Pan-Fried Salmon Bento Set (with Garlic Butter Rice and Ponzu-Inspired Soy Sauce)

I somewhat love making food that is tedious to make and requires a lot of time, but I also appreciate food that is simple and filling (especially on a lazy weekday). This week, I'd like to share one of my favorite meals especially when I need extra energy for the day which is also great for the soul- pan-fried salmon! Just to be slightly extra and not just eating salmon as it is, I will also share with you the recipe for a simple garlic butter (fried) rice that complements the grilled salmon. Also, as a bonus, I'll share with you ponzu-inspired soy sauce dipping to balance off the fatty, buttery, and rich taste of salmon.

I recommend preparing in the following sequence, for time efficiency (cause I am bad at it): Marinade salmon, soy sauce dipping, fried rice, and lastly cook the salmon :)

Woops, it is not grilled, but pan-fried. But hey, you could also grill it in the oven!

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Serving: 5 pax

Time: 4-12 hours (30 minutes of cooking, 4-12 hours of marinating)

Ingredients:

Rice

• 2 cups basmati / white rice (1:1 ratio)

• 3 cups of water

• 4 cloves garlic, minced

• 20 grams salted butter, room temperature

• 2 tbsp soy sauce (optional and recommended, but I did not use it in this particular recipe)

• Mix herb (rosemary+thyme+oregano+black pepper)

• Salt to taste

• 2-3 tbsp olive oil

Ponzu-Inspired Soy Sauce

• 3 1/2 tbsp soy sauce

• 1/2 tbsp Hallabong tea (the brand I use is Kmt. Alternatively, you can use marmalade jam)

• 1 tsp chili flake

• Vinegar to taste

Pan-Fried Salmon

• 5 piece salmon, steak

• 1 1/2 - 2 tbsp coarse salt

• Olive oil + 5 gram of butter

• 5 stem fresh dill

Preparation:

Rice

• Cook rice as per normal but make sure that one cup of rice would require 1.5 cups of water and leave it to cool. Better still, use leftover cooled rice :)

• Prepare the garlic butter mixture. Mix in about 10 grams of butter and minced garlic together in a bowl. Once it is well mixed, add in the mixed herbs. Set aside.

• In a medium-high heat pan, add olive oil and 10 gram of butter. Once melted, add in the garlic butter mix and fry it with medium heat until golden brown.

• Add in the cooled rice gradually. Mix until the rice and the garlic butter mixture is combined well. You may add salt to taste or soy sauce if you'd prefer.

• Serve!

Ponzu Inspired Soy Sauce

• Add in soy sauce and hallabong tea into a bowl and mix well.

• Add in the chili flake and adjust the tartness by adding white vinegar to your liking. I find that adding 1 tbsp of vinegar is to my liking.

• Chill in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes. The soy sauce tastes better with time.

Pan-Fried Salmon

• Generously salt the salmon steak with coarse salt on each side and let it rest for 2 hours.

• After 2 hours, pat-dry the salmon with a kitchen towel as the salt actually draws out the liquid from the salmon. This step is essential to ensure that the salmon will be crispy when you fry it, so don't skip it!

• This time around, I left it to rest for another 2 hours and pat-dry the salmon steaks again. Don't forget to dust off the salt before frying it!

• Heat up your pan to medium-high heat and put in olive oil and butter. Once butter is fully melted, add in fresh dill to add taste and fragrance.

• Once you can smell the fragrance (or when the dill looks like in the picture below), add in the salmon steak.

Heat the dill until as seen here. The "previous dill" should be taken out before adding new dill for a new steak.

• Flip the salmon once the side is golden brown (approx 3-5 minutes, depends on how thick/big the salmon steak is). When both sides are golden brown, make sure to sear the skin for it to be crispy (and blissful).

• Set aside and ready to serve.

I do recommend serving this combo of garlic butter rice and pan-fried salmon with salad (Italian dressing or sesame dressing) for a harmonious and balanced diet.

Enjoy!