Pan Seared Salmon Furikake with Garlic and Ginger Vegetable Stir Fry

With a simple, multi purpose sauce used for a marinade AND the stir fry sauce

Pan seared salmon topped with furikake, on a bed of stir fried red onion, bok choy, shitake mushrooms, eggplant, bell pepper, snap peas, zucchini and steamed rice

Like this post? Please share, like ❤️, and let me know what you think. Your feedback is important and can spark many ideas. Thanks so much!

A stir fry is the perfect vehicle to get some delicious/nutritious vegetables on your plate. It’s also a great technique to have up your sleeve when you have random vegetables that need cooking. It’s versatile and works vegetarian or with animal protein. A lot of stir fry recipes cook bite sized pieces of protein IN the stir fry. I tend to cook the protein separately to give it a little more attention and care. Especially if it’s a nice piece of fish or steak. It also makes for a more impressive presentation, especially when you top the finished salmon with furikake. Furikake is a Japanese seasoning blend typically made with toasted sesame seeds, nori or kelp powder and salt. It varies from region to region and can include citrus zest, bonito flakes, chilies, shitake powder and so on. Trader Joes makes a great one linked here. This is another inexpensive good one. My favorite is a yuzu citrus blend you can find at Bristol Farms or online here. If you don’t have furikake, just use toasted sesame seeds in its place.

I can attest that this stir fry recipe/method will work with any protein and any combo of veggies. I make a double acting sauce with garlic, ginger, soy sauce, rice vinegar and sesame oil. One third is used to marinate the fish (or steak/tofu/chicken/beef) and the rest goes in the pan as the stir fry sauce with a little bit of additional water to loosen things up. You can eyeball the ingredients and it’s easy to memorize. If you’re someone who goes heavy on sauce, double it! It’s fantastic as is with just a few simple igredients, or use it as a jumping off point and get creative. If you have ponzu (a citrus flavored soy sauce) that’s a great addition. Other optional add ins: sriracha or minced Serrano peppers, a spoonful of miso paste, oyster sauce, mirin… There’s no wrong way to do it and part of the fun of making stir frys in my opinion is experimenting. If you are gluten free, use tamari in place of soy sauce.

The main thing to keep in mind is what veggies cook fast (typically the green ones) and which take a few more minutes. Cutting all the veggies to bite sized should ensure that none of them take more than 5 minutes total.

Things I don’t put in my stir fry are sugar and cornstarch. It’s just a personal preference. I feel better after if I don’t eat them. If you want to add a little sugar to closer replicate a restaurant stir fry - nothing wrong with that. Add a teaspoon right to the marinade. If you want corn starch for a thicker sauce, whisk in a “slurry” the last couple minutes of cooking: 1 tablespoon cornstarch and 1 tablespoon of cold water mixed together.