To peel or not to peel?
A recent article from the Associated Press discussed the flavor benefits of cooking with fresh ginger, and provided a tip not to peel the papery, brown skin off the spicy rhizome (like everyones does). The reasoning? The ginger skin is edible, so why waste time removing it.
Fair point, but who wants specks of brown, papery skin in their savory dishes? While I don’t agree with leaving the ginger skin on, I am in complete agreement with the food editor that the fresh, knobby rhizome has been creeping into more and more recipes in America.
Like my new recipe of Zucchini Pasta with Teriyaki Salmon.
Save your stale, dried ginger powder for Christmas cookies, and buy fresh ginger for cooking up summer savory dishes.
Zucchini Pasta with Teriyaki Salmon is a simple, Japanese-inspired pasta that matches teriyaki sauce and freshly minced ginger to add a little sweetness and bite to a familiar dish. And is a must if you have a garden bursting full of zucchinis you don’t know what to do with…
Zucchini Pasta with Teriyaki Salmon
Ingredients
- 2 servings of linguine
- 2 salmon fillets about 1/2 lb each
- 2 inches of fresh ginger – peeled and minced
- Vegetable oil
- 1/2 cup teriyaki sauce store-bought or homemade*
- 3-4 garlic cloves – minced
- 2 medium zucchini – sliced thinly
- 2-3 spring onion – chopped
- Freshly ground black pepper
- Drizzles of toasted sesame oil optional
- 2 tbsp of Toasted Sesame Seeds
For the homemade teriyaki sauce:
- 3 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tbsp dark soy sauce for richer color
- 3 tablespoons mirin
- 2 tbsp honey or dark brown sugar
- 1 tbsp sake optional
Instructions
- If you have all the ingredients to make your own teriyaki sauce, you just need to mix the ingredients in a saucepan and bring it to a simmer and cook for a couple of minutes until sauce slightly thickens.
- Once teriyaki sauce cools, add it to a small bowl and combine with minced ginger. Marinate the salmon fillets with half of the mixture, then place salmon in refrigerator for 15 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 375F. Layer a baking pan with aluminum foil, and lightly grease with vegetable oil. Place salmon fillets on tin foil and drizzle some vegetable oil over them. Bake for 15-20 minutes.
- After the salmon are placed in the oven, bring a pot of water to a boil. Once boiling, add in the linguine.
- While the linguine is cooking, heat 2 tbsp of vegetable oil in a skillet or frying pan, over medium heat. Add in garlic and cook for half a minute until garlic is lightly browned.
- Add in zucchini and saute for about 3 minutes. Add in spring onion and the rest of the ginger-teriyaki sauce, and mix well. Saute briefly then turn fire off.
- Once the pasta is cooked and drained, add it to the skillet and toss to combine with zucchini. Drizzle in some sesame oil and sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds and freshly ground black pepper. Serve warm with salmon on the side.
Nutrition
