Protein meal with Salmon, Tofu and Vegetables

Japanese eat fish quite often. I think it is because the country is surrounded by oceans that have an abundance of fishes. We have varieties of fish meals, not only Sushi which is something we normally eat only on special occasions. My mom used to make fish meals at least 3 times a week. She used to cook meat and fish alternately everyday. Sadly, it is hard to find blue-skin fish, like sardines, mackerel, and pacific saury at supermarkets in the US. We like eating these fish more often as they are inexpensive fish in Japan and have lots of DHA(omega-3 fatty acid), EPA(unsaturated fatty acid), and Taurine.

Salmon is also a popular fish in Japan. Needless to say, it has lots of vitamins such as vitamin B1, B2, D, and also DHA/EPA. Luckily, it is easy to find salmon in California so I usually buy salmon. I'd recommend to use wild caught salmon if you could get because it tastes way different compared with a package of frozen salmon or farm raised salmon (I usually avoid buying color added salmon as well). Wild caught salmon is very good and it doesn't taste like fish to me. It is firm and has a great texture just like a meat! And it is said that wild caught salmon is lower in fat than farm raised salmon. As wild caught salmon is usually expensive, I buy it when it's on sale and put it in small bags to stock in the freezer.

This is actually a favorite meal of my husband who didn't like salmon before. You could also use another fish such as cod, mahi-mahi, or any other white fish if you prefer.

Serve 2 to 3
Total time: about 30 min

• 1 lb of Salmon (Thaw fish if frozen. Rinse fish; Pat dry with paper towels. Cut into 2 to 3 serving-size pieces if necessary.)
• 1 or 2 green bell peppers 
• 2 carrots              
• Half of onion               
• 1 package of Firm Tofu
• A dash of salt & pepper
• Cornstarch (or potato starch) to coat the salmon
• 1 teaspoon cornstarch (or potato starch) for sauce
• 2 teaspoons of water
  [Sauce: mix them all together]
• 3 tablespoons of brown sugar
• 3 tablespoons of soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon of vinegar
• 1 teaspoon of seasoning paste or asian chicken broth powder
• 300ml of water

1. Put Tofu in a microwavable bowl and microwave it about 3 or 4 min to get rid of the water inside the tofu. Leave it until it cools down.

2. Cut the green bell peppers into about 1/4 inch pieces. Cut the onion in half in lengthwise sections and slice thinly. Peel the carrot and cut into 1/8 inch rectangular slices or just slice thinly.

3. Cut tofu in half in lengthwise sections and slice thinly into about 1/2 inch pieces. Absorb the excess water with paper towel.

4. Coat tofu evenly with cornstarch or potato starch.

5. In a skillet, cook the tofu in hot oil over medium heat until it gets light brown on both sides. Then, set aside in a plate.

6. Season salmon with salt & pepper. Coat salmon lightly and evenly with cornstarch or potato starch.

7. In a skillet, place the salmon skin side down (if skin is on) in hot oil over medium heat. When the fish has turned white about halfway up on the side, flip it over. Cook until it gets brown on both sides. Make sure not to burn it.

Set aside in a plate with tofu.

8. In a skillet, cook onion and carrot in hot oil over medium heat until tender.

9. Add green bell pepper to skillet; cook and stir for 3 to 4 minutes or until crisp-tender.

10. Add the sauce over the vegetables and stir it well. 

11. In a separate small bowl, dissolve cornstarch in 2 teaspoons of the water. (Please do this right before next step because it will separate as time goes.)

12. Reduce heat to low and add the cornstarch dissolved water over the vegetables. Cook and stir for about 1 minute more or until it is heated through.

13. Pour vegetables over salmon and tofu in a plate. Done!

$$ Approximate budget I spent for this recipe (excludes seasonings) $$

• 1 lb of Salmon                         : $6.99
• 2 green bell peppers               : $0.50
• 2 carrots (80g = 2.82oz)         : $0.12
• Half of onion (110g = 3.88oz) : $0.12
• 1 package of Firm Tofu           : $0.99
  -----------------------------------------------
  Total                                       : $8.72