Japanese cuisine, deemed one of the healthiest in the world, is a lot more than just sushi and noodles.  With a cuisine that’s firmly based around rice, soy products and a variety of fish and vegetables, there are a lot more recipes to sample than you’d think.  Of course, let’s not discount Sushi, this holy grail of the Japanese kitchen, which is served with soy sauce, Wasabi (Japanese style horseradish paste, hot and tingly) and slivers of fragrant ginger.  However, I bet not many of you have heard of Green Tea Fairy Cakes, or how about Okinawa Red Bean Fritters?  These are just some of the delights made in the Japanese kitchen at home.  And there are some fabulous Japanese restaurants to try out if you don’t feel adventurous enough to have a go.  Matsuri, based in London’s St. James’ and also High Holborn, has a traditional Japanese menu that even the visiting Japanese people love to eat there.  Forget Wagamama’s folks, if you want a truly Japanese experience this is the real deal.  Japanese cuisine is prepared according to traditional Japanese skills with the head chef at each restaurant being Japanese.  At the St James’ restaurant, Matsuri offer traditional Teppan-yaki cooking which simply translated means hot plate and guests have the benefit of their own private chef cooking their meal in front of their very own eyes.  The preparation of Sushi is there for all to see on the designated sushi counters.  At Matsuri, High Holborn there is a contemporary designed Dining Room with an open kitchen so allowing the customers to see exactly how their food is prepared. 

So to our recipe, a delicious blend of all things Japanese but simple and quick to prepare, Teriyaki Salmon.  Fresh filleted salmon is marinated in a delicious blend of soy sauce, fragrant ginger, garlic and sesame seeds.  Cook it on a slow burning barbecue or in a griddle pan on the stove.  Serve with some finely sliced spring onions and sticky rice.  Afiyet olsun.

You will need (serves 4 people):

4 salmon fillets, each about 175g
100ml Soy Sauce
30g Butter, melted
2 cm fresh ginger root, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
1 tbsp Sesame seeds

Garnish such as spring onions or quickly sautéed asparagus and sticky white rice

Preparation:

Lay the salmon fillets in a shallow dish.

Stir the soy sauce, butter, ginger and garlic together. Add the sesame seeds and pour the mixture over the salmon. Leave to marinate for 10 minutes or so.

To barbecue - Preheat a kettle barbecue to give a low, indirect heat and add the woodchips. Place the salmon fillets on to the barbecue grill, replace the barbecue cover and cook for 20 minutes. Serve immediately with garnish and rice.