Teriyaki Salmon Bowls with Edamame and Pickled Ginger

Ingredients

• 4 skin-on salmon fillets (approx. 150g each)
• 4 tbsp soy sauce
• 3 tbsp mirin
• 2 tbsp runny honey
• 2 garlic cloves, finely grated
• 1 tsp fresh ginger, finely grated
• 1 tsp sesame oil
• 300g jasmine rice
• 200g frozen edamame beans, podded
• 1 cucumber
• 2 tbsp rice wine vinegar
• 1 tsp sesame oil
• 40g pickled ginger, to serve
• 3 spring onions, thinly sliced, to serve
• 2 tbsp sesame seeds, toasted in a dry pan, to serve
• small bunch of fresh coriander, leaves picked, to serve
• extra soy sauce, to taste, to serve
• 1 lime, cut into wedges, to serve

Method

1. Heat the oven to 200°C fan. Whisk the soy sauce, mirin, honey, grated garlic, grated ginger and sesame oil together in a small bowl — this is your teriyaki glaze, and the grated garlic will mellow as it bakes rather than scorch (raw garlic on a hot tray turns bitter fast, so we're letting the glaze carry it).
2. Place the salmon fillets skin-side down in a lined roasting tray, season generously with salt and pepper, then spoon three-quarters of the glaze over the top. Reserve the rest in the bowl. Leave to marinate for 10 minutes while the oven comes up — any longer and the soy starts to cure the flesh.
3. Rinse the jasmine rice until the water runs clear, then cook according to packet instructions in well-salted water. Lid on, off the heat, leave it to steam for 10 minutes — the grains finish cooking in their own steam and stay separate.
4. Toast the sesame seeds in a dry frying pan over medium heat for 2–3 minutes, shaking often, until they smell nutty and turn pale gold. Tip onto a plate immediately — they carry on cooking in a hot pan and burn before you've turned around.
5. Slide the salmon into the oven and bake for 14–16 minutes, until the glaze is sticky and caramelised at the edges and the flesh flakes easily when pressed at the thickest point. Pull it at 50°C internal if you have a probe — the temperature carries up to 55°C off the heat and you'll get silky, just-set salmon rather than dry flakes.
6. While the salmon bakes, tip the frozen edamame into a sieve and pour over a kettle of boiling water to defrost and warm through. Drain well and season with a pinch of salt.
7. Halve the cucumber lengthways, scoop out the seeds with a teaspoon, then slice into half-moons. Toss with the rice wine vinegar and sesame oil and season to taste — it should taste sharp, glossy and lightly dressed. The acid here is the cut against the rich salmon, so don't be timid with it.
8. In the final 2 minutes of baking, brush the salmon with the reserved glaze and return to the oven until lacquered and glossy. Tip any glaze left in the tray into a small pan, bring to a quick bubble for 30 seconds until it turns syrupy, and reserve to spoon over at the table — that's your pan sauce, not just a coating.
9. Taste the dressed cucumber and the edamame one more time and adjust salt now, not at the table. Most of the seasoning in the bowl comes from the soy in the glaze, but a final pinch ties everything together.
10. Divide the rice between four bowls. Top with the warm edamame and dressed cucumber, then lay a salmon fillet over each. Spoon the reduced glaze over the salmon, scatter the sliced spring onions, toasted sesame seeds and torn coriander leaves, tuck a tangle of pickled ginger alongside, and finish with a squeeze of lime over the top. Extra soy on the table for anyone who wants it.