If you don't know what to serve for dinner tonight ...
Try this Asian-flavored dish that is sure to become one of your favorite additions to your Healthiest Way of Eating. The salmon provides one of the best sources of those hard-to-find health-promoting omega-3 fatty acids. Enjoy!
Ingredients:
- 1 lb salmon, cut into 4 pieces, skin and bones removed
- 2 tsp light miso
- 1 TBS prepared Dijon mustard
- 2 TBS mirin (Japanese rice cooking wine found in Asian section of market)
- 4 dried medium size pieces of wakame seaweed, rinsed and soaked in 1/2 cup hot water for about 10 minutes (save water)
- 1 medium onion, cut in half and sliced
- 3 cups sliced fresh shiitake mushrooms
- 3 medium cloves garlic, chopped
- 1/2 TBS minced fresh ginger
- 2 tsp soy sauce
- salt and white pepper to taste
- garnish with minced green onion
- Preheat broiler with rack in the middle of the oven. Place a stainless steel or cast iron skillet big enough to hold salmon under heat to get very hot (about 10 minutes).
- Rinse and soak seaweed, saving the water.
- Slice onion and chop garlic and let sit for 5 minutes to enhance their health-promoting properties.
- Prepare glaze by mixing miso, Dijon mustard, and mirin along with a pinch of white pepper. Generously coat salmon with mixture and let set while preparing rest of ingredients.
- Heat 1 TBS seaweed water in a stainless steel skillet. Healthy Sauté onion, garlic, ginger, and mushrooms in broth over medium heat for about 5 minutes. Add chopped seaweed, 1/2 cup seaweed water and soy sauce and cook for another 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
- Remove pan that was heating from broiler and place salmon in it. Return to broiler and cook without turning for about 3-5 minutes depending on thickness of salmon. Top with sautéed onion/mushroom mixture and minced scallion.
In-Depth Nutritional Profile for Miso Salmon
Healthy Food Tip
The Latest News About Salmon
With exceptional nutritional value due to their rich concentration of omega-3 fatty acids, salmon is a favorite among fish lovers and enjoyed even by those who are not always fond of fish. Salmon are incredible fish sometimes traveling thousands of miles throughout their life cycle and within two to five years returning to the very location where they were born to spawn and die. The specific characteristics and life cycles of salmon vary with each species. (For example, king salmon has a life cycle of approximately 4-6 years, sockeye, 4-6 years, and silver 3-4 years.)
A good portion of salmon can be classified either as Pacific (Oncorhynchus genus) or Atlantic (Salmo genus) salmon, according to the ocean in which they are found. There is just one native species of Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar), while there are many species of Pacific salmon including chinook (or king), sockeye (or red), coho (or silver), pink, and chum. Norwegian salmon, a popular type of salmon often offered on restaurant menus, is actually Atlantic salmon that is farm-raised in Norway. The flesh of salmon ranges in color from pink to red to orange with some varieties richer in important omega-3 fatty acids than others. For example, chinook and sockeye are fattier fish than pink and chum and contain great amounts of healthy omega-3 fatty acids.
The native habitats of Atlantic and Pacific salmon as described above no longer characterize most of salmon consumed in the United States or in many other countries. Because farmed salmon now accounts for about 80% of all salmon consumed worldwide, it is becoming harder and harder to find wild-caught salmon that live in their native habitat.
What's New and Beneficial About Salmon
- With so much focus on the amazing omega-3 benefits of salmon, other unique health benefits from salmon may have been inadvertently overlooked. One fascinating new area of health benefits involves the protein and amino acid content of salmon. Several recent studies have found that salmon contains small bioactive protein molecules (called bioactive peptides) that may provide special support for joint cartilage, insulin effectiveness, and control of inflammation in the digestive tract. One particular bioactive peptide called calcitonin (sCT) has been of special interest in these studies. The reason is because a human form of calcitonin is made by the thyroid gland, and we know that it is a key hormone for helping regulate and stabilize the balance of collagen and minerals in the bone and surrounding tissue. As researchers learn more and more about salmon peptides—including sCT—we expect to see more and more potential health benefits discovered related to inflamma tion, including inflammation of the joints.
- Even though contamination with mercury, pesticides, and persistent organic pollutants (POPS) has become a widespread problem in salmon habitats and with the quality of salmon itself, there are still salmon runs that pose relatively low risk in terms of contaminants. Leading this low-risk category for wild-caught salmon are Alaskan salmon. Southeast Alaskan chum, sockeye, coho, pink, and chinook salmon, together with Kodiak coho, pink, and chum salmon have all been evaluated for contaminant consumption risk involving many POPs (including dioxins, dioxin-like compounds, or DLCs, and polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs) and have been found to be the lowest risk category of wild-caught salmon for regular consumption. This lower contamination risk amongst all wild-caught salmon is one of the reasons we recommend selection of wild-caught Alaskan salmon as a salmon of choice. (While some salmon runs from British Columbia and the U.S. West Coast also stand out as lower risk in term s of contaminants, we do not feel enthusiastic about recommending them for consumption due to the more precarious sustainability of these salmon runs.)
- Along with lower risk of contamination from wild-caught Alaskan salmon, we like what experts are saying about the greater sustainability of Alaskan salmon runs. For example, the Monterey Bay Aquarium in Monterey, California has recently determined Alaskan salmon to be the only low-risk salmon in terms of four sustainability criteria: the inherent vulnerability of the fish, the effects of fishing on the overall habitat, the status of wild stocks, and the nature of the by-catch (the other types of fish that are caught unintentionally during salmon fishing).
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Regulations that have been adopted—but not yet officially
implemented— by the National Organics Standards Board at the U.S.
Department of Agriculture (USDA) show the intention of the USDA to allow
for organic certification of farmed salmon, but not wild-caught salmon.
Limitation of organic certification to farmed salmon appears related to
the USDA's desire for certainty about compliance of salmon production
with organic regulations. In the case of wild-caught salmon, the USDA
appears to believe that compliance with organic standards would simply
be impossible to verify.
At present, given the absence of officially implemented organic standards for seafood of any kind (including salmon), we continue to recommend consumption of wild-caught salmon. More specifically, we recommend consumption of wild-caught Alaskan salmon because of their higher-quality environmental habitat. We also believe that it is desirable for salmon to live their lives in a natural habitat instead of an artificial fish farm setting. - While salmon have long been identified as a uniquely concentrated source of omega-3 fats, recent studies have now determined the actual bioavailability of these omega-3 fats from relatively small changes in diet. In fascinating research from a team of scientists at the Lipid and Diabetes Research Center at Saint Luke's MidAmerica Heart Institute in Kansas City, MO, only two servings of salmon per week (Norwegian Atlantic-farmed salmon and approximately 6 ounces per serving) were determined to significantly increase the presence of omega-3 fats in the membranes of red blood cells (RBCs). Only 4 months were required to raise the RBC omega-3 levels from 4% to 6%. This finding made it clear that the omega-3 fats from salmon—including its heart-supportive combination of EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid) and DHA (docosahexaenoic acid)—effectively make their way into our body and directly support the function of our cells. Equally interesting in this study was a comparison of dietary salmon intake to fish oil capsules containing purified salmon oil. Salmon oil capsules were also able to raise the percentage of omega-3s in the RBC membranes form 4% to 6%. However, intake of the fish oil capsules over this 4-month period also produced a small increase in some of the blood fats (in particular, triglycerides) of the participants. Since increased blood triglyceride levels can be a risk factor for cardiovascular problems, and since dietary salmon did not produce a similar rise in blood triglycerides for participants in this study, dietary intake of salmon appears to be a best bet for supporting cell function and simultaneously avoiding some unwanted increases in other blood fats.
WHFoods Recommendations
The best ways to cook salmon is by using methods that will keep it
moist and tender. Salmon can be easily overcooked and become dry, so be
sure to watch your cooking times.
One of our favorite ways to prepare salmon is using our "Quick Broil" method. Preheat the broiler on high and place an all stainless steel skillet (be sure the handle is also stainless steel) or cast iron pan under the heat for about 10 minutes to get it very hot. Place salmon on hot pan and broil for 7-10 minutes, depending on thickness. You do not need to turn the salmon. (See our Quick Broiled Salmon with Ginger Mint Salsa recipe for details on how to prepare "Quick Broiled" salmon.) While grilled salmon tastes great, make sure it does not burn. It is best to grill salmon on an area without a direct flame. Extra care should be taken when grilling, as burning can damage nutrients and create free radicals that can be harmful to your health. For more see Are there health risks with char-broiling and gas grilling foods?
Health Benefits
Salmon provides numerous potential health benefits including:
- Supports heart health
- Enhances mood and cognition
- Promotes joint protection
- Supports eye health
- Potential cancer protective properties
Nutritional Profile
The unique protein and amino acid composition of salmon is often
overlooked in its nutritional profile. Salmon contains short protein
molecules called peptides that have been shown to be bioactive and may
have important anti-inflammatory properties. Salmon also provides
important amounts of the antioxidant amino acid taurine. Salmon is an
excellent source of anti-inflammatory omega-3 fatty acids and vitamin D
as well as immune-supportive selenium. It is also a very good source of
muscle-building protein and heart-healthy niacin and vitamin B12.
Additionally, it is a good source of energy-producing phosphorus as well
as heart-healthy magnesium and vitamin B6.
For more on this nutrient-rich food, including references related to this Latest News, see our write-up on salmon.
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