What is Salmon Katsu?
Salmon katsu is a fried Japanese fish dish, similar to an upgrade on fish sticks. Salmon pieces are dipped in flour and egg and coated in crispy panko breadcrumbs and then deep fried. The result is a crunchy golden crust with a light texture enveloping the flaky salmon. The flavors are salty and fishy. This dish is best served hot.
What does Salmon Katsu Taste Like?
Salty is one of the five main tastes. It has a satisfying and addictive quality with hints of sourness. Salty foods include cheeses, cured meats, chips, and olives. It is used in almost every dish and prepared food. Salt is added to enhance flavor and offer a distinctly salty taste.
Umami is one of five main tastes. It is savory with a depth of flavor. Umami is a taste in many foods, including meat, seafood, beans, and nuts. It is both naturally occurring and created through the specific use of ingredients to create a satisfying taste. Umami is characteristic of proteins and savory dishes.
Ingredients
Salmon is a popular fish and are best when caught in the wild, though many are farm raised. This fish has a grey skin and orange flesh. Salmon is an oily fish and has a strong fishy flavor with a textured meat that is extremely flaky, moist and tender. Salmon cooks quickly and can be eaten raw as sashimi, in sushi, or as a cooked fillet. There are many preparations for this fish, including curing it with salt and smoke.
Vegetable oil is obtained by extracting oil from seeds. Types of vegetable oil include canola, sunflower, corn, and safflower. Light and with a neutral taste, vegetable oils are used to fry foods, or can be used to lightly coat meats and vegetables before roasting. Vegetable oils are also used as ingredients in salad dressings and sauces.
Wheat flour is a product made by finely milling wheat grains until they form a powder-like substance. Wheat flour is denser than powder and comes as whole wheat flour; a semi-dense flour with a beige color and full flavor. All- purpose flour is refined, white, lighter in texture and more bland in flavor. There are other varieties of wheat flour with these two being the most common. The flavor is mild and nutty. Wheat flour is used in the making of a huge number of foods across all cuisines. It is used as a binder as well as the basis for breads, baked goods and coating for breaded meats and vegetables. It is used in sauces and even some candies.
Panko breadcrumbs are made from a crustless white bread, cooked using an electric current rather than an oven. The bread is then ground into slivers, rather than round crumbs. Panko has an airy and crisp texture, and is less oily than regular breadcrumbs. When deep fried, panko absorbs less oil than batters or other breadcrumbs. Panko is cream colored and has a flavor that is very mild and bland. It is used to add a crunchy coat to meet, deep fried vegetables and is popular in and on sushi.
Eggs are an incredibly versatile protein and binder. Most eggs used in cooking come from hens and are usually unfertilized. Eggs are oval shaped and roughly 53 mm in length and 40 mm in width. Eggs have a hard, but thin and delicate shell that is brown or white and occasionally green. Inside is the clear and glossy white, with a slimy texture and in the center is the yellow opaque, round shaped yolk. Once cooked, the whites become opaque. Eggs can be scrambled, fried, boiled, and more. They are used in desserts and baked goods as a binder. Egg is also used as a wash to glaze items or dip meat into before breading it. The flavor is mild and sulfurous. It has many uses.
Salt is a mineral composed mostly of sodium chloride. It is the main flavoring used in food and is naturally occurring in certain foods, such as cheese, beets, meat and celery, plus many others. Salt is white and has finer granules than sugar. Many commercial salts include iodide, while others exclude it. Most salts are white, while some are naturally pale pink with minerals. Salt brings out the flavor of something and can create a tangy mouthfeel, if used in excess.
The peppercorn plant grows in tropical climate and produces tiny black fruit. The fruit is dried and become hard. At this point it is ground into a textured powder comprised of black and grey dots. It has a flavor that is spicy, pungent and sharp. Pepper is an extremely popular spice, especially in Western cuisines and lends a gentle heat to dishes. There are different varieties of black pepper and the flavor changes subtly because of this.
