Crisp Asian Salmon with Bok Choy and Rice Noodles

Shea and I have been fortunate to have been busy with lots of visitors lately (Dunya and my parents came to visit the past two weeks!). It's hard to cook in our tiny apartment for a lot of people, so when we have visitors we usually go out to eat, which means we haven't been cooking lately!

This weekend was our first weekend with an empty apartment AND we had the day off for Memorial Day, so it was the perfect time to fill up our fridge and find some good recipes! We don't have a grill, so we aren't able to cook the traditional Memorial Day fare of burgers and brats, but we agreed that this dish looked fantastic. It was easy, flavorful, and full of brain food (what Shea calls salmon).


Crisp Asian Salmon with Bok Choy and Rice Noodles
Courtesy of Food and Wine http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/crisp-asian-salmon-with-bok-choy-and-rice-noodles

Ingredients 

1. 4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
2. 2 cups water
3. 1/4 cup mirin
4. 1/4 cup low-sodium soy sauce
5. 1/4 cup rice wine vinegar
6. 2 tablespoons minced fresh ginger
7. 2 garlic cloves, minced
8. 1 teaspoon sugar
9. 8 ounces rice vermicelli, broken into 4-inch lengths
10. 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
11. 6 center-cut salmon fillets with skin (about 6 ounces each)
12. Salt
13. 1 pound baby bok choy, cut into thin wedges
14. 2 scallions, thinly sliced

Directions

1. In a medium saucepan, bring the broth, water, mirin, soy sauce, vinegar, ginger, garlic and sugar to a boil.
2. Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to a boil. In a bowl, soak the rice noodles in very hot water until pliable, about 10 minutes. Drain the noodles and add them to the boiling water. Cook until tender, about 4 minutes. Drain and transfer to 6 shallow bowls.
3. In a large nonstick skillet, heat the oil until shimmering. Season the salmon fillets with salt, add them to the skillet skin side down and cook over high heat until browned, about 4 minutes. Turn and cook until medium-rare, about 4 minutes longer. Set the fillets on the noodles.
4. Add the bok choy to the boiling broth and cook until bright green, about 2 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, divide the greens among the bowls and spoon in the broth. Garnish with the scallions and serve.