Marcus D.'s Daily Bite: Toddler Approved "Perfect" Salmon Teriyaki

So my 3-year-old daughter is at this place where she doesn't eat anything.

Oh, I've tried to develop her palette. Eat this, try this, smell this.  We even have a song from the Daniel Tiger show: 

"You've gotta try new foods because they might taste good!"

SOMETIMES it works.  Usually though, it ends with her pushing her plate aside and requesting something sweet or some kind of dessert.  It kinda breaks my heart.  And then I remember that she's three.

That said, one of her FAVORITE meals is broiled salmon over rice with a homemade teriyaki sauce that I found online. We usually serve it with these seaweed squares and she rolls up her own "sushi." It's sweet, it's protein, it's interactive...it's genius.

JUST last night I had her taste the sauce and she looked at me and said:

Daddy, I love it, it's perfect.  My face melted.

There are a couple of other factors in play here:

1. We've convinced her that salmon is the favorite food of her troop of teddy bears (she has 3).  They typically sit at the table and "eat" with us.

2. We sit as a family and watch this "Bear Cam" from the Alaskan Wilderness.  Pretty much, my daughter wants to be a bear.

Here's the best (and easiest) teriyaki recipe on the internet. I recommend adding the extras: ginger, garlic, pineapple etc.  The key is to taste it.  Does it need more sweet? Add a bit more honey.  A bit more sour? Add a bit more rice wine. How does the ginger content feel? Recipes like this will REALLY help you develp and train your own palette while (hopefully) putting something on the table your mini-me will actually eat! 

MARCUS D.'S TERIYAKI SALMON

Ingredients:

A double batch of this: teriyaki recipe (save the extra for next time, it keeps for awhile)1.25 lbs of Salmon (most grocery stores get their fresh salmon on Tuesdays...make sure you ask!)Olive Oil1 cup ricegreen onions, thinly chopped.

Directions: 1. Cook up the teriyaki sauce ASAP because you're gonna use half of it to marinate the salmon.  Make sure you let HALF cool to room temp (I throw half into a measuring cup, put it on a plate or pot-holder and put it in the freezer) before you put it in a ziploc with the salmon or bad things will happen to your fish.  

2. Cut the fish to the portions you want and put them in the ziploc. Pour the cooled teriyaki sauce over them and make sure they are coated and seal the bag.  Let them sit on a plate on the counter for about 30-40 mins.  This will bring them to temperature for cooking and will also make them marinate faster. 

3. Make your rice how ever you make rice.  I do mine in my Instant Pot.  

4. After 30 minutes, shake of the marinade off the salmon pieces and put them on an foiled baking sheet (that you have coated with olive oil) skin-side down and (with the rack as high as room in your oven will allow) place them under a high broil for 4-5 minutes.  They should be cooked all the way through but not tough(like no deep pink).  Check them after 3 minutes so you don't overcook them.

5. Plating: Scoop out your rice into a bowl or on a plate(I use these low-pro pasta bowls for EVERYTHING), drizzle with a bit of that teriyaki sauce goodness and then lay your salmon skin side down directly on the rice.  Drizzle more sauce on the fish and an swipe a bit directly in the bowl (you are an artist, after all). Sprinkle with the chopped green onions. They add a nice acidic bite and make your IG photos look that much more fancy.

Enjoy!