Poached Wild BC Salmon in Miso Broth
Gentle poaching puts a filet of wild BC salmon on display when paired with an umami-rich miso broth. This is a refreshing and light dish, with tender flavours and textures from enoki mushrooms, shiitake mushrooms, and sliced baby bok choy. The idea of poached salmon may invoke terrible memories of banquets or poorly-catered weddings, but done properly, it will yield something soft, flaky, and delicious.
This recipe is written to use white miso, which is considered more sweet and mild, compared to the other colours you may see on the shelf. If non-white miso is something you already have on-hand, then definitely use it!
Miso soup is built off a foundational traditional Japanese stock called dashi, which is made of three simple ingredients: water, kombu (dried sea kelp), and katsuobushi (also known as bonito flakes, which are wispy grated pieces of dried bonito fish). Both kombu and katsuobushi are sold in specialty Asian grocers; you can make your own dashi stock (instructions included) or you can use pre-made packets of dashi broth. If these ingredients are not readily available to you, fret not – you can substitute fish broth or any broth you have on-hand.
Ingredients
300g Skin-On Filet – Boneless Wild BC Salmon
1L / 1000mL Broth (or dashi broth, instructions below)
2 tablespoons White Miso paste
1 Scallion, diced
2-3 Large Shiitake Mushrooms, sliced
Small bunch Enoki Mushrooms, trimmed (approximately 30 grams)
5-6 heads baby bok choy, sliced
Sesame Oil, for garnish
Micro-greens (Optional)
Toasted sesame seeds (Optional)
OPTIONAL: Dashi Broth
Ingredients
1L / 1000mL Water
10g kombu (one piece, about 20 square inches total)
10g katsuobushi (bonito flakes)
Place kombu in the pot of water and gently bring to a gentle simmer on medium heat (this will take about 5-6 minutes); you do not want the water to fully boil, you just want to steep the kombu without introducing any bitterness;
Remove kombu, then bring water to a boil. Remove the pot from the heat, add in bonito flakes;
Let steep for approximately 10 minutes, and strain. This dashi broth will be your poaching liquid for this dish!
Directions
Bring your 1L / 1000mL of dashi (or broth) to a gentle simmer; if you have a thermometer on-hand, you’ll ideally register 150-160 ̊F. Take it off the heat, and set it on a separate, non-heated burner.
Gently slide your skin-on piece of salmon into the broth and let it sit for 8-10 minutes.
While you poach your fish, prepare your vegetables: trim your enoki mushrooms, slice your shiitake mushrooms, dice your green onions, and slice your baby bok choy – I like to separate the crunchier bottoms from the greens, as they take longer to cook. Set everything aside.
Once you see that your salmon has reached a nice, opaque colour – remove it from the poaching liquid with a slotted spatula and set it aside. Gently use a knife to remove the skin (which you can save and fry it up as a tasty snack if you’d like!). Portion the salmon into two pieces and sprinkle with a bit of Kosher salt or flaky finishing salt.
Bring your poaching liquid back to a rapid boil for about 5 minutes to reduce the broth – you’ll want to reduce the liquid by 1/3.
Add in the baby bok choy stems first and let them cook for 1 minute before turning off the heat.
Add white miso paste and dissolve with a fork or whisk, so that the miso is evenly distributed in the broth.
Add in the mushrooms, baby bok choy greens, and diced green onion and let sit for another 1-2 minutes to soften.
Ladle your miso broth and veggies into two large bowls and (optional) drizzle with a bit of sesame oil.
Lastly, place your pieces of poached salmon into your broth. You can also garnish with micro-greens (optional) or toasted sesame seeds (optional).
Total Cook Time: 45 Minutes
Serves 2
This recipe is created and photographed by Vanessa Ng.