This recipe comes to us from our friend The Sardinfluencer Harrison Weinfeld. We tasked Harrison with coming up with some recipes for the salmon portions coming from the tail end of the salmon, as these are thinner and can be more difficult to prepare. A great pointer that Harrison has is that salmon skin adds wonderful flavor to salads. This Coho Salmon Skin Sunomono Salad makes really good use of salmon skin, which is where a lot of the nutrtion lies. Here is Harrison's notes on the recipe:
Sunomono translates to “vinegared things,” and while this delineation can apply to anything you can soak in the sour stuff, colloquially it almost always means pickled small cucumbers. If you’ve never tasted salmon skin salad, you are in an easy, waste-saving, delicious treat. What I love about this recipe is that it makes an abundance of Sunomono, which keeps in the fridge for months and is an outstanding ingredient and garnish that goes great chopped up in seafood salads or used to easily enhance everyday dishes with its iconic brightness and crunch. When coupled with the crispy coho skin, the textures and flavors meld into a dish that is as approachable as it is iconic.
INGREDIENTS
· 1 coho salmon tail piece (thawed under refrigeration)
· 6 Persian cucumbers (sliced to 1 mm thickness on mandolin)
· 1 cup unseasoned rice wine vinegar (plus more if needed)
· 1 tbsp sugar
· ½ tbsp kosher salt plus more to taste
· 1 cup mixed greens
· 1 tbs neutral oil
· Toasted sesame seeds to taste
· Togarashi shichimi to taste
METHOD
- Add the sliced Persian cucumbers to a 1 quart deli container (any plastic 1 quart container with lid will work for this i.e. cottage cheese, sour cream, etc.). Give it a few gentle bangs on the counter so the cucumber slices settle as low as they can. Fill the container with water until the cucumbers are just covered. Then carefully drain the water into a glass measuring cup and note the level. This is the amount of rice wine vinegar you will use. Water a plant with the water and replace with rice wine vinegar to the noted line.
- Add sugar and salt and stir until they are both dissolved. If the last bit gives you trouble, feel free to zap it in the microwave for 30 seconds to help it along. Once dissolved, pour the solution over into the cucumber container. Cover and swirl, ensuring all the cucumbers are submerged. Place in fridge and allow to pickle, ideally overnight, but minimum 2 hours. (These are delicious and will keep in the fridge for up to 6 months).
- When you are ready to make your salad, pat the coho fillet dry lay it skin side down on a board. Using the sharpest knife you have, slice the flesh off the skin working up from the tail. You want to leave a small amount of flesh on the skin (2-3mm), which adds a meaty bite to the crispy skin. Save the flesh section you removed in a small plastic bag, remove as much air and store in the fridge for up to three days. This piece works great in my Tom Kha Pla or Za’atar-Seared Coho recipes.
- Cut the skin down its line of symmetry and season both sides of both pieces generously with kosher salt and leave on the board for twenty minutes. This will draw out moisture from the skin and flesh which will help it crisp even better. After twenty minutes, pat them dry as well as possible with paper towels.
- Add the oil to a hot nonstick skillet and allow it to pool where it wants, usually to the side. Lay the skin pieces skin side down in the hot oil, using a spoon or tongs to ensure the skin is making good contact with the oil. Once the flesh is cooked and the skin is crispy and beginning to take on a nice golden-brown color (about 3-5 minutes), remove them with a fish spatula and place skin side up on a board.
- Add you mixed greens to a bowl and top with a generous amount of the sunomono pickles. Dust with toasted sesame seeds and togarashi.
- Chop your salmon skin into 8-10 bite-sized pieces. Arrange them atop the pickles to your liking. Dust with more sesame seeds and togarashi.
Serve Immediately.
Serves 1-2
