Maple Glazed Salmon (stove top style)

I am a total fan of Japanese cooking methods. I grew up cooking salmon (and most other fish for that matter) in the oven, whole fillets with something drizzled over the top. While this can be tasty, it takes forever (20-30 min) and usually overcooks since you don't want to keep opening the oven door.

My Japanese host family (like most Japanese) didn't own an oven, and cooked everything with a broiler, stovetop or microwave. Also, the Japanese cooking style keeps meat in small pieces, so you can eat it with chopsticks. Combine these two influences, and you get small slices of marinated salmon, cooked quickly in a hot skillet.

Cut 10-14 oz salmon fillets (at refrigerator temperature) into long strips, about 3/4 inch thick. Marinate for at least 10 minutes (or up to 30 minutes) in a dish or bowl with:

1.5 tea soy sauce
1 - 2 tea maple syrup
2-3 sprigs rosemary
2 cloves garlic, crushed and slightly chopped
2-3 TB olive oil
1/8 - 1/4 tea black pepper
1/4 - 1/2 tea salt

Preheat a large skillet pan over high heat. Cook all salmon slices in one layer in the dry hot pan (no oil) for 2-3 minutes, until first side is pink. Rotate to skinny sides and let cook another minute. Now flip back onto the other flat side and let cook for 1 minute.

Add the remaining marinade liquid (minus the rosemary sticks) to the hot pan and cover. Let cook, covered, for a few more minutes until just barely red/pink in the middle. The salmon will continue to cook after you take it off the heat so you don't need to cook it all the way before you take it out of the pan.
Dish out and serve with hot rice (or pilaf or risotto), or baked potatoes, along with a salad.