Fancy enough for a birthday dinner: Sesame-Miso Salmon with Kimchi Butter

We’ve already established that my son’s tolerance of seafood is directly related to the price, so when wild-caught salmon went up to $22/pound he immediately fell in love with all things salmon. Sushi-grade tuna? Adores it. Scallops? Pretty great, especially when you wrap the really large ones in bacon and grill them. I’m in trouble if he ever discovers Chilean sea bass, which aside from being the most gorgeous fish fillet you’ve ever seen is also $32/pound at the local Kroger. But honestly, there’s only just so much chicken we can eat; he’s hit-or-miss on pork and beef, especially if there’s evidence that it ever contained a bone; and with all of David’s dietary restrictions, I just don’t have enough energy to make any serious efforts towards vegetarian meals.

I’m always on the lookout for salmon recipes that we can eat without leaving out key ingredients. While there’s nothing wrong with a mostly-naked piece of fish, it’s nice to mix it up and give the appearance of having made an actual effort on dinner, especially if I’m guilting the rest of the family into doing the dishes. This particular recipe was a winner on all fronts: Asian flavors, which we all love and apparently never get tired of; includes kimchi, my latest obsession since our discovery of the Korean BBQ burger; and can be made with absolutely zero modifications in under an hour with roughly 3 minutes of actual hands-on work. I was delighted to see that my local fruit market carries gluten-free white miso so I didn’t have to drive all over hell’s half-acre looking for it or try to interpret food labels printed in Japanese, which is absolutely a bonus in my book. Two weeks after I first made this, the kids are still talking about – and requesting – a repeat.

Since David’s birthday is coming up, this was a logical candidate for the actual birthday dinner (not to be confused with the birthday party dinner, which includes me gang-pressing various family members into helping me make grapeleaves for 20). We eat more than enough rice around here as it is, so it’s going over some rice noodles dressed with sesame oil, with a cucumber-radish-rice vinegar salad and a seaweed-sesame salad on the side. I'm also serving it with one of my favorite sakes; it's a great entry-level one to try if you don't want to buy a huge bottle and/or aren't sure if you're going to like it, since it only comes in teeny bottles and the sparkling aspect makes it lighter and a little less funky than some other types. 

This recipe comes from Cooking Light magazine, June 2018. I’m back after a decade-long break in my subscription, and it’s the single most useful source of weeknight dinners I’ve ever found. I highly recommend a subscription, plus you get awesome deals when you renew.

Sesame-Miso Salmon

1 (1 1/2-lb.) salmon fillet

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

2 tablespoons fresh lime juice

1 tablespoon lower-sodium soy sauce

1 tablespoon honey

1 tablespoon sesame oil

1 tablespoon minced garlic

2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger

1 teaspoon sesame seeds

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

2 tablespoons finely minced kimchi

2 teaspoons white miso

2 tablespoons sliced scallions

Pat salmon dry with paper towels. Sprinkle with salt, and place in a gallon-size ziplock plastic bag.

Stir together lime juice, soy sauce, honey, oil, garlic, ginger, and sesame seeds in a bowl. Pour mixture over salmon in ziplock bag. Seal bag, removing any excess air, and gently massage mixture into salmon. Let stand at room temperature 30 minutes.

Preheat broiler to high with oven rack in upper middle position. Stir together butter, kimchi, and miso in a small bowl. Set kimchi-miso butter aside.

Place salmon on a rimmed baking sheet lined with aluminum foil. Broil until fish flakes easily when tested with a fork, about 8 to 10 minutes.

Serve with the kimchi-miso butter on top.