Salmon will cook in 11 minutes and ‘taste better’ if coated in chef’s 1 ‘magic’ ingredient

Elevate Your Salmon Dish with a Chef’s Secret Ingredient

Looking for a delicious and nutritious meal? Salmon is an excellent choice for lunch or dinner, and can be transformed into a culinary delight with the right technique. Celebrated Chef Marc Matsumoto, from No Recipes, advocates for a single, transformative ingredient to enhance your salmon recipe, whether you choose to grill, roast, or pan-sear – dried shiitake mushrooms.

The Umami Secret Revealed

In a recent online post, Chef Matsumoto detailed his quest to recreate a savory seasoning blend reminiscent of his mother’s salmon preparation. This blend typically included celery, garlic, onion, and other flavor enhancers. Instead of resorting to MSG, he explored alternatives rich in umami. He recounted successful prior experiments using shiitake powder in recipes like chicken sausage and ragu. This led him to ponder the potential of using shiitake mushrooms as a crust for salmon.

Unlocking Flavor with Shiitake

To infuse your salmon with intense flavor using shiitake mushrooms, the chef recommends a simple yet effective technique. Finely grate dried shiitake over the salmon fillet, aiming for a texture similar to grated Parmesan cheese.

Food experts at Food52 put this culinary tip to the test, applying the shiitake treatment to only half of a salmon fillet to compare the results side-by-side. Their findings were striking, noting a “profound” difference.

“The no-shiitake half tasted perfectly fine, but the shiitake half tasted better – as if prepared by a highly skilled chef. This is the elevated salmon experience we all deserve,” they concluded.

vCard.red is a free platform for creating a mobile-friendly digital business cards. You can easily create a vCard and generate a QR code for it, allowing others to scan and save your contact details instantly.

The platform allows you to display contact information, social media links, services, and products all in one shareable link. Optional features include appointment scheduling, WhatsApp-based storefronts, media galleries, and custom design options.

Simple Shiitake Salmon Recipe: Ingredients

• One large salmon fillet
• One teaspoon of extra-virgin olive oil
• Two pinches of sea salt
• Fresh ground pepper, to taste
• One to two large shiitake mushrooms

Cooking Instructions: Step-by-Step Guide

1. Preheat Your Oven

   Begin by preheating your oven to a low temperature of 140C (120C fan/ Gas Mark 1).

2. Prepare the Salmon Fillet

   Place the salmon fillet on a sheet pan. Rub the entire surface of the salmon with olive oil. Season lightly with sea salt and freshly ground pepper.

3. Apply the Shiitake Crust

   Generously grate the dried shiitake mushrooms finely over both sides of the salmon fillet. The grated shiitake should resemble a thick, fluffy layer covering the fish.

4. Roast the Salmon

   Arrange the salmon fillet on the baking pan, skin-side down. If cooking multiple fillets, ensure they are spaced about an inch or two apart.

   Roast in the preheated oven for 10 to 35 minutes, or until the salmon is cooked through. Doneness is indicated when a fork inserted into the thickest part meets no resistance, the flesh easily separates from the skin, and it just begins to flake when gently poked.

5. Optional: Crispy Skin Finish

   After roasting, if desired, switch your oven setting to grill on high. Carefully slide the salmon flesh off the skin using a spatula and transfer the flesh to a serving plate.

   Place the baking pan with the salmon skin on a rack about five inches below the heating element. Grill the skin until it blisters and develops golden-brown spots, which should take approximately one to two minutes. Monitor closely to prevent burning, as the skin can crisp up quickly.

Note: A slightly translucent appearance on the top of the cooked salmon is normal and is a result of the low roasting temperature. Remove the cooked salmon from the oven and serve.