White Tea Poached Salmon with Bok Choy & Shiitake Mushrooms

I am a foodie. When I go to the grocery store, the Farmer’s Market, the restaurant…etc, I talk. I talk and talk and talk some more. I love learning about food. I am envious of my bakers, and all of their bread making secrets. I long to know the history, process and foundation of cheeses from around the world like those who work at my fromagerie (okay fine, it is called “The Cheese Department” but I like to pretend that I am in France…remember?). Ultimately it is my goal to obtain 1/100th of the knowledge that the people who “live food” everyday possess.

White Tea Poached Salmon with Bok Choy & Shiitake Mushromms with a Hoisin-Orange Reduction.

I started to become fascinated with loose leaf tea about 4-5 months ago. I remember my introduction to the world of tea well. I stopped by my local tea bar, curious and excited. I really had no clue what the difference between a white tea and a green tea was (other than color, obviously.). I’d never heard of 3/4 of the tea on their menu and the terms ‘puer’ and ‘rooibos’ had little meaning to me. Until this time I had been drinking Lipton and seasonal flavors of Celestial Seasons–How can you pass up on something called ‘Candy Cane Lane’?

Melody Wine from Goose Watch (hybrid grape, sweet & went well with the lemon, garlic & ginger)

After one taste of Uji Gyokoro, a luscious Chinese green tea, I was forever changed. I have become a regular at my tea bar and  I’ve even been known to go twice in one day! At least it’s a healthy addiction, right?! The lady who runs my tea bar has a wealth of tea knowledge and I love listening to her talk about tea. She has such passion and excitement in her voice, it’s infectious. She is also a foodie, and we often discuss recipes, new things we have tried and the like while she artfully brews my tea at the perfect time and temperature. During one of our conversations, she started talking about all of the ways you can cook with tea. I was intrigued, especially by her suggestion for beginners: Tea Poached Salmon.

On the stove top, I boiled about 4-6 cups of water in sauce pan with a generous amount of sea salt, honey. I added about 1 TBS white tea (to brew) ~10 minutes until the poaching liquid was infused. While the tea was brewing. I brought a fatty filet of salmon (I asked my fish monger what she recommended for poaching. You don’t want the fish to fall apart in the hot liquid.) to room temperature on the counter, patted both sides dry with paper towel, placed it in a glass baking dish and lightly dusted the top with fresh cracked pepper and ~ 1 tsp tea leaves. This is optional. I think the biggest flavor came from the poaching liquid, not the tea crust. When the tea has come to a boil, pour the liquid over the fish. The liquid should cover the fish by 1-inch. You will see the fish start to cook immediately. Cover the baking dish with a tea towel and allow it to cook in the liquid ~10 minutes. The fish will be firm.

In the mean time, I sauteed 1 small piece of minced garlic in olive oil and added chopped shiitake mushrooms to a skillet. When the mushrooms were tender i added ~1/4 cup water and 1 bunch of baby bok choy to wilt.

I made a sauce by whisking together the juice of 1 orange, minced garlic, minced ginger and 1 TBS hoisin. I gently heated this over a low heat on the stove top to thicken.

Carefully remove your fish from the poaching liquid. Add bock choy and mushrooms to the plate and drizzle with sauce.

White Tea Poached Salmon

(serves 1)

• 1 6-oz salmon filet, skin removed
• 4-6 cups of water
• kosher salt
• honey
• 1 TBS white tea

1. Bring salmon filet to room temperature. (if it has been sitting in the refrigerator, I would say maybe 20 minutes). Pat each side dry with paper towel. Place in a small baking dish. Lightly dust with cracked black pepper and tea if you wish.
2. Bring water, salt and honey to a boil.
3. Steep tea in liquid.
4. Pour water over fish. The fish should be covered by 1-inch. If it isn’t, just add more hot water. Cover the dish with a tea towel and let stand about 10 minutes.

Enjoy,

Nora