Don’t be scared of cooking fish at home. I love the simplicity of this dish, how healthy it is and how you can easily make it your own.

Change what garnish you serve this with depending on the season. The salmon tastes extra delicious with a glass of white wine from Jade Estate.

Salmon

2 salmon fillets

1 cup of rice

1 bunch baby bok choy

Teriyaki sauce – you can buy good quality teriyaki sauce at your local supermarket

Pickled Vegetables

100g enoki mushroom

Small knob of ginger

1 daikon (Japanese white radish)

Pickling liquid

1 tsp of black peppercorn

1 bay leaf

1 chilli

125ml water

125ml rice wine vinegar

¼ cup sugar

2 tsp salt

Pickled vegetables

1. Place the all pickling liquid ingredients into a saucepan and bring to a boil. Once the sugar is dissolved remove from heat.

2. Prep the vegetables for pickling. Clean the ginger and slice finely and do the same with the daikon. Place the vegetables into a container or jar.

3. While the pickling liquid is still hot, pour over the vegetables and let sit until cool.

Salmon

1. Salmon is easy to get right with just a little bit of preparation. Get your fish from your favourite fish monger. Then season the fish with salt and place into a pan on medium-high heat with the skin side down. Monitor the heat at this stage, too hot and the skin will burn, too cold and you will have no crisp.

2. Once you are happy that the skin is nice and crisp, flip the fish over and cook until your desired temperature. For those that like it more cooked, the fish may need a bit more time in the oven to heat through.

3. Garnish your fish with cooked rice, sautéed bok choy and your pickled vegetables. Finish with the teriyaki sauce.

Jason Hawker is executive sous chef at Crowne Plaza Hunter Valley and is the primary creative force behind the menus at Redsalt Restaurant and Lovedale Bar and Restaurant. While his background is classically French, he loves to cook homestyle comfort food.