Chan Chan Yaki (Miso Butter Salmon)
Published July 17, 2024
Rachel Vanni for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Barrett Washburne.
- Total Time
- 35 minutes
- Prep Time
- 5 minutes
- Cook Time
- 30 minutes
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
Advertisement
Ingredients
1 (1 ¼-pound) piece skin-on salmon fillet
½ small head green cabbage, trimmed and cored
2 large carrots
1 medium yellow onion
3 ½ ounces enoki mushrooms (optional)
⅓ cup shiro (white) or tanshoku (yellow) miso
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
3 to 4 teaspoons sugar
1 tablespoon neutral oil
Salt and pepper, to taste
⅓ cup dry (junmai) sake
2 scallions, thinly sliced
Steamed rice, for serving
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)
39 grams carbs; 101 milligrams cholesterol; 615 calories; 10 grams monosaturated fat; 8 grams polyunsaturated fat; 10 grams saturated fat; 33 grams fat; 6 grams fiber; 1018 milligrams sodium; 36 grams protein; 11 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.
Powered by
Preparation
- Step 1
Remove the salmon from the fridge while you prep the vegetables: Chop the cabbage into 2-inch pieces (about 6 cups). Peel and cut the carrots on the diagonal into ½-inch coins (about 2 cups). Halve the onion and slice into ½-inch half moons (about 1 ½ cups). If using enoki mushrooms, trim the root end and separate them into large clusters.
- Step 2
Make the miso butter: Combine miso, butter and sugar in a small bowl and stir until smooth and homogenous. (Miso butter can be made at least 3 days ahead and kept in the refrigerator; bring to room temperature before using.)
- Step 3
Place the salmon on a plate, skin side down, and spread the miso butter in a thin layer on top, holding back about 2 tablespoons of miso butter for the vegetables.
- Step 4
Heat a large, deep (lidded) skillet over medium-high. Add the oil and the cabbage, carrot, onion and enoki mushrooms (if using). Season the vegetables with salt and pepper (go lightly on the salt, since the miso butter is salty!) and cook, stirring frequently, until they begin to wilt but are still quite crisp, 5 to 8 minutes.
- Step 5
Flatten the vegetables and place the salmon on top of them, miso side up. Dot the reserved miso butter on the vegetables (you may not need all of it) and pour the sake over the vegetables. Place the lid on the pan, lower the heat to medium to maintain a strong simmer and cook for 7 to 10 minutes, until flaky and just cooked through in the center. (Exact time depends on the thickness of the salmon fillet and preferred level of doneness.)
- Step 6
When the salmon has finished cooking, remove the lid and stir the vegetables around the salmon to mix them with the melted miso butter. Scatter the salmon with the chopped scallions and serve with rice.
Private Notes
Comments
Ditch the salmon skin. I adapted part of a cooking method from an Ali Slagle recipe to enhance this beautiful Chan Chan Yaki (see "Ginger-Scallion Steamed Fish" on this site), which included using a skinless salmon fillet cut into 1-inch cubes. Rather than brining the salmon as Ali’s recipe calls for, I patted it dry and coated the cubes with the miso butter, placed them in the center of the pan atop the veggies and continued with Step 5 as written. Super flavor and beautiful presentation.
Using packaged shredded cabbage and carrots, I cooked the vegetables for barely a minute before adding salmon. I added no salt due to the saltiness of the miso. Lovely and easy to make.
I prefer salmon with the skin on because when it gets crispy, it is delicious, as well as it holds in the seasonings. Unfortunately, the method for cooking this dish made no use of this advantage; choosing instead to place the salmon skin down on top of the vegetables, and covering the pan with a lid until done. In the end, the skin was soft, rubbery, and lackluster.
The salmon skin debate spooked me— I ended up just doing the salmon separately in the oven. Dried, salted, baked at 375 for 6 minutes. Pulled it out, painted with miso butter (I also added some puréed ginger from a tube + soy sauce), then stuck it under broil for 3 minutes. Used the rest of the miso butter on the veggies. They felt too wet for my taste— wish I had crisped up the cabbage separately. Finished with chili crunch and sesame seeds. Used sushi rice (and the NYTimes recipe for that).
This was simple and delightful. I cooked the veggies a little longer so they would be softer. I used trout (it's about half the price of salmon these days and very similar in flavor) and cooked it for a few minutes at the end. This is a keeper. My husband loved the buttery, sweet, salty notes and asked that I put it on repeat.
Great deep flavor but presentation of the salmon itself was lackluster and monochromatic with much of the miso butter just sitting on top. Think next time I’ll finish the salmon under a broiler, after most of the butter melts off into the vegetables, to brown the edges and top a bit. That and likely just remove the skin.