Pickled Salmon with Housemade Kimchi, Whipped Tofu and Watermelon - Chef Recipe by Richard Kerr

Ingredients

300 g salmon fillet
80 g castor sugar
50 mL white wine vinegar
15 g fine salt, plus extra for kimchi
500 mL water
2 g pickling spices
20 g miso paste
150 g soft tofu
1/2 a small wombok/ Chinese cabbage
1 kg carrots
1/2 bunch spring onion
50 g Gochujang (Korean red pepper paste), more if you like spicy
150 g watermelon flesh
2 red radishes for garnish
1 pot micro coriander

Method

Place sugar, water, 15 g salt, vinegar and spices in a pot and bring to boil, meanwhile dice salmon into 1.5 cm cubes, making sure to remove any bones or skin.

Place diced salmon in a bowl with extra room for liquid, pour boiling pickle liquid over the fish, stir gently to separate all pieces of fish. Cool on the bench for 1 hour then, refrigerate until needed.

To make the kimchi, finely slice the wombok, carrots and spring onions, in a large bowl mix well, sprinkle with salt so it’s a bit salty but still tasty, allow to sit at room temperature for 1 hour.

After 1 hour, the vegetable mix should have released a lot of water, lightly squeeze excess moisture out and place vegetables in a clean mixing bowl. Add Gochujang and mix well, if using soon, leave out at room temperature. Otherwise refrigerate in clean container/ jar/ vacuum bag.

In a clean mixing bowl add tofu and miso paste, whisk until smooth (you can use a motorised whisk), keep in the fridge until needed.
Dice all watermelon a little bigger than the size of the fish and set aside until required.

Plating:

Place 2 mounds (at 12 & 6 o’clock) of kimchi in a salad bowl or on a plate with a raised border. Put 3 dices of watermelon around the plate, drain the liquid off the salmon and place on a dry clean cloth. Portion salmon over the 4 dishes with no particular order.

Place 2 tablespoons of miso tofu over the watermelon and kimchi. Garnish with slices of red radish, a drizzle of olive oil, cracked black pepper and micro coriander.