Salmon Asian-Spiced With Braised Bok Choy
4 tb peanut oil
4 6 oz salmon fillets;
2 tb Chinese five-spice powder
4 cloves garlic
1 1/2 lb bok choy; 2 medium stalks
1 salt and freshly ground black pepper
3/4 c stock
1) Put 2 tablespoons of the oil in a heavy skillet large enough to
hold all the fillets in one layer without crowding. Put the skillet
over medium-high heat. Rub the fillets with the five-spice powder.
Put the salmon in the skillet, skin side down, cover, and cook for 3
minutes. Turn the fillets over and cook for 3 minutes. Turn off the
heat and let the salmon keep warm in the skillet.
2) While the salmon cooks, fill the sink with cold water. Put the
remaining 2 tablespoons of oil in a large deep skillet, Dutch oven, or
wok over medium-low heat. Peel the garlic. Drop the garlic down the
chute of a food processor with the motor running, or chop the garlic
by hand. Scrape the garlic into the skillet and cook for 1 to 2
minutes, stirring once or twice to prevent burning.
3) While the garlic cooks, cut 1 inch from the bottoms of the bok choy
and cut off any damaged tops from the leaves. Cut the leafy top half
of the bok choy crosswise into 2-inch wide strips at and the thicker
bottom half into 1-inch wide strips. Wash briefly, but vigorously, in
the sink and add to the skillet, without draining. Season with salt
and pepper to taste, add the stock, and stir. Raise the heat
to high, cover, and cook for 4 to 5 minutes until the thickest part of
the stems are just tender.
4) Put salmon fillet in the center of a large soup plate with the bok
choy on both sides. Spoon the cooking broth from the bok choy over
the top of the bok choy.