First course: Baked salmon in an Asian broth

Baked salmon in an Asian broth. Photo / Doug Sherring

Buy a whole pin-boned side of New Zealand farmed salmon, skin on.

1 Brush a baking tray with oil. Cut the salmon into individual-size portions and brush with oil.

2 Finely grate cane sugar and lime zest over the salmon pieces. Season with ground pepper.

3 Splash the salmon with Thai fish sauce.

4 Put into a hot oven and just cook the salmon. It should be warmed through, but rare in the centre.

Before baking the salmon, make a broth with white miso paste, gently warmed with enough water to make a light stock base.

Quickly poach some sliced shiitake and trimmed enoki mushrooms in the stock and add a few fresh curry leaves.

Ladle into serving bowls, place a warm salmon serve into each bowl and toss in a few Vietnamese mint leaves.

Serve with an Asian spoon and an entree fork.

NB: for this particular dinner I made a stock from crayfish bodies (a two-hour process) and enhanced it with the white miso.

This is fine if you have some cray bodies and the time, but that is another recipe, and the simple miso broth works well.