Hoisin Glazed Salmon with Udon Noodles and Veggies

Salmon is not only a super food, but it is versatile and delicious. I try to eat it at least once a week, so to keep it from getting boring, I like to get creative with its preparation. Tonight for dinner, I made hoisin glazed salmon and served it with a side of roasted eggplant and udon noodles stir fried with mushrooms and red bell pepper.

The whole meal (for three people) took about 35 minutes from raw ingredients to table, which is perfect for after work. I kinda made the recipe up as I was walking through the grocery store this evening, but would definitely make this one again.

Here's what you need to recreate it....

Equipment

• Baking sheet
• Casserole dish (or whatever you like to cook fish in)
• Medium to large pasta pot
• Frying pan

Ingredients

For the fish:

• One pound of salmon. I prefer to get wild salmon because it is healthier, but farm raised will taste the same.
• 1/4 cup Hoisin Sauce
• Juice of half a lemon (a lime might have worked better, but I happened to have a lot of lemons I wanted to use up)
• 2 cloves of garlic, crushed into a paste
• 1 Teaspoon white wine vinegar
• Two tablespoons sesame seeds

For the noodles:

• One package udon noodles
• One bell pepper. I like the red ones best, but whatever color you like will work.
• 3 cups mushrooms - whatever variety you like will do.
• Pinch of salt
• Two tablespoons toasted sesame oil
• 1 Tablespoon olive oil

For the eggplant:

• 1 eggplant
• 1/4 cup Hoisin Sauce
• 1 Tablespoon olive oil
• Pinch of salt

Steps to Recreate

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F
2. Cut the salmon into single portion filets.
3. Make the salmon marinade by combining 1/4 of hoisin sauce with garlic, lemon, and vinegar. Using a brush or the back of a spoon, spread the marinade equally over the filets. Let the salmon sit like this for at least 15 minutes before baking.
4. Meanwhile, while the salmon marinates, cube the eggplant into slightly larger than bite size pieces. They will shrink as they cook and become bite size. Toss the eggplant in a tablespoon of olive oil, 1/4 cup hoisin sauce, add a pinch of salt. Spread the eggplant chunks evenly on a baking sheet and bake in the pre heated oven 30 minutes (or until soft), turning over half way through. Actual cooking time will depend on your oven and how large you cut your chunks.
5. When the eggplant is about half way cooked, add the salmon to the oven. I like to cook fish in casserole dishes because it keeps the yummy sauces and fats around the fish rather than letting it slide off the side like it would on a baking sheet. My salmon cooked for 16 minutes tonight and came out perfectly. Yours may need more or less depending on the thickness of the filets and the heat of your oven.
6. While the eggplant cooks. Cut the mushrooms and bell peppers into bite size pieces.
7. Set a pot of salted water to boil.
8. Add a tablespoon of olive oil to a frying pan on medium heat, then add the bell peppers and mushrooms. Add up to two tablespoons of toasted sesame oil to the pan. Season with black pepper to taste.
9. Once the water boils, cook the udon noodles according to the instructions on the package. I used Nasoya brand Udon noodles (https://www.instacart.com/star-market/products/102802-nasoya-japanese-udon-noodles-9-oz), which cooked in 3 minutes. Its important not to over cook them, because I finished them in the frying pan with the mushrooms and peppers. If the pan seems dry, you can add a quarter cup of the noodles' cooking water to the frying pan before adding the noodles. Toss the noodles in the mushroom/pepper mix to combine. I let it sit in the hot pan but turned off the heat as soon as the noodles went in.
10. Plate and enjoy! I topped my salmon filets with sesame seeds after they came out of the oven. I like to use sesame seeds because they add a nice texture and without a distracting flavor actually have a lot of health benefits and nutrients, including protein, iron, calcium, copper, and zinc. You can read more about them here: http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=84

Thanks for reading! I hope you have a delicious evening. If you liked this recipe, please upvote, follow, and comment.