L.S.K. Salmon Two Ways
If you know me, you know I'm all about abbrevs. Life's too short (L.T.S.) - so whether it's S.G. (Sake Gumi), U.M. (Umami Mart) or B.B. (Berkeley Bowl), I'll refer to things in every day life with its abbreviation.
In addition to it being my current favorite ingredient, Liquid Shio Koji sounds great abbreviated – L.S.K. I've been using on everything including chicken, vegetables, and seafood. Like regular shio koji, it enhances umami in an ingredient. Use it in a marinade, and it will make your meat or vegetable more tender and flavorful.
But what makes L.S.K. better than regular shio koji? Two things - first, regular shio koji must be refrigerated, but because L.S.K. has some ethyl alcohol in it, it doesn't have to be refrigerated unopened (we recommend keeping it in the fridge after opening). Also, regular shio koji has the consistency of porridge, so if you marinate a food in it, you have to make sure to wipe it all off before baking or frying so it doesn't burn. But since L.S.K. is liquid it slides right off when it's used as a marinade. So even without wiping the food that's been marinade, there's significantly less chance of burning than when you use regular shio koji (although I would pat it down anyway).
One of my favorite ways to use L.S.K. is to marinate salmon. It's so easy and delicious, I can eat it for breakfast and dinner (I did that over the weekend). The preparation is the same, but to change it up, I cooked it two different ways - baked for dinner and broiled for breakfast.
INGREDIENTS
2 pieces of 1/4 lb salmon slices (have your fish monger cut 1/4 lb slices of salmon for you to make this recipe even easier)
3 tbsp L.S.K. (Liquid Shio Koji)
METHOD
1. Place the salmon pieces in a plastic sandwich baggie.
2. Add the L.S.K. Depress the air out of the bag.
3. Leave in the fridge for four hours, then turn the bag around for another four hours.
4A. For the baking method, I wrapped a slice in foil with shiitake and enoki mushrooms and baked in a 375°F oven for 40 minutes.
Be careful of the steam when opening! You will be rewarded with a tender, flaky, juicy piece of salmon and a earthy waft of mushrooms.
The flavor is pleasantly savory and great accompanied with a bowl of rice.
4B. For the broiling method, broil for 15 minutes in the oven or toaster oven.
You will be rewarded with crispy salmon skin and a slightly caramelized flavor.
As you can see, this recipe is as easy as saying L.S.K. L.T.S. for complicated cookin'!
