Two Salmon Dishes: Teriyaki and Tomato Baked Salmon and Panko-Crusted Salmon Patties (Indian-Style Fish Cutlets)

While I'm a vegetarian, I do cook fish and meats for the family. The research conducted over the past decades on the impact of over-fishing was part of my journey to vegetarianism, so I tend to only buy fish that's farm-raised. I do realize there are farms that have different standards of environmental impacts, but buying from a ethical grocer or grocery can help you minimize your environmental footprint, and see if you can make sure the fish are bred in recirculating systems.

In my last blog post, I mentioned the rather wild and crazy menu I cooked up for my last dinner party, and shared a few of the recipes. Today, I'll share the recipe for the Teriyaki and Tomato Baked Salmon and the recipe for what I did to the leftovers the next day - Panko Encrusted Salmon Patties, or what we'd call Cutlets in India

Teriyaki and Tomato Baked Salmon

Ingredients:

3 lb. fillet farm-raised Atlantic salmon

For the marinade:
2 oz. or a quarter cup Yamasa Traditional Teriyaki Marinade & Sauce
20 oz or two and a half cups Organic Chunky Style Crushed Tomatoes in Puree (Can)
4 Onions
6 Garlic cloves

Preparing the marinade

•  I take my marinades seriously! So, I tend to cook them in advance to make sure the spices have time to emerge and permeate the whole mix
• Start by finely chopping the garlic cloves and the onions 
• In a large saucepan heat 3 tbsp. of oil, and fry the garlic. Then add the onions and fry till brown
• Pour 20 oz. of the chopped tomatoes into the mix and flavor with 2 oz. of the Teriyaki sauce 
• Add a dash of pepper, and let simmer on a medium flame for 20 min. or till the marinade takes on a nice thick consistency 
• Let the marinade cool completely so that when you coat the fish, it doesn't start cooking

 Preparing the fish

•  Place the fish in a dish that you can bake in, and preferably can serve in as well.I tend to use a large non-embellished Pyrex dish, since that ensures that you are not disturbing the fish when you re-plate and that the focus is on the food rather than the platter
• Lightly spray the dish with olive oil spray, then place the salmon filet skin side down- you might choose to cut the skin out I am agnostic
• Spread over the whole over the filet so that there is a thick uniform coating over the whole filet
• Let it sit for at least an hour - I tend to prep the dish at lest two to three hours before baking. If you are in a hurry, go ahead and bake after you've  layered on the marinade
• Heat the oven to 350 degrees
• Bake the fish for 40 minutes and you're ready to go!

Panko Encrusted Salmon Patties

Ingredients:
1 oz Salmon (as above) OR if you're starting from scratch, see the first step in the recipe below
4 Medium Sized Potatoes
2 Eggs
Sushi Chef Panko (Japanese Bread Flakes) 
Turmeric
Salt
Pepper 

•   I cooked the patties with the leftover baked salmon, but if you're cooking this up from scratch start with the following ingredients: 1 oz salmon, 1-2 garlic cloves sliced fine, one chopped onion, one cup chopped and pureed tomato, and about 6 tablespoons of Teriyali saice
• Fry the garlic, then the onions till they are brown, then add the tomatoes and teriyaki sauce. Once the sauce has thickened to a non-watery consistency, put the salmon slab in so the mix coats it and cook on a medium fire for about 20 minutes or till the fish is flaky. Let cool and proceed to the next step
• Prepare the potatoes: You need them to be have a thicker version of mashed potatoes. While you may choose to boil the potatoes, I microwave them. Pierce the potatoes in 3 to 4 spots with a fork, wrap each in a paper towel and microwave on high for 5 minutes, turn over and microwave for another 2 minutes. Skin the potatoes and cut them into eight pieces each
• Beat two eggs, add a pinch of salt, turmeric and pepper so that there is a shot of flavor in the coating of the patties
• Keep a plate of Panko crumbs (or regular breadcrumbs) ready by the sove
• Take the cooled baked salmon or the salmon cooked as above, and use a fork to mash it into a flaky mix
• Mash the potatoes into the fish, and roll the mix into small patties that are about a half inch thick and 2 inches across. I tend to make them about the size of my palm
• Coat the patties with egg, then place them on the panko so that there is a uniform coating of crumbs on each patty
• Spray a nonstick pan with oil, and roast each patty. Since all the ingredients are cooked, don't over-fry the patties
• Once browned, plate the patties and serve
• You don't really need a sauce, see the mini-video of D here to attest to that!

Note: Since I can't taste any non-vegetarian dishes I make, I have an elaborate system of tasters - see my daughter's commentary, and a note I had my son take in to my husband who was on a call. That's sonny boy's writing!
Video:
D: "This is really delicious...and it's not usual for me to like salmon."
Note:
K's handwriting on the Q&A "form" and husband S's response "Fabulous."