Miso Salmon en Papillote [in foil] is an easy weeknight meal that looks like a lot of work went into it!  Served over shiitake mushrooms, baby bok choy, spinach and water chestnuts and served with rice and miso mayo, this entrée is sure to become a favorite!

Salmon.  Everyone seems to have their go-to way to cook it.  Except me.  I am not one of those people.  I love salmon a million different ways and this is just one of them … and damn is it good.  If you do a little prep work the night before, this miso salmon en papillote is a super easy weeknight meal that looks like you spent hours slaving away.  [Anything that looks like it took me 3 hours to make when it really only took me 25 minutes… Yes, please].

So maybe you are asking, what in the heck is “miso” and are you sure you didn’t mean “teryaki,” because that salmon looks ahelluva lot like teryaki salmon.  Fair question.  My inspiration for this dish definitely had roots in one or two pictures of some beautiful teryaki salmon, but I didn’t want to create the same old recipe. Instead, I created a twist on your traditional teryaki sauce, using miso paste and sesame oil and reducing the amount of brown sugar and honey-  I was hoping the result would be a sauce that was reminiscent of teryaki sauce (not as sweet) and have other flavors coming out such as miso, mirin and sesame oil.  The result was perfect.  The salmon is marinated in some of the sauce overnight and then baked en papillote [a fancy term meaning you cook something in a paper or foil] along with shiitake mushrooms, water chestnuts, spinach and baby bok choy.  Once it is done cooking (which literally takes about 15 minutes) you serve it over rice with additional sauce and some amazing miso mayo (not pictured because…. welll….. it is damn ugly, but tastes flippin amazing).  The Japanese flavors all come together beautifully.  This is a healthy, savory dish that you can make during the week or serve at your next dinner party.  It really is phenomenal and I am so excited to share it with you guys!  The first time I tested this recipe out (holy overcooked salmon ….. it was a good thing I tested this one beforehand….) I served it as a rice bowl.  You can really dress this one up or down, serve it in a bowl or right in the foil, as pictured.  I hope you guys enjoy!

By the way, miso is a pretty cool ingredient – made mostly from fermented soy beans, salt and koji.  If you feel like pre-emptively reading up on it so you sound super smart when your family or guests ask you “what is miso?” There here is a quick link to wikipedia ….. hey, I am just trying to help you guys out 🙂

So here is your game plan, the night before make your miso sauce (see recipe below) and use about a fourth to marinate your salmon:

You can also prep your veggies the night before…

The next day, when you are ready to make dinner, you just take your veggies and water chestnuts, and place them on your foil.

Add your salmon.

Fold up your foil and place in oven.  While the salmon is cooking, you can make your rice.  Take out your salmon, throw some more miso sauce on there and serve with rice and some awesome miso mayo.  And…. boom, this is what dinner will look like:

Happy weeknight cooking everyone!

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