Salmon is a favorite in my home - it brings the kids and adults together like no other seafood dish can. I prepare it in 2-3 different ways. The poached and baked salmon varieties are more popular with the adults but the grilled salmon is loved by kids and adults alike! I like to serve it with vegetables or couscous or even on top of a salad. This hearty main pairs beautifully with any side and is such a heart healthy delicious one to have on any weeknight - there is so much ease in preparing this.

Salmon has so much flavor of its own that you can just grill it with a simple spice rub and it will be wonderful. But I have realized that a basic marinade can go a long way in adding to the depth of flavors. And you can go all the way as far as marinades go - add citrus, vinegar, oil, soy, herbs, fresh and dried spices and a lot of different flavors like ginger, garlic, mustard and some recipes call for maple syrup or brown sugar to add the layer of sweetness. I flavor my salmon in many ways but a good, basic soy marinade is your best bet. Its the natural glutamates in soy sauce that add that much needed umami to the meats that makes you go ummmm.

While in the US I never enjoyed the overly sweet teriyaki marinades sold there ..... I had abstained from the sugary marinades for the longest time. And so I avoided all dishes labelled teriyaki for quite some time and it was only recently when I had teriyaki salmon in an authentic Japanese restaurant that I realized that the Japanese version of this dish was a lot more to my liking than what I had been eating before. And then with a bit of research I found out more about it. Teriyaki is more a method of preparation in which food is grilled on a pan/grill/broiler and basted with a sauce that makes it shine. The sauce typically used in this preparation is a mixture of equal parts of soy, sake and mirin. And while trying to find the ingredients, I came across a brand that carried this teriyaki marinade also.

So given the popularity of salmon, it was a natural choice for trying this recipe. I serve this on a bed of mixed greens, cherry tomatoes sprinkled with some seaweed flakes and sesame seeds. I like to add a bit of spice to the salmon when it gets done for the extra kick in every bite. My choice of spice mix for this recipe is Nanami Togarashi, a Japanese spice mix with herbs and chili - I keep a bunch of spices from all over the world in my pantry - you don't know what you need when and the spices alone set each dish apart every time.

Ingredients:

2 Salmon Fillets (skin removed)

Teriyaki Marinade 3-4 tablespoons

salt and pepper to taste

1 tsp Nanami Togarashi

2 cups Mixed Greens

1/4 cup cherry tomatoes, sliced into half

1 tsp Seaweed flakes

1/2 tsp Black and white sesame seeds

Method:

1. Marinade the salmon in the teriyaki marinade for 3-4 hours.

2. To prepare the salmon for cooking, take it out of the marinade and let the marinade drip off/wipe the excess with a paper towel.

3. Preheat a pan/grill over medium high heat till the optimum temperature is reached.

4. Sprinkle salt and pepper on one side of the salmon and place the seasoned side down on the grill.

5. After 2-3 minutes of cooking, sprinkle salt and pepper on the other side of salmon and flip it over to cook on both sides.

6. You may turn the salmon 1-2 more times. till it is cooked all the way through.

7. Once done, move the salmon from the pan onto a plate and sprinkle the nanami togarashi on both sides. after 3-4 minutes, slice the salmon into pieces of desired thickness.

8. Arrange the greens, cherry tomatoes, seaweed flakes and sesame seeds on a salad dish. Place the salmon slices on top and serve.