Miso-Glazed Salmon with Charred Tenderstem
Three-ingredient glaze, one basket, nine minutes. The most reliable weeknight fish there is.
Why it works
Miso is already fermented and salty, so it seasons and browns at the same time — no marinating window needed. The broccoli goes in underneath the fillets and catches the glaze as it drips. The rice goes on the hob before the basket goes on, so it is steaming and resting by the time the salmon flakes.
Method
- Boil the kettle and heat the air fryer to 200°C (400°F). Put the rinsed rice, salt and boiling water in a small pan, bring back to the boil, then clamp on a lid and cook on the lowest heat for 10 minutes. Leave it covered off the heat until you serve.
- Stir the miso, mirin, vinegar and ginger together in a small bowl.
- Toss the broccoli with the sesame oil and lay it flat in the basket. Sit the salmon fillets on top, skin down, and brush the tops thickly with the miso glaze.
- Air fry for 9 minutes, scattering the frozen edamame around the fillets at 5 minutes so they thaw and blister in the last four. The glaze should be dark and bubbling at the edges and the salmon should flake when pressed at its thickest point.
- Fork the rice loose and spread it over four warm plates. Lift the salmon, broccoli and beans on top, scatter with sesame seeds and spring onion, and spoon any glaze left in the basket over the rice.
For the toddler
Leave one fillet unglazed at step 3 and set a few broccoli stems beside it, since miso is salt itself and cannot be toned down once it is on. If you make the glaze with honey rather than mirin, keep it away from a baby under one and use the mirin for theirs. Cut the broccoli into soft finger-length strips, flake the plain salmon and check it for bones, and squash the edamame.
How the toddler notes workChef’s notes
Cod, sea bass or thick-cut trout all work — drop to 7 minutes for thinner white fish. Firm tofu slabs need 12 minutes.
Two 250 g pouches of microwave rice instead of the pan. Double the glaze while you are at it and keep it in a jar; it lives happily in the fridge for a month.
A bowl of instant miso soup, or cucumber steeped in rice vinegar with a pinch of salt and chilli.
Excellent cold, flaked into the leftover rice with cucumber.