Go Wild with Rice

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Wild and Brown Rice with Sesame-Soy Glazed Salmon
Serves 4

Ingredients

For the rice:
1/2 cup wild rice
3/4 ounce (about 20 medium) dried shiitake caps
3 scallions, thinly sliced (keep white and green parts separate)
1 cup short-grain brown rice
2 to 3 teaspoons Japanese soy sauce (shoyu or tamari)
1/2 to1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
1 tablespoon black sesame seeds

For the salmon:
2-inch chunk fresh ginger, peeled and cut into eighths
2 large cloves garlic
2 tablespoons Japanese soy sauce (shoyu or tamari), plus more to pass at the table
1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
1 teaspoon molasses
Peanut oil, for frying
4 salmon steaks or skinned fillets (each about 1-inch thick)
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
1 large lemon, cut into 8 wedges, for serving

Method

To prepare the rice: Bring 3 cups of water to a boil in a medium pot. Add the wild rice and cook at a gentle boil, uncovered, until the rice is tender and some of the grains have burst open and curled, 45 to 60 minutes. Drain well and set aside.

While the wild rice is cooking, bring 2 cups of water to a boil in a heavy 2-quart saucepan. Press the dried shiitake into the water. Cover and let sit until the shitake are soft, about 15 minutes. Cut the caps into strips about 1/4-inch thick and return them to the soaking water.

Return the water and shitake to a boil. Stir in the scallion whites and brown rice. Return to a boil, cover, and reduce the heat. Simmer until the rice is tender, 35 to 40 minutes. It's fine if there is some unabsorbed liquid. Stir in the wild rice, soy sauce, sesame oil to taste, and most of the scallion greens. (Save a few for garnish.) Turn off the heat, cover, and let the rice sit for 10 minutes, or until the fish is ready.

To prepare the salmon: In a processor, finely chop the ginger and garlic. Add the soy sauce, sesame oil, and molasses, and blend well to create the glaze.

Heat a thin slick of peanut oil in a large skillet over high heat until sizzling. Spread some glaze onto one side of each steak. Set the steak, glazed-side down, in the skillet. Reduce the heat to medium-high and cook uncovered for 1-1/2 minutes. Spread glaze on the top side of each steak, and flip over. Turn the heat to medium-low and continue cooking until the fish flakes easily and is almost opaque in the thickest section, 3 to 4 minutes longer. Remove to a platter and lightly tent with foil to keep warm. (The fish will finish cooking in the residual heat.) Stir the rice vinegar and any remaining glaze into the pan and cook over medium-high heat, stirring constantly, until the sauce develops a sheen, a minute or so. If there is any liquid left in the rice, bring it to a boil and cook while stirring until the liquid evaporates. Stir in the black sesame seeds.

To serve: Divide the rice among four plates and set a salmon steak on top. Drizzle a little of the sauce onto the salmon and garnish with the remaining scallion greens. Set 2 lemon wedges alongside. Pass a small pitcher of soy sauce at the table.