Miso turmeric salmon and coconut rice

Ingredients

2cups white jasmine rice

1(15-ounce) can full-fat coconut milk

Salt and pepper

4scallions, light white and green parts thinly sliced

2tablespoons white miso paste

2tablespoons soy sauce

1tablespoon olive oil

1teaspoon ground turmeric

1½pounds skinless salmon fillets, cut into 2- to 3-inch pieces

5packed cups/5 ounces baby spinach

1lime, quartered

Cilantro leaves (optional), for garnish

Shallot small, garlic 3 cloves, 2cm ginger

Directions

In a large Dutch oven or other large heavy pot with a tight-fitting lid, combine the rice, coconut milk and 2 cups of water; season with 1 teaspoon salt. Bring to a boil, covered, over high.

Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, combine the scallions with the miso, soy sauce, olive oil, turmeric and a few grinds of pepper to form a chunky paste. Add the salmon; toss to coat.

When the rice starts to boil, reduce the heat to medium-low, adjusting it as needed to maintain a simmer. Stir to make sure nothing is sticking on the bottom.

Layer the spinach on top of the rice. Squeeze 2 lime quarters over the spinach. Nestle the salmon pieces on top in an even layer, scraping in any scallions remaining in the bowl. Cover and cook until the salmon is just cooked through, breaking apart the thickest piece to check, 12 to 16 minutes.

Squeeze the remaining lime quarters over the salmon. Top with cilantro, if using. Scoop into bowls or plates to serve.

Notes

Chris I highly recommend soaking the rice for at least an hour before you cook it, which will soften it, allowing it to cook quicker, but even then I find you need at least 20-25 minutes to cook rice! It then has to stand off the heat for 5-10 minutes, so I would add the salmon after rice has been cooking for about 10-15 mins.

I made this mostly per the recipe. Replaced the olive oil with toasted sesame and the spinach with some other firm greens (mustard?). WOW, delicious. You will not regret making this one. Adding it to favorites.

@Chris the rice has a head start while it comes to a boil and you layer the spinach. Total rice cooking time is longer than the fish cooking time by about 5 minutes or so. My concern was the opposite. The fish might be overcooked at 16 minutes. But I’ll just add it a minute or two later.

I just made this for the 3rd or 4th time and we love it. I find I need to prep everything before I turn on the burner in order to get the rice and salmon to finish at the same time. I rinse the rice, so I cut the water from 2C to 1 3/4. Once I start the rice, I watch it to catch it right when it starts boiling. I turn it to medium low, stir thoroughly, and then quickly put in the spinach and the salmon and cover it. Adjust heat to keep it at a light simmer, and it cooks in around 20 min.

This recipe was unfortunately a bit of a fail for me but it’s probably my fault. Watch your rice and your heat closely!! My coconut milk boiled out of my Dutch over while I was prepping the salmon. I had to scrape extremely toasted rice off the bottom of the pot. I managed to save it but had to add in more liquid. Turned out like more of a risotto than anything.

Too much rice, not enough spinach. I would have preferred a green with a more assertive flavor. As I find most NYT recipes, the flavors were balanced well but the whole thing was just bland. Needs garlic and ginger at the very least.

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