Asian Flavored Roast Salmon

Last Friday I hosted a luncheon board meeting for Project Native.  Eleven people were scheduled to attend, so finding something easy and quick was uppermost in my mind.  I let my thoughts wander over what might be tasty, and almost immediately an Asian-flavored salmon swam into consciousness. That demanded Annette Grant's miraculous Asian sesame noodles (see Nov 16 2010), a hostess freebie in that they're best made the night before.  So there'd be a darkish color salmon, and a darkish pasta--what would be the appropriate third dish?  Sliced Armenian cucumbers and quartered cherry tomatoes (from Maine) doused with a bit of olive oil and salt.  Perfection itself. For dessert, I hauled up three jars of honeyed peaches I preserved last autumn which went well with excellent chocolate chip cookies.  I opened several bottles of my favorite Rose--South African Muldenbosch, which complimented the various luncheon flavors.  This meal was so easy and such a smashing hit that I'm serving it again for a dinner next week, and then again when my family comes up for the July 4 weekend. Here is the recipe for the salmon.  As noted above, Annette's sesame noodles can be found in November 16, 2010.  We'll have to wait for canning season for the recipe for Jane Kasten's honeyed peaches (which are well worth the wait). Asian Salmon from Ina Garten's Barefoot Contessa at Home (pp 118-110) 2 1/4 lb center-cut fillet (1 1/2" thick) 1 c soy sauce 1/4 c rice vinegar 1/4 c freshly squeezed lemon juice (about 2 lemons) 2 T oyster sauce 1 T fish sauce 1 T toasted (dark) sesame oil 1 1/2 t chili paste 1/2 c sliced scallions (about 2 scallions) 2 T minced garlic (8 large cloves) 2 T minced fresh ginger 1 1/2 c Panko crumbs Line a baking pan with aluminum foil. Place salmon in pan. In a mixing cup, combine soy sauce, rice vinegar, lemon juice, oyster sauce, fish sauce, sesame oil, chili paste, scallions, garlic, and ginger. Pour one-third of the soy sauce mixture over the salmon fillet. Sprinkle panko evenly over the fillet. Pour the rest of the soy sauce mixture evenly over the panko. Be sure to soak the panko completely and if any run off, spoon them back onto the salmon. Set aside for 15 mnutes, leaving all the sauce in the pan. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 500 degrees. Roast salmon for 18-20 minutes, for about 12 minutes per inch at the thickest part of the salmon. The internal temperature should be 120 degrees on a meat thermometer when it's done. Remove from the oven, wrap tightly with foil, and allow to rest for 15 minutes. Serve hot or at room temperature.