Creamy Salmon Stew with Spinach & Mushrooms 🍣

Cooking StepsHow to cook Creamy Salmon Stew with Spinach & Mushrooms 🍣 step by step

Cooking Process

1. 
   Step 1

   Dice a small wedge of onion, mince one garlic clove, halve the cherry tomatoes, and prep a small knob of butter. Wash the spinach and cut to bite-sized lengths. Slice mushrooms (oyster or shiitake work well — I didn’t have any on hand so just imagine!). Cut the salmon into thick slices and lightly salt the flesh. (You can cut thicker pieces than shown — I was using leftover thick-cut sashimi-grade salmon from the day before.)

2. 
   Step 2

   Pan-sear the salmon on all sides until golden and crispy. (Use a non-stick pan — no oil needed, the salmon renders its own fat! If using a regular pan, add a little oil to coat.) Sprinkle with black pepper sea salt to season.

3. 
   Step 3

   Keep the oil rendered from the salmon in the pan, then add the butter. Melt over the lowest heat.

4. 
   Step 4

   Add the minced garlic and diced onion and stir-fry until fragrant. Then add the sliced mushrooms and cook until softened. (I didn’t have any, so just picture it!)

5. 
   Step 5

   Add the halved cherry tomatoes and continue stir-frying until they start releasing their juices.

6. 
   Step 6

   Add 1 teaspoon of Korean chili paste (gochujang).

7. 
   Step 7

   Add a drizzle of ketchup.

8. 
   Step 8

   Add a drizzle of heavy cream and stir everything together until well combined.

9. 
   Step 9

   Add a small bowl of water (adjust the amount based on how thick you want the sauce. The tomatoes will release juice too, and seafood doesn’t take long to cook, so don’t add too much water!)

10. 
    Step 10

    Add the seared salmon back into the pan and simmer. (The salmon can be substituted with cleaned shrimp, clams, snails, abalone, etc.) Season with black pepper sea salt.

11. 
    Step 11

    Add the spinach. (If you have a sensitive stomach, blanch it first. If not, you can toss it in raw. I added mine straight in.)

12. 
    Step 12

    (The next 3 steps share ingredient tips. If you don’t have these, feel free to buy them; if you have similar alternatives, use those up! The goal is to finish pantry items before they expire.) I had this black pepper sea salt left over from grilling steak — it works great here. If you don’t have it, regular salt and black pepper will do just fine.

13. 
    Step 13

    Both the Korean chili paste and ketchup were already in my pantry (the gochujang was leftover from making Korean oxtail stew or bibimbap).

14. 
    Step 14

    The heavy cream and butter were also bought for bread-making. The cream was the smallest carton I could find. The whole idea is to use up ingredients before they expire!