WHB: Asian Salmon And Rice Soup

It's here, the first anniversary for Weekend Herb Blogging, which was created by the lovely Kalyn one year ago.  What a success this event has been!  And with it comes the chance to vote for my favorite herb.  It wasn't hard to come up with my choice.  I need only look at  the herb I buy the most at the grocery store: Cilantro.  I do grow some herbs--oregano, thyme, tarragon, and basil. But, cilantro has always been hard for me to grow here in the hot Central Valley weather.  It bolts very quickly.  So, every week I buy several bunches of cilantro (or coriander to some people).   There's something so satisfying about picking up a bunch of cilantro, feeling the silky leaves, then putting them under my nose to inhale the unmistakable odor.   

While I knew I would feature cilantro as my favorite herb, I was very conflicted about which recipe to use.  I thought of making cilantro pesto or salsa. But, then I got sick and decided to make something soothing, healing and delicious.  And this Asian styled soup with salmon and rice fit my requirements.  I love the taste of cilantro paired with soy or fish sauce.  This soup also contains ginger root which always makes me feel much better. Cilantro is a good source of folic acid and has a reputation for helping restore good health. To me, just eating a dish flavored with it makes me feel happy. And that's beneficial in itself. 

I also liked this recipe because it called for a substantial amount of cilantro--one cup of leaves scattered on top of the soup as you serve it. 

This recipe was very simple, which was a good thing. I wasn't feeling very energetic and wanted  something easy and fast.  The broth is full of grated ginger and cilantro stems. The stems have a peppery taste, but they can be removed before you serve the soup. The salmon was briefly marinated in soy sauce and sesame seed oil before being add to the broth.  Serve the soup promptly because the rice will start to absorb the broth as it sits.  I think I'll try this recipe next time using noodles.

Don't forget to visit Kalyn's site to see the WHB roundup on Sunday. Then we'll learn which herb garnered the most votes.  I think it will be between cilantro and basil. 

Asian Salmon-and-Rice Soup  (Food & Wine)

SERVES: 4

INGREDIENTS

•     3/4 cup long-grain rice
    •     1 1/2 pounds salmon fillet, skin removed, fish cut into 8 pieces
    •     2 tablespoons soy sauce
    •     1 tablespoon Asian sesame oil
    •     10 cilantro stems, chopped, plus 1 cup cilantro leaves for garnish
    •     1 1/2 tablespoons minced fresh ginger
    •     1 teaspoon salt
    •     2 cups canned low-sodium chicken broth or homemade stock
    •     4 cups water
    •     3 scallions including green tops, chopped

DIRECTIONS
    1     Bring a medium pot of salted water to a boil. Stir in the rice and boil until almost tender, about 10 minutes. Drain.
    2     Coat the salmon with the soy sauce and sesame oil.
    3     In a large pot, combine the cooked rice, the cilantro stems, the ginger, salt, broth, and water. Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer, covered, stirring occasionally, for 15 minutes.
    4     Add the salmon to the pot. Simmer, covered, until the salmon is just done, about 5 minutes. Remove the cilantro stems. Serve the soup garnished with the cilantro leaves and scallions.

Comments

[gattina]

oh Sher! somehow I feel that you're going to choose cilantro! I did struggle bewtween green onion and cilantro when I decided on my farvorite.
sorry to hear that you're sick, still the sinus problem? or allergy something? An Enuropean lady told me eating raddish (a lot!) able to relieve the sinus (mine is bad during the spring time), but I haven't tried.
My mother used to make your soup (no fish no rice, more cilantro), very delicious indeed!

[Kalyn]

What an excellent choice. The soup sounds fantastic, full of wonderful flavor and so healthy. I share your pain about not being able to grow cilantro, but it's never been a successful crop for me either.

I am a bit intrigued by the idea of using the cilantro stems in cooking, something I haven't experimented with too much.

Sorry to hear you are still not feeling great. If you lived a little closer I would offer to bring you dinner, something with cilantro, of course!

[aria]

mmmmm, that looks awesome! i love brothy fishy asian dishes. some day soon i want to try making broth with bonito flakes like on iron chef!

[Karina]

Yay! Another cilantro lover. And the soup sounds delicious and different. [I love salmon.]

FEEL BETTER soon!

[Garrett]

I totally love cilantro. I can;t live without it either!

[Jenn]

That soup looked so great, but you lost me on the "substantial amount of cilantro." It's an herb that one either loves or hates, eh? I'm in the latter category (seriously unfortunate, since cilantro is so ubiquitous in some kinds of food that I love- say, Thai.) I think I may have, in a previous life, died in a field of the stuff. I hate it so thouroughly I have to rush past it in the supermarkets back home! But if there was none of it in that bowl of soup, I'd be all over it. When I pretend it's, say, parsley in that picture, it makes me hungry! So delicious looking!~

[kross-eyed kitty]

That looks incredibly delicious!
Hope you're feeling better soon.

[Mae]

This is a wonderful recipe. It looks utterly fresh, comforting and most of all, delicious. I too love the fact that there's plenty of coriander leaves on it.

You have the best ideas as always.

Delicious. Delicious.

[Anna]

this soup looks great! do you think lime juice added at the end would be nice too, or do you think it would ruin the flavours?

[sooishi]

it look fantastic!
Thanks for the recipe

[whaleshaman]

i hope you're feeling better by now, and that beautiful soup surely helped.

and i bet upsie helped...herself to a nibble of salmon.

[Ari (Baking and Books)]

I've never had salmon soup... this looks tasty though, and it sounds like a very light dish.

[boat for sale minnesota]

It is never okay to lie, sometimes okay to lie

[engraved beer steins]

Global Warming Isn't A Threat

[major]

The U.S.-Mexican border fence works, doesn't work

[isuzu]

Sexism is, is not a problem in society

[sky]

I've just been hanging out doing nothing. I've basically been doing nothing worth mentioning. Shrug. Pretty much not much exciting happening today. Today was a complete loss.