Tea-Smoked Five Spice Salmon
Total Time
1 hour and 20 minutes
Prep Time
1 hour
Cook Time
20 minutes
Rating
4.8 out of 5 stars
(12)
Ingredients
2 servings
- 2-4 pieces Salmon (preferably thick pieces)
- 4-6 baby bok choy ( 2-3 per person), quartered lengthwise
- Garnish: chili threads ( optional) or chopped scallions
- 4 cloves garlic whole
- 2 tablespoons fresh ginger- sliced
- 2 teaspoons Chinese Five Spice (store-bought or make your own… see below)
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 5 tablespoons soy sauce
- 3 tablespoons brown sugar
- 1 orange (¼ cup fresh orange juice and the zest, divided )
- 2 inch cinnamon stick
- 2 teaspoons whole cloves
- 2 teaspoons fennel seed
- 2 whole star anises
- 2 teaspoons szechuan peppercorns
- Toast all in a skillet over medium heat until just fragrant, 1-2 mins only. Grind in a coffee grinder until smooth.
- 3 tablespoons rice
- 2 tablespoons loose tea leaves ( green or black tea)
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 2 star anise pods, broken (optional)
- 2 dry red chilies (optional)
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Preparation
Step 1
Make the marinade. Place all of the marinade ingredients in a blender (except the orange zest) and blend until smooth, reserving the orange zest for garnish.
Step 2
Set aside 3 tablespoons of marinade for the bok choy.
Step 3
Place the salmon and the rest of the marinade in a ziplock bag and marinate for 3 hours or overnight.
Step 4
Preheat oven to 300F
Step 5
Prepare the wok for smoking. (A wok works best -or use a deep sauté pan or pot with a lid). You will need a vegetable steamer basket or rack that fits in the wok.
Step 6
Line the wok with 4 layers of foil. Take a large piece of foil and fold it in half, then in half again, so you have an 8-inch square, four layers thick. Place foil in the bottom of the wok.
Step 7
In a small bowl, mix the tea-smoking ingredients together, then place it in the wok, spreading out to about 4 inches in diameter.
Step 8
Place a rack or steamer basket over top the “smoking mixture” – so it sits above, and is not directly touching. You want space for the smoke to circulate.
Step 9
Take salmon out of the marinade, blotting the bottom side of the salmon only, on a paper towel, then place salmon pieces in the steamer basket, so they are not touching each other or the edges of the wok. Cover the wok with foil, then the lid.
Step 10
Turn your hood on. Place the wok on high heat for 2-3 minutes until you begin to see little puffs of smoke. Once you see smoke, turn the heat down to med for 2-3 minutes, then med-low for 5 minutes. I smoked 2 pieces of salmon a total of 8-9 minutes… my salmon was 1½ inches thick -and it was cooked to medium. Once you remove the lid, if your salmon needs to cook more place in the oven to cook to desired doneness. Then caramelize the top of the salmon by either placing under the broiler for a minute or two, or use a chef’s torch.
Step 11
While the salmon is smoking prepare the bok choy. Heat oil in a wok or skillet over medium high heat, and when hot, add baby bok choy, turning occasionally, until wilted, about 4 minutes. Add a couple tablespoons of the reserved marinade, tossing to coat, letting the marinade cook and reduce slightly.
Step 12
Time to assemble. Make a bed of bok choy, top with salmon, garnish with orange zest, chopped scallions, cracked pepper, and chili threads (optional).
Step 13
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