Miso Baked Salmon

This is seriously the most delicious and EASY salmon recipe. Perfect for a weeknight recipe or for serving your dinner guests. It’s packed with flavor, but it is simple and QUICK to make. I paired this with some coconut (brown) rice and some roasted broccoli. I will definitely be making this dinner on repeat!

Ingredients:

(serves 2-4)

• 1 lb salmon fillet

• 2 tbsp white miso

• 1 tbsp mirin

• 1 tbsp liquid aminos (or soy sauce)

• 1/2 tsp sesame oil

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees F

• In a bowl, whisk together white miso, mirin, liquid aminos, and sesame oil.

• Drizzle a little olive oil in a baking dish (or line a baking sheet with parchment paper) and place the salmon skin side down. Cover the salmon with the marinade and let it rest at room temperature for 15-20 minutes.

• Before placing the salmon in the oven, wipe away some excess marinade, and then bake for 15-20 minutes, depending on the thickness of your salmon.

• Finally, turn the oven to broil and broil for about 2 minute or until there’s a nice little char on top.

Miso Ginger Mushroom Soup

I had lots of mushrooms laying around this week, so I whipped up this delicious Miso Ginger Mushroom Soup for lunch yesterday. It was perfect for the chilly, foggy fall day we were having in San Francisco. You read all about the benefits of mushrooms my “Mushroom and Thyme Quinoa” post, but there are some other seriously nutrient-dense ingredients in this soup, like ginger, which is a powerful antioxidant, aids in digestion, and helps prevent inflammation. Also, there’s miso, which is a fermented food and helps to restore beneficial bacteria (probiotics) in our gut. This soup takes about 15 minutes and has only a small handful of ingredients. Enjoy!

Ingredients

(serves 2)

• 4 cups vegetable or mushroom broth

• 3 tbsp red or white miso paste

• 2 cups shiitake mushrooms, thinly sliced

• 2 cups spinach or kale leaves (roughly chopped)

• 1 tbsp grated (or minced) fresh ginger root

• 2-3 cloves of garlic, minced

• 1 tbsp sesame oil

• 1 tsp tamari or soy sauce

• Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

• In a medium sized pot, heat sesame oil over medium heat. Add garlic and ginger. Cook for about 2-3 minutes, stirring often, or until softened. Add broth and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer.

• Ladle about ½ cup of the broth into a small bowl. Add the miso paste and tamari (or soy sauce) and whisk to combine. Return to the soup pot and stir. 

• Add mushrooms to the soup pot. Cover the pot and simmer for 5-10 minutes or until the mushrooms are cooked through. Add spinach (or kale). Turn off the heat, but keep the lid on for 2-3 minutes, or until spinach is wilted. Serve.

Optional:

• Add cooked soba or udon noodles just before serving

• Add cooked shredded chicken or cubed tofu just before serving

• Top with scallions and red pepper flakes

Salmon with Miso Sauce

I always love ordering miso glazed salmon at restaurants and I’m consistently blown away by its depth of flavor. Like I mentioned before, cooking with miso seemed too foreign and overwhelming for me, but after reading all about how beneficial it is to introduce miso into our diets, I decided it was time to start cooking with it at home. Of course the first thing I wanted to make was salmon with miso, and ever since, it has been a favorite (quick and easy) weeknight dinner for me! I hope you love it as much as I do. P.S. the sauce is great not only for salmon, but to top other fish with or even simply as a dip for your crudite platter.

Served here with sweet potatoes, Swiss chard with zucchini and toasted almonds, and garnished with dill. It’s not my most beautiful and photographable dish, but it is delicious!

I was always super intimidated by this ingredient. I have no idea why, but it just sounded complicated. Really, it’s just another ingredient you can pick up from the store, and it will wow you with its delicious, umami flavor. Let’s not forget to mention its many powerful health benefits (which I will mention below). Miso is a paste made from fermented soybeans and has been an integral part of the Japanese diet for thousands of years. There are a few variations (red, white, yellow…), but my favorite is the white miso.

Ingredients: (serves 4)

• 20-24 ounces of salmon

• 1 tbsp avocado oil

• Salt and pepper to taste

For the miso sauce:

• 2 tbsp white miso

• 1 tbsp rice vinegar

• 1 tbsp olive oil

• 1 tsp grated ginger

• 2 tbsp water

Directions:

• Preheat grill to about 400 degrees

• Season the salmon with salt, pepper, and avocado oil

• Brush grill grates with a bit of avocado oil (to prevent skin from sticking)

• Cook salmon, skin side down, for 10 minutes (or until desired doneness)

• Top with miso sauce and enjoy

* OR cook the salmon (bake or pan sear) to your preference, then top with miso sauce

Health Benefits of Miso

• Since miso is a fermented food, it restores beneficial bacteria (probiotics) in the intestines. This helps us better assimilate nutrients and aids in overall digestion.

• Miso contains antioxidant properties that reduce inflammation from free radicals and improve our immune systems.

• One antioxidant is the isoflavon Genistein, which has been shown to prevent cancers from growing and spreading.

• Miso is great source of iron, zinc, calcium, potassium, B vitamins (including B12)

• Miso is a complete protein (contains all essential amino acids)

Sources and Additional Reading:

https://www.care2.com/greenliving/10-benefits-and-uses-for-miso.html

https://www.onegreenplanet.org/natural-health/health-reason-miso-diet/

https://www.mindbodygreen.com/0-5563/3-Secret-Healing-Benefits-of-Miso.html