Gochugaru Salmon With Crispy Rice
Published September 24, 2022
Bryan Gardner for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Barrett Washburne
- Total Time
- 20 minutes
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
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Ingredients
4 skin-on salmon fillets (6 ounces each)
Kosher salt (such as Diamond Crystal) and black pepper
1 tablespoon olive oil
4 cups cooked white rice, preferably leftovers
4 teaspoons gochugaru (see Tip)
2 tablespoons maple syrup
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
2 tablespoons cold, unsalted butter, kept whole
Sliced cucumbers or pickles, for serving (optional)
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)
61 grams carbs; 109 milligrams cholesterol; 709 calories; 11 grams monosaturated fat; 7 grams polyunsaturated fat; 9 grams saturated fat; 32 grams fat; 1 gram fiber; 926 milligrams sodium; 39 grams protein; 6 grams sugar
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
- Step 1
Season the salmon on all sides with salt and pepper. Heat a large cast-iron or nonstick skillet over medium-high. Add the olive oil and sear the salmon fillets skin side down until the skin is browned and crispy, 2 to 5 minutes. The salmon’s orange flesh will begin to turn pale coral as the heat slowly creeps up the sides of the fish; you want that coral color to come up about two-thirds of the way at this point for a nice medium-rare. Carefully flip the salmon and cook the second side until the flesh feels firm, another 1 to 2 minutes. When you press it, it should not feel wobbly. Transfer the salmon to a plate skin side down and keep the pan with the rendered fat over the heat.
- Step 2
Add the rice to the fat in the pan and spread in an even layer, packing it down as if making a rice pancake. Reduce the heat to medium and cook until the bottom is lightly browned and toasted, about 5 minutes. You should hear it crackle. Flip the rice like a pancake, using a spatula if needed. You may not be able to flip it all in one piece, but that’s OK. Cook until lightly toasted on the second side, another 1 to 2 minutes. Go longer if you want crispier rice, but the trifecta of crispy-chewy-soft tastes wonderful.
- Step 3
While the rice is cooking, stir together the gochugaru, maple syrup, rice vinegar and 1 teaspoon salt in a small bowl. When the rice is done, divide it evenly among the plates. In the now-empty pan, add the gochugaru mixture and cook, stirring constantly, over medium-high heat until it bubbles up and reduces significantly, 15 seconds to 1 minute. It should look pretty sticky. Turn off the heat and add the cold butter, stirring with a wooden spoon or tongs until fully melted and incorporated into the gochugaru mixture. Pour this glaze over the salmon and serve with cucumbers or pickles, if you’d like.
You can find gochugaru, or red-pepper powder, at Korean or Asian supermarkets and at most grocery stores, as well as online. It sometimes comes in larger bags, which is not a problem because it freezes beautifully and tastes great dusted over just about anything.
Private Notes
Comments
I subbed the Gochugara with Gochujang and reduced the maple syrup to 1 tbsp. Everything else I followed exactly and this was one of the best meals we've made in a long time. it was also easy to prep and clean up. We'll be adding this to the regular rotation!
Gochujang contains salt and sugar along with red chile, so if you substitute one for the other, you'll want to dial back the sugar and salt. I'd probably omit the maple syrup altogether and replace both it and the gochucharu with 2 tbsp gochujang, and skip extra salt. You'll miss the maple flavor, but the glaze should form up nicely and I'd expect the dish to work well as a whole.
I just purchased Gochujang concentrated chili paste for another NY Times recent recipe. Would it be possible to substitute the paste for the powder?
I've made this three times but the rice 'pancake' stumps me. I made it with left-over rice once but all three times I've put it in the freezer per the comments. The rice has taken longer to develop any color than the times given, but it always tastes great. I'd love to know what I'm doing wrong that it won't 'pancake', even slightly. Thanks if you have any suggestions.
I am stealing (using) my grandmother’s account to write this, but this is such an easy and delicious recipe for the weekday it became a quick staple in my household. That sounds like an AI review I promise it’s really good, also would recommend using a plate to flip the rice pancake if you want it in one piece.
The rice crisped in the rendered salmon fat is genius. Pickles are a must, or you can make your own relish with peeled, seeded and sliced cucumber, a little red onion, rice vinegar and sugar to taste. I've used both paella and nishiki rice and prefer a short grain rice over basmati or other long grain. The recipe says not to worry if you can't flip the rice in one piece, but sliding the rice onto a plate, covering with another plate, flipping and sliding back into the pan works better.