Miso-Grilled Salmon with Brown Rice and a Simple Sesame-Cucumber Salad

There is almost always a container of white miso paste sitting in my refrigerator, ready for a quick soup,  to be mixxed into a sauce or dressing, or added to a marinade/paste for fish. This Miso-Grilled Salmon is an easy recipe from Simple Dinners by Donna Hay. It calls for firm white fish but since I had salmon fillets in the freezer that's what I used. 

Donna recommends serving it with jasmine rice and a simple cucumber salad with a toasted sesame seed dressing. I switched my rice to brown for a little extra fiber and tossed together a cucumber salad of my own. The salmon turned out tender and succulent and it made for a satisfying but not heavy dinner.  

Miso-Grilled Fish (Salmon)
Adapted from Simple Dinners by Donna Hay
(Serves 4)

4 (200 g / 7 oz) firm white fish fillets, skin off
1/4 cup white miso paste
2 Tbsp caster (superfine) sugar (I reduced to 1 1/2 Tbsp)
1 Tbsp finely grated ginger (I used 1 1/2 Tbsp)
1 Tbsp vegetable oil
2 Tbsp water
steamed jasmine rice and lemon wedges to serve

Place fish on a baking tray lined with parchment. Combine miso, sugar, ginger, oil and water and spread over the fish. Allow to marinate 10-15 minutes.

Preheat grill or broiler and  over high heat and broil fish for 6-8 minutes or until just cooked through. Serve fish with steamed rice and lemon wedges and a simple cucumber salad with toasted sesame seed dressing, if desired. 

Simple Sesame-Cucumber Salad: I used my mandoline to slice a local cucumber very thinly, then marinated the slices in a mixture of olive oil, rice vinegar, a touch of sesame oil, a small drizzle of honey and a generous sprinkle of toasted sesame seeds. I also added some fresh cilantro when I placed it on the plate. No real measurements--everything to taste. 

Notes/Results: Excellent! The miso paste really locks in the moistness of the fish and gives it a great savory-sweet flavor with warmth from the ginger. I did reduce the sugar slightly and upped the amount of ginger that I used in the marinade (noted in red above). I would have liked to have my salmon a little more blackened on top but my oven has been a bit *funny* lately so I moved the rack down one notch as I had visions of my gas broiler element flame catching my salmon on fire. ;-) Still, the salmon ended up cooked to my liking on the inside and still had that nice slightly crispy miso crust. Yum! It was perfect with the nutty, slightly chewy brown rice and crisp, tangy cucumber salad. I will make this again.
 

It's Potluck week at I Heart Cooking Clubs and a chance to make any Donna Hay dish or a dish from any previous IHCC chef. Check the linkys on the post to see the different dishes everyone made.

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