Plaidophile

Okay, so yesterday, after an all-evening Food Network binge (watching, not eating), I had an idea of preparing one of the Alton Brown recipes.

But my subconscious had other plans, so I made teriyaki grilled salmon today instead. C'est magnifique!

Basically, last night I dreamt I was on Alton's show, and he was (in his trademark rapid-fire staccato dorkiness) explaining that if I really want to do something with broiled salmon but didn't want the richness of that particular recipe, that I should try sticking to what I know, while trying new things. So, since I've done so much pseudo-Japanese cooking and wanted to try new things—

When I woke up, I was all, like, "Whoa. Teriyaki salmon on somen noodles!"

So.

In a saucepan, combine one cup of soy sauce with one cup of saké, two minced cloves of garlic, 1/3 cup of sugar, and a fair amount of fresh grated ginger. Add some chili paste and a few pinches of wasabi. Bring to a rapid boil, then reduce the heat to a gentle simmer. Allow it to reduce to a nice thick syrup, stirring constantly to avoid burning the sugar. (Don't worry, there'll be plenty of yummy caramelization later!)

Preheat the oven's broiler on its highest setting, with the top rack 6-8" from the top burner.

Spray a broiling pan with non-stick cooking spray. Take cutlets of salmon fillet, and brush liberally with the teriyaki sauce. Place them on the broiling pan, and sprinkle with sesame seeds. Broil them for three minutes. Turn the cutlets over, and drizzle them with more teriyaki sauce, and sprinkle with more sesame seeds. Return it to the broiler. After two minutes, turn the broiler off, but keep the salmon in the oven. One minute later, transfer the broiling pan to the bottom-most rack in the oven, but keep it in the (warm) oven.

Bring a pot of water to a boil, with a dash of sesame oil. Put in the somen noodles. Boil according to package directions. Drain, rinse with cold water, then return them to the pot. Drizzle them with sesame oil, rice vinegar, and a small amount of soy sauce, tossing to coat evenly.

Serve the salmon atop a bed of somen. For Sakai-esque plating flair, also drizzle some teriyaki sauce on the plate.

I need to stop watching so much Food Network.