The Laziest, Most Delicious Healthy (well, relatively) Dinner I've Ever Made

This was a 100% inspired by Disneyland Paris' Planet Hollywood's teriyaki salmon, so credit goes to them.

Warning: this is NOT the actual recipe. Of course not.

You will like this meal if you're a big salmon fan (like Shah and i) and have no problem with the taste of teriyaki sauce and can eat non-flavoured veggies without gagging.

I won't say it's super duper healthy as the sauce does contain colourants and acidifiers, but in terms of lazy and healthy, this beats mac 'n cheese any day, doesn't it?

How to make this lazy yet delicious meal:



1. About one hour before cooking the salmon, immerse the salmon fillet in teriyaki sauce in a bowl and let it sit.

2. Make rice by letting rice cooker does its job.
I don't own a rice cooker here (so badass) so i just make them in a pot. No stirring needed if you know the right temperature, really, just let it cook.

3. While waiting for the rice to cook, cut your favourite vegetables into slices/pieces.
Planet Hollywood serves green beans, carrots and zucchini in this meal, all of which i made during my first time doing this dish, but this time i was too lazy to get any zucchini so i traded that with my favourite veggie: mushroom (mushroom is a type of veggie, right?). But you can seriously use aaannnyyyyy type of veggie.

4. If you use pot to cook your rice, like me, check up on it. If it's cooked, turn cooker off or set cooker on the lowest temperature to keep rice warm.
If rice isn't cooked, check up now and then. Do not burn the bottom part, because that might ruin the taste of all the rice. Malays call this phenomena hangit.

5. Bring a pot of water to boil and put all your veggies in till they're all soft (not mushy) and cooked. 
I usually dump carrot slices in first since i like them all soft, continued by green beans then mushrooms. Strain and put them aside.
You can of course choose to flavour the water with salt and herbs and whatnots, or you can flavour them right after they've been strained. Or not. Whatever, really. Your choice.

6. Check rice again, if it wasn't ready just now. OK, bottom part not burnt, rice cooked, A-OK.

7. If you have a griller, use it, but since i don't, i just warm up a pan filled with some extra virgin olive oil and "grill" the salmon.
Be careful to not overcook the salmon. The temperature shouldn't be too high as to not burn the outer layer, but it should not be too low that you thought it's safe to leave it on the pan and then it overcooks without you realising it either.

8. Transfer cooked salmon on a plate and assemble rice and veggies on the side.

9. Eat!

Aside from Planet Hollywood, i have to thank my friend from Christchurch, Anupama Kutty (hi Anu!) who helped introduce me to teriyaki sauce. If it weren't for her, teriyaki would have been totally strange and gross to me.
Like marmite and vegemite. Why didn't anyone make me eat those in New Zealand? Hmmm.

A side story that might not be interesting at all to you but is to me and is also all about food. Skip the two paragraphs below if you're not even the tiny bit curious:

Since i couldn't eat the meat my friends in Christchurch usually cook for themselves, they would cook veggie and seafood stuff for me. Emma would make this cheesy, delicious pasta filled with seafood like prawns, calamari and some mushroom slices, and she also taught me to make the best and simplest meehoon tomyum evah filled with fried tofu and the processed seafood you find in yong tau foo (she used this one brand of tomyum paste, which I FOUND IN PARIS); Jasmine had cooked me rice with veggie dishes, plus she introduced me to the awesomeness of Maggi Asam Laksa—her favourite flavour!—which i never noticed before, too caught up in my love for Maggi Kari and Maggi Ayam; Anu used to make this seriously yummy noodles with frozen veggies cooked in teriyaki sauce allllll the time, which i would devour and go for seconds, and back then she always, always let me eat her mom's amazing mussels and prawns masala dishes that her mom sent to her with love.

It's a good thing i made some great, smart friends back in New Zealand, all of them feeding me when i was hungry in between classes and studying. I don't think they even realised that's what they were doing: feeding me, because i was either too lazy to cook or too lazy to go home to my own place and cook. So it is important that you choose your friends wisely. Not just the ones who cook for you, but are caring and fun as well.

If you're wondering what type of teriyaki sauce i used, it was one from Ayam Brand.

Product of Malaysia OKKK. Jangan memain.

AND it's halal too.

I do think it's important to use a good, yummy teriyaki sauce because you're depending on this one ingredient to flavour your salmon here, and there are many of them out there. So you might have to experiment a bit before finding out the right one.
So, good luck in finding the perfect teriyaki sauce and making this meal!

xxoo