Salmon Nachos
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A few years ago, I went on a vacation to Hawaii. The first night there I ordered poke nachos. I ate poke nachos almost every day of the vacation. When I think back to that trip, I have clips in my brain of rolling waves, sea breezes dusting salt on my lips, and the bursting flavor from those poke nachos. I thought about them so often I recreated a home version that can be used with whatever fish is biting on the end of my line: saltwater salmon, Kokanee, rainbow trout, brown trout, striped bass.
These nachos require a little extra effort with the homemade wonton chips, but the final plate is worth all the time spent standing over the fryer. Topped with a lightly smoked fish of your choosing, seaweed salad, creamy avocado, and crunchy cucumber, the flavors splash between salty, sweet, sour, and even a touch of bitter.
Serving Size: 6-8
Time to make: 1-2 hours
Equipment: Smoker
Also works with: Trout
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Salmon Nachos
Course: Wild RecipesCuisine: AmericanDifficulty: Moderate6
servings45
minutes45
minutesThese nachos require a little extra effort with the homemade wonton chips, but the final plate is worth all the time spent standing over the fryer. Topped with a lightly smoked fish of your choosing, seaweed salad, creamy avocado, and crunchy cucumber, the flavors splash between salty, sweet, sour, and even a touch of bitter.
Ingredients
2-3lb salmon fillet, skin-on
3 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon onion powder
2 tablespoons mirin
Wonton wrappers
Neutral oil for deep frying
Seaweed salad, pre-made
2 avocados
1 cucumber
1 bunch green onions/scallions
- Spicy Mayo
1/2 cup mayonnaise
2 tablespoons sriracha
2 teaspoons soy sauce
2 teaspoons rice vinegar
- Sweet Soy Sauce
1/2 cup mirin
4 tablespoons white sugar
3 tablespoons vodka
1/2 cup soy sauce
Preparation
- Smoking the Salmon
- Preheat the smoker to 450. Add your favorite wood for fish, I prefer a fruit wood such as cherry.
- In a small bowl, mix together soy sauce, sesame oil, garlic and onion powders, ground ginger, and mirin.
- Massage the soy sauce mixture into the salmon, taking care to coat all the fish’s surface.
- Place salmon skin side down on smoker.
- Smoke for thirty minutes for a two and half to three inch thick piece of fish. Smoker time will vary depending on fish thickness. (I set a timer for 22 minutes and began checking the salmon for “doneness” at this time every few minutes.)
- Wonton Chips
- Fill a ceramic Dutch oven, or whatever heavy bottomed pot you have on hand, and add enough oil to be about two inches deep.
- You need a high heat oil, such as vegetable or canola, for frying.
- Heat the oil over medium high heat until it reaches 360 degrees.
- Place three to four chips in the hot oil and let cook for about one minute. Flip and let them finish on the second side for about thirty seconds
- Place the cooked chips on a paper towel to drain
- Spicy Mayo
- In a small bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise, sriracha, soy sauce and rice wine vinegar.
- Sweet Soy Sauce
- In a small sauce pan, bring to a gentle boil the mirin, sugar and vodka.
- Cook until the sugar has completely dissolved.
- Add the soy sauce and reduce to a simmer.
- Reduce sauce for five to seven minutes, until just starting to thicken.
- Compiling the Salmon Nachos
- To a bowl add a handful of the wonton chips.
- Add about a half cup of seaweed salad, some thinly sliced cucumbers, and some diced avocados.
- Flake the smoked salmon into bite size pieces and add about a cup on top of the seaweed salad.
- Top with diced green onions.
- Drizzle a few tablespoons each of the spicy mayo and the sweet soy sauce.
- Dig in!
