Luxury loaded fries with smoked salmon
Use a stove-top smoker to make peppery smoked salmon and use that to make these awesome Japanese inspired luxury loaded fries with fish eggs, Kewpie mayo, wasabi and gim-gui, Korean roasted seaweed.
Equipment
- Bowl and a plate with a slightly smaller diameter than the bowl
- Wood chips of choice, I use hickory - 1 c/ 125 gr
- Stove-top smoker, or build your own with the linked in the notes
- Oven or deep fat fryer depending on your choice of fries
Ingredients
To smoke your own salmon
- 2 filets salmon skin on, this makes them easier to handle
- 1 tbsp - 15 gr salt coarse salt preferred
- 1/2 T - 7 gr black pepper
- 1/2 t - 2.5 gr coriander
- 1/2 t - 2.5 gr pink peppercorns dry roasted and smashed
- juice of 1 lime
- 2 T - 30 ml olive oil
For the loaded fries
- fries whichever kind you like, in the amount you like, I use about 5 oz - 150 gr of fries a head
- 1 sheet gim-gui Korean roasted seaweed
- 2 T - 30 ml Kewpie mayo mix a pinch of MSG into French mayo if you can't find this
- 2 t - 10 gr wasabi the fake stuff is fine
- 2 T - 30 gr fish eggs imitation caviar and salmon roe are my faves but you do you
Instructions
Smoke your salmon
- Immerse 1 c - 125 gr of wood chips in water, making sure the wood chips stay submerged. The easiest way to submerge them is to place them in a bowl, cover them with water, and because they float, top them with a plate.
- While the wood chips are soaking, make a dry rub combing 1 T - 15 gr of salt, 1/2 T - 7 gr of black pepper, 1/2 t - 2.5 gr of coriander and 1/2 t - 2.5 gr of dry roasted pink peppercorns.
- Rub 2 salmon filets in 2 T - 30 ml of olive oil and the juice of 1 lime, before coating it in the rub, shaking off any excess, and leave to sit at room temperature for 1 hour alongside the soaking wood chips.
- When you are ready to smoke, be sure to have your hood extractor running on high and have a few windows open as most smoker’s leak and the smell tends to linger for a few days if you don’t catch it in time.
- Now, drain the wood chips and smoke your salmon as per your smoker manufacturer’s instructions for 10-20 minutes depending on the level of doneness you’d like on your fish. I like to go for 15 minutes to get it fully cooked through while remaining moist and luscious.
To make the Japanese inspired loaded fries
- Prepare the fries according the the package instructions, or however you like to make fries. I think making my own is way too much hassle so I use oven fries, which work fine for me.
- Flake your smoked salmon carefully. Or just stomp it to the desired consistency. Whatever you prefer. I just like to flake it to retain some texture.
- Mix 2 t - 10 gr of wasabi with the 2 T - 30 ml of Kewpie mayo. Or keep them separate for added oomph. If you're not that into wasabi add little bits at a time and taste to find a heat level that is acceptable to you.
- Crumble 1 sheet of gim-gui into small pieces.
- Divide the salmon flakes, Kewpie-wasabi mayo (or Kewpie and wasabi), the crumbs of gim-gui and the imitation caviar or salmon roe over the fries. Eat up. Feel great.
Notes
If you can’t afford a smoker and don’t want to wait around until you bump into a sale like I did, Saveur explains how you can build a stove top smoker quite easily from cheaper items. Or you can just buy ready-smoked salmon.