Creamy Garlic-Butter Salmon with Shiitake

Crisp-skinned salmon with a smooth mushroom sauce and lemon added at the end.

Ingredients

For the salmon

• 230 g salmon steak, boneless, skin-on
• ¼ tsp fine salt
• ¼ tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tsp neutral oil
• 10 g butter

For the creamy shiitake sauce

• 70–100 g fresh shiitake mushrooms, sliced about 5 mm thick
• 15 g butter (about 1 tbsp)
• 3 cloves garlic, finely minced
• 120 mL all-purpose cream
• 60 mL water or unsalted chicken stock
• ½ tsp Knorr chicken powder — optional but good
• ¼ tsp black pepper
• 1 tsp Kikkoman soy sauce
• 1–2 tsp fresh lemon juice, added at the very end
• ½ tsp finely grated lemon zest, optional
• Chopped parsley, if available

Method

• Pat salmon dry and season. Heat oil over medium-high heat and place the salmon skin-side down, pressing gently for 20–30 seconds. Cook about 3½–4½ minutes, turn, add 10 g butter and cook another 1–2 minutes. Remove to finish later.
• Lower the heat, add 15 g butter and brown shiitake for 2–3 minutes. Add garlic for 30 seconds.
• Add water or stock, optional chicken powder, pepper and soy sauce. Scrape the pan and simmer 1 minute. Lower the heat, add cream and gently simmer 2–3 minutes.
• Return salmon skin-side up, keeping most of the skin above the sauce. Gently finish cooking until the thickest part reaches 63°C.
• Turn off the heat, then stir lemon juice into the sauce, adding more only after tasting. Finish with optional zest and parsley. Loosen thick sauce with a tablespoon of water or cream if needed.

Before you cook

Read the ingredient labels for allergens, especially seafood, soy, wheat, dairy and eggs. Prepared sauces and seasoning powders vary in saltiness, so taste before adding more. Cooking times are guides; check doneness in the actual batch.

Cook poultry and reheated leftovers to 74°C, ground meat to 71°C, and fish to 63°C. FoodSafety.gov cooking guidance ↗