Sake no shoyu sotee, daikon oroshi zoe / salmon soy sauce saute, with grated daikon radish

Crispy saute lightly flavored with soy sauce and sake. Grated daikon and finely chopped green onion add mildly pungent spiciness while lemon gives a zesty, fruity note.

<Ingredients>

1-2 fillets salmon (100 g & 130 g fillets of previously frozen sockeye salmon in photo)
10 cm daikon radish (170g in photo)
1 green onion
2 tsp soy sauce
2 tsp sake
1/4 large or 1/2 small lemon
1 tbsp flour
1 tsp oil (not in photo)


<Directions>
1.

Place salmon in a shallow container or deep plate, pour over sake and soy sauce, and let sit in the fridge for 20 minutes. Flip once or twice for even flavoring.

2.

Meanwhile, grate daikon, and finely chop green onion (first cut lengthwise into 4-8 pieces and then chop crosswise).

Cut lemon in half, and set aside.

Gently squeeze out extra water from grated daikon to the point where it is not soggy when placed on a plate or water does not drip when picked up with fingers.

Add green onion and mix.

Set aside.

3.

Pat dry each salmon fillet with paper towel.

Coat with flour, and pat off extra flour.

4.

Heat oil in a frying pan, and saute salmon. First fry side intended to be presented face up when served (oil will be cleaner at the beginning, resulting in a cleaner look on your plate). Cook on medium high until done halfway (color changes to opaque).

Flip, lower heat to medium low, and cook until done.

5.

Transfer to plates. Serve with daikon radish and a lemon wedge.

<Notes>

• Patting off extra flour before sauteing is the key to a crispy result. Flour also absorbs more oil, so less flour is better (most of the 1 tbsp flour should be left on the tray after patting off with this recipe). A shaker or duster would be a handy tool.
• And to ensure a thin coating of flour, make sure to wipe any liquid from fish before coating with flour.
• This has a very mild flavor. If something slightly stronger is desired, pour over 2 tsp soy sauce and 2 tsp sake after salmon is done for an extra toasty flavor and aroma. When you do this, first wipe off oil & fat in the frying pan for light, clean taste at the end. Or you can serve with a separate bottle or container of soy sauce at the table -- but people tend to pour too much soy sauce over their food.
• Fresh salmon is the best choice, but previously frozen salmon is OK with this recipe if just thawed. Cooking with oil covers up the deteriorating taste and smell. The more oil and seasoning you use, the more cover-up you get.