Mango Glazed Salmon with Black Forbidden Rice and Lemon Broccolini

I recently had the opportunity to spend an afternoon in Annapolis, MD, enjoying beautiful weather and browsing the many shops. Among the plethora of stores was a spice shop. The entire store was dedicated to spices, with giant vats of every spice imaginable and more. It was exciting to see the variety and enjoy the aromas. I soon found my attention caught by one corner, though, where in addition to spice the store had craft grains. I eagerly picked out a few to try, and one of them was black forbidden rice, leading to the recipe below.

Black forbidden rice is a Chinese rice that is believed to have received its name from its history - when only emperors were allowed to eat this rice (making it forbidden to commoners) since it was rare and full of nutrients. Today, it's found in health stores and specialty shops, but not your average supermarket. It doesn't taste particularly different from other types of rice, but its dark black color that becomes a royal purple when cooked makes it striking in any prepared dish.

Nutrition and recipe below the jump!

Difficulty: medium
Time: 1 hr 15 min
Cost: $24.60



Glazed Salmon with Black Forbidden Rice
Time: 1 hr 15 min

Ingredients:
1/2 tbsp sesame oil
1 c mango, peeled and sliced (1 medium mango)
2 tbsp rice vinegar
1 c black forbidden rice, uncooked
2 tsp olive oil
12 oz wild alaskan salmon (or other sustainable salmon)
1 tbsp honey

Heat a pan over medium heat. Add the sesame oil, swirling to coat. When the oil is hot, add the mango slices. Saute for just about 2 minutes, and then remove the pan from the heat. Put the heated mango slices in a food processor and add the rice vinegar. Process until smooth, slowly drizzling in 1/8-1/4 c of water just until you get a pour-able consistency of mango. Pour the mango sauce into a microwaveable dish, scraping out all of the mixture, and then set aside for later.

Bring 2 to 2.25 cups of water to a boil in a pot (check the rice for instructions and use those if they differ from these.) When the water is boiling, add the black forbidden rice. Stir into the water, and then cover, turn down the heat, and let the rice simmer for 45-50 minutes or until done. Fluff with a fork before serving.

While the rice is cooking, you can now turn your attention to the salmon. Heat an oven-proof pan over medium-high heat on the stove. At the same time, pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees.

Add the olive oil to the pan and swirl to coat. When the oil is hot, add the salmon. Cook for about 3-4 minutes, then flip. Cook for another 3-4 minutes on the other side. After that, remove from the heat and turn the salmon if needed so the skin-side is down. Brush the honey evenly over the top of the salmon. Put the pan in the oven and bake for about 10 minutes, or until cooked to your desired degree.

As the fish is finishing, you'll need to put the final touches on the mango sauce. Put the sauce, in a microwaveable dish, in the microwave. Heat on full power for 2 minutes total, stirring every 30 seconds. The sauce will thicken.

To serve, place some black forbidden rice on your plate, top with salmon, and then pour the mango sauce over the top. Enjoy this delectable, forbidden meal!

Servings: 2
Serving Size: 6 oz fish and 1 cup rice
Nutrition: calories 774; carbs 91g; fat 26g; protein 47g; sodium 84mg; iron 12mg

Lemon Broccolini
Time: 15 minutes

Ingredients:
2 bunches broccolini
2 tbsp fake butter, light
1/2 tsp lemon rind
1.5 tsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp black pepper

Bring a pot of water to a boil. As you're waiting, wash and trim the broccolini. When the water comes to a boil, add the broccolini. Boil for about 5 minutes, then remove and drain.

Mix the butter, lemon rind, lemon juice, and black pepper in a small bowl. Put the broccolini back in the now-empty pot and return to medium-high heat on the stove. Add the lemon-butter mixture to the broccoli. Stir until well coated and melted. When it's fully heated and melted, remove from the heat and serve.

Servings: 4
Serving size: about 3/4 c broccolini
Nutrition: calories 59; carbs 6g; fat 3g; protein 3g; sodium 67mg; iron 1mg