Miso Salmon Healing Bowl

Salmon cooked in a savoury miso sauce sitting on top of red cabbage, courgette shavings and a bed of sticky white rice- topped off with a sprinkling of black sesame seeds 

Oh dear... guess who's come down with a cold. I could feel the symptoms brewing for about a week and then when it hit the weekend it was like BAM! ill. Sunday night I had a bit of a breakdown, I think it was a combination of tiredness and stress... it also doesn't help that there are already a lot of colds and germs floating about this tie of year (one of the downsides at winter). I also feel really reluctant to have time off school due to teachers chasing you around the school telling you to do all this extra work that you missed and need to catch up on. Okay maybe they don't chase me, more often than not I will be the one to find them and ask for the extra work I've missed but still! it's just more difficult. After persuading myself I had to go in, my mum uttered the words that I never believed I would ever hear from any mother's mouth, "I actually forbid you from going to school tomorrow"~ like WOAH people, I don't think you can any better permission than that. 

So today was art coursework (cuz you know, art doesn't involve too much brain power for me), a tinyyy bit of physics revision (oh yeah, missed my physics mock today too- maybe not a bad thing), general internet browsing and ALOT of watching the walking dead (I'm actually addicted) thrown in with a few naps. I am determined to get well though and it struck me today that this is the first time I have had a cold in ages which really annoyed me because I had a really good streak going keeping them bugs away! 

But anyway let's fast track to todays recipe which is perfect for keeping those sniffles away and helping you get rid of the sniffles if you have the sniffles (I love that word- "sniffles" hee hee). When I'm not well I crave Japanese food, mostly because it is always delicious and healthy. Miso is one of my favourite flavours when it comes to food especially when its paired with salmon which is basically a match made in heaven but then throw in some healthy veggies like red cabbage and courgette drenched in more of that yummy miso sauce, you are good to go. 

This makes an awesome lunch for those days when your feeling rough and it is easy to prepare because the worst thing to do when your unwell is to try and cook something complicated. You can't engage in the long instructions, you take your eye off one pot and burn whatever is in the other and then you go and put too much water in the rice cooker causing all this starchy water to overflow...yes this has happened. I promise this recipe will not do that to you, one frying pan and a rice cooker, or saucepan if you don't have a rice cooker. I called this a healing bowl because when you eat it, it feels healing to your body- especially the red cabbage, it has such an earthy taste.

Here's a few health benefits in some of the ingredients- they will help kick flu butt:

Miso-

• contains amino acids
• aids digestion
• a good vegetable source for B vitamins
• strengthens the immune system and lowers levels of LDL (bad) cholesterol 

Red Cabbage-

• Vitamin C which fights inflammation and protects cells from damage
• Vitamin A which contributes to healthy eyes and vision
• Cancer preventing

To be honest the main reason for choosing red cabbage and courgette is because a: it was what was in my fridge at the time and b: the contrasting colours looks pretty in photos. Plus they taste good with salmon...win win! 

Miso Salmon Healing Bowl

Serves:1

INGREDIENTS

• 1 salmon fillet
• A big handful of red cabbage, sliced
• 5 full length slices courgette (shavings)
• 1/2 cup white rice
• Sesame seeds, optional

FOR THE SAUCE

• 1 tbsp white miso paste
• 1/2 tbsp soy sauce
• 1/2 tbsp mirin
• 1/2 tbsp rice wine vinegar

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Measure the rice and wash it with water about 2- 3 times until the water is no longer cloudy. Pour correct amount of water in the rice cooker bowl and press cook/ start. 

2. Mix all of the sauce ingredients together in a small bowl.

3. Heat a small frying pan with a little olive oil on a medium heat. When it gets hot put the salmon skin side down and turn the heat to low and cover with a lid- low and slow is the way to go with salmon.

4. After about 5 minutes when the flesh turns colour and started to firm up, add the sauce. Cover with the lid again for another 2-3 minutes until the salmon is fully cooked and the sauce starts to thicken (I like my salmon quite pink and soft but cook it longer if you prefer it firmer).

5. Remove the fish from the pan leaving any remaining sauce and add the cabbage and courgette. Put a splash of water in the pan and cover with a lid, stir fry the courgette until translucent and the cabbage has slightly softened (you want it to still have a bit of bite- but cook longer if you prefer it soft). 

6. Dish the rice in a bowl followed by the cabbage and courgette and then the salmon on top. Sprinkle with some sesame seeds and EAT (preferably with chopsticks) ^^