of lime

Step 20

Spoon a little of the cucumber pickling liquid around the rice, rather than over the salmon. That little hit of rice vinegar cuts through the glaze and makes the whole bowl noticeably brighter.