This was in one of my recipe books. It looked yummy
and do-able, so I gave it a try. Let me tell you, it
is well worth it!
Here's what you'll need. Amounts are approximate;
feel free to tweak them if you want more fish or snow
peas or mushrooms or whatever.
1.5 pound of salmon fillet About a half pound
of shimeji mushrooms (I didn't have these, so I
used a few clumps of enoki mushrooms instead.) several
inches of carrot 2 scallions 8 fresh shiitake
mushrooms (Can be dried and soaked, but fresh really
are preferable.) 4 ounces of snow peas 2 tbsp
of sake 1 tbsp of soy sauce tinfoil
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Cut the salmon
into bite-sized pieces. Mix the sake and soy sauce in
a bowl, then marinate the salmon in that while you prepare
all the other stuff.
Wash the shimeji or enoki mushrooms and cut off the
hard root. Cut the stems off the shiitake mushrooms.
Making shallow, tilted slits to cut out small strips,
cut a white cross in the top of each of the shiitake
mushrooms.
Slice the carrot into very thin coins. If you have
a vegetable cutter in the shape of a leaf or flower,
cut out little shapes so it'll look all autumnal. If
not, no worries, the carrot's going to taste the same.
Cut the scallions into segments a few inches long, and
bisect the white segments the long way. Trim the snow
peas.
Take a sheet of the foil and put a quarter of the
salmon in the center. Arrange shimeji or enoki mushrooms
on or around it. Put a few scallion sticks diagonally
on top of that. Then cap it off with two shiitake mushrooms,
a fan of snow peas, and a sprinkling of carrots. Sprinkle
some of the marinade over the top, and a pinch of salt
if desired. Now fold the two long sides of the foil
rectangle together, then fold the shorter sides over
to seal the package. Now do all this three more times
so you end up with four equal packages.
Put the foil packages on a cookie sheet and bake
it for 20 minutes in the center of the oven. The foil
will puff up if you've sealed it well. If it does, they're
ready to go. If not, don't worry, the steam just found
a way to escape. Take them out and serve in their little
tinfoil parcels.
They are supposed to resemble little autumn gardens
when you open them. I don't know about that; sticks
and dead leaves and mushrooms are not what I think of
when I'm hungry. But then, I've never been known as
a poetic soul. If it tastes good, it can look as prosaic
as it wants!
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