White Tea Poached Salmon

Submitted by Chef Kate

"In Asia, poaching salmon in green tea is common. This variation poaches the fish in mild white tea. Use the poaching liquid to make a delicately flavored sauce to complement the richness of this fish. Serve with steamed rice and Swiss chard. Adapted from Whole Foods"

 

• Ready In: 30mins
• Ingredients: 15
• Serves: 4

ingredients

• 1 tablespoon white tea leaves (or 4 teabags, standard size)
• 2 cups water, divided
• 2 tablespoons water, divided
• 4 garlic cloves, crushed
• 4 slices fresh gingerroot, 1/2-inch-thick
• 1 lemon, thinly sliced
• 2 tablespoons tamari
• 1 tablespoon mirin
• 1 teaspoon arrowroot
• 1 tablespoon canola oil
• 4 salmon fillets, without skin (6 oz each)
• sea salt, to taste
• ground pepper, to taste
• 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil, for drizzling
• 1⁄4 cup chopped scallion

directions

1. Place tea bags in a teapot or glass container. Bring 2 cups water to a boil. Remove from heat and let cool for 2 or 3 minutes. Pour hot water over tea bags and steep tea for 1 minute. Remove tea bags from water.
2. Add garlic, ginger, lemon, tamari and mirin to tea and set aside.
3. In a small bowl, dissolve arrowroot powder in 2 tablespoons water. Set aside.
4. In a large skillet, heat canola oil over medium heat. Add salmon to pan and sear for 2 minutes, until browned.
5. Flip salmon and add tea mixture to skillet. Bring to a boil.
6. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer gently for 8 to 10 minutes, until center of salmon is opaque and just flakes easily.
7. Remove salmon to a plate, season lightly with salt and pepper and tent with foil to keep warm.
8. Add dissolved arrowroot to poaching liquid and bring to a boil, stirring constantly, until slightly thickened, 1 to 2 minutes. Strain liquid into a small bowl.
9. Drizzle strained liquid and sesame oil over salmon and garnish with scallions.

Reviews

[French Tart]

This was a very elegant and much enjoyed salmon recipe; unfortunately, I did not have any tamari or mirin , and I realise that they are essential ingredients - but I searched and searched and could not find any in time for this tagged recipe! So, I popped a little bit of 5 spice powder in......the flavour appeared to be very authentic. I also used gunpowder tea.....this gave an amazing flavour to the salmon, complex and extremely tasty. I will actually cut back on the arrowroot next time, I think we would prefer the sauce to be just slightly runny.....a superb salmon recipe, which I will make again when I have all the correct ingredients. Thanks Kate!

 

[AmandaInOz]

This was so simple and tasty. The salmon was perfectly cooked, and the sauce was quite mild with a hint of lemon. The only thing I would say is that I wish the sauce had been a bit thicker, so maybe next time I'll use more arrowroot. Thanks Chef Kate!