Personal Chef Secrets: Salmon Belly Poke Bites
Why Poke Bites?
As a personal chef, one has to get creative with cooking. An important part of this creation is turning something that might be overlooked into a masterpiece. One way I do this is by using as much of the food as possible. In this instance, I have a client that wants salmon on the menu as a part of the main course as well as an appetizer. So how can I get creative with this and keep my food cost low? I can do two preparations a cold and a hot. The salmon belly offers a perfect way to create an appetizer that is both delicious and cost-effective. What I like about the salmon belly is that it’s very fatty, it’s pretty thin and a firm yet tender texture. So let’s get into it!
The Salmon
1 Salmon Belly (skinned)
Small Bowl
What you will need is one salmon belly, skin off, and diced in small pieces. Set the salmon in a bowl and place in the refrigerator until the rest of the ingredients are ready.
The Tostadas
1 Package Corn Tortillas
1 1/2 Quart Neutral Oil
Kosher Salt
3 Quart Pot
1 Tray (9 X 13)
Paper Towels
To make the tostadas, I grabbed corn tortillas (any brand will do) and took a 2 1/2″ ring mold and cut out perfect circles. If you do not have a ring mold find a lid off of a Tupperware or peanut butter jar and you can yield the same results.
Fill a 3-quart pot about halfway with a neutral oil, turn the heat on medium-high and bring the oil up to 350 Fahrenheit. Once the oil is ready, add the tortillas one at a time and flip them so they cook evenly on both sides. Once nearly all the bubbles stop appearing the tostadas are ready. Pull from the oil and place them on a tray with paper towels and season them lightly with Kosher salt. Reserve these at room temperature until the rest of the ingredients are ready.
The Sriracha Aioli
1/4 Cup Sriracha
1/4 Cup Mayo
Salt TT
Small Mixing Bowl
Whisk
Spatula
Piping Bag
I love this recipe because it’s super simple. Just mix these two ingredients together in the mixing bowl, whisk and add salt to really pump up the flavor of the sriracha. Using the spatula scrape the aioli into the piping bag and tie off the loose end. If you don’t have a piping bag you can simply spoon a little of the aioli on the top of the tostada before you add the poke mixture instead of squeezing it on top.
Mixing The Poke
1 Bowl Reserved Salmon From Earlier
1 T Chopped Pickled Ginger
2 T Chopped Chives ( Save Half For Garnish)
1 T Soy Sauce
1 Tsp Rice Wine Vinegar
2 T Toasted Sesame Seeds (Save Half For Garnish)
1/3 Cup Small Diced Avocado
1 Spoon
Place all the ingredients except the avocado into the bowl and mix them gently but quickly with the salmon. Once these ingredients are thoroughly mixed gently fold in the avocado being careful not to smash up the delicate pieces and turn it into guacamole. Now that this is complete we are ready to plate up.
To Plate The Poke Bites
1 Small Tray
6 Tostadas
1 Bowl Salmon Poke Mixture
1 Spoon
1 Piping Bag Of Sriracha Aioli
1 T Chives
1 T Sesame Seeds
1 12″ Plate
Place the 6 tostadas on the tray and gently spoon about 1 1/2 T of the poke mixture on top of each one of the tostadas. Grab the piping bag of sriracha aioli and snip a tiny bit off of the tip of the bag and at an angle drizzle the aioli on top of the tostadas. Taking the last two garnishes, sprinkle generously on the top of the tostadas. Remove the tostadas from the tray and place it on a 12″ plate of your choosing! We do this on a tray so that when we transfer it to the plate we keep the plate super clean and it allows the dish to pop with color and contrast.
Enjoy!
