Great for a weekday meal or for Shabbat

This simple salmon with Asian-inspired flavors is a crowd-pleaser. It’s uncomplicated enough to make during the week, but I also often add it to my Shabbat menu.

Once you have the basic ingredients in your home, it’s easy to mix up fresh salad dressing and quickly make miso soup to accompany the fish.
All recipes are included. It takes about 35 minutes to whip up the entire meal.

Ginger miso salmon

Ingredients for the fish marinade
(I call it a marinade, but you can mix this up, pour it over the salmon and cook immediately without waiting for it to marinate in the fridge.)

2 tablespoons soy sauce or tamari
2 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons white miso paste
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar or rice vinegar
1 tablespoon avocado oil or neutral vegetable oil
2 tablespoons orange juice
1 garlic clove, crushed
1 teaspoon crushed fresh garlic

1 pound of salmon, skin on

Mix the marinade ingredients in a bowl.

Heat the oven to 325 F.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Rinse the fish, and pat it dry with a paper towel.

Place the salmon skin-side down onto the tray, and pour the marinade evenly over the fish.

Place tray on middle rack of oven and bake salmon for 30-35 minutes. Don’t overcook the fish — it will continue to cook after you remove it from the oven.

Salad with Asian-inspired dressing (Photo by Jessica Grann)

Ingredients for the salad dressing:

3 tablespoons fresh orange juice
1 small garlic clove, crushed
1 teaspoon fresh ginger, crushed
2 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar or rice vinegar
1 tablespoon avocado oil or another neutral vegetable oil
A pinch of salt and pepper

Put all ingredients into a lidded Mason jar, and shake until it emulsifies.

This is great on a simple salad, but you also can top the salad with Asian-style crunchy noodles, avocado, sesame seeds or pomegranate arils for color. A bunch of freshly chopped bok choy adds a wonderful crunch.

Miso soup:
The miso soup is simple: Just add 1 tablespoon of miso paste to 1 cup of water. If I’m serving four people, I bring 4 cups of water to a boil, then add 4 tablespoons of miso paste and gently simmer for a few minutes before serving.

You can add veggies or cubed tofu, but the miso soup is very good plain with a few strips of nori seaweed sheets added in before serving.

Enjoy and bless your hands! PJC

Jessica Grann is a home chef living in Pittsburgh.