There is this place in Kona, Hawaii that serves the most amazing poke nachos. You might be wondering what poke nachos are. You might be wondering if they are worth taking the time to figure out what they are. The answer is yes!
“You piss me off salmon…You’re too expensive in restaurants.” ~ Eddie Izzard
Poke nachos are a bed of wonton chips piled high with fresh poke of your choice, seaweed salad, spicy sriracha mayo, and green onions. It’s hard to describe how delicious they actually are. They are crunchy, a little sweet, and a little spicy.
The last time I visited the Big Island of Hawaii, I ate poke nachos for three of the five days I was there. They are addicting. And filling. And unique. And just plain wonderful!
Anyway, every so often I will be sitting here in the middle of the Utah desert and think about those poke nachos. The craving is strong, and the struggle is real! Poke nachos in the Utah desert doesn’t sound so appetizing. The ocean is hundreds of miles away. Raw ocean fish isn’t really a thing.
This last time the craving hit, I decided to do something about it. And that is where the journey of the salmon nachos begins. I might not have access to fresh, raw tuna pulled straight from the Pacific Ocean but I do have a smoker and a large, beautiful filet of Oregon caught silver salmon.
Smoke the Salmon
The tale of the salmon nachos begins with the smoking of the salmon. I made a sauce to pour over my salmon slab before smoking of soy sauce, sesame oil, garlic, ginger, onion, and mirin. In a small bowl, mix together a few tablespoons of the soy sauce, a tablespoon of the sesame oil, a teaspoon of garlic powder, a teaspoon of ground ginger, and a teaspoon of onion powder. Also add is two tablespoons of aji-mirin.
Mirin, if you are unfamiliar with it, is a sweet rice cooking wine. It is similar to sake, but is much sweeter and the alcohol content is lower. Many times you can find mirin in liquor stores near the sake. I used an aji-mirin, which means “tastes like mirin.” Aji-mirin can usually be found in the supermarket near the soy sauce and teriyaki sauce. If you are unable to locate mirin or aji-mirin, you could always substitute with a sweet cooking wine, such as marsala, or even rice wine vinegar and add extra sugar.
Power your soy sauce mixture all over your salmon slab, making sure to rub it down into the meat fibers just a bit.
Preheat the smoker to 450. For wood, I used a cherry, as I think fruit woods pair really nice with fish, for this recipe. Once the smoker is up to temperature, place your seasoned salmon skin side down on the hot grill.
Cooking time varies with the thickness of your fish slab. This slab was between two and half and three inches thick, a very hearty piece of fish, and took 30 minutes to cook. I set a timer for 22 minutes and started checking the fish every few minutes after that point. I wanted the fish to be cooked all the way through, but I really, really didn’t want it to be dry at all. I checked the fish by just tugging at a little pieces on the end. If it flaked away easily and looked pink instead of the bright red color of the raw fish I knew it was finished.
Make the Wonton Chips
Wonton chips are a little laborious, but they are so worth it! They are crunchy, but light and airy. They are very easy to do, but just take a little bit of time.
To start, fill a ceramic dutch oven, or whatever heavy bottomed pot you have on hand, and add a enough oil to be about two inches deep. You need a high heat oil, such as vegetable or canola, for frying. I used avocado oil this time and it worked amazing.
Heat the oil over medium high heat until it reaches 360 degrees. You can use a candy thermometer to get the temperature right.
For the wonton chips, I bought wonton wrappers at the store and cut them in half to form triangles. I left them on the bigger size so I could get lots of topping on each chip.
Place three to four chips in the hot oil and let cook for about one minute. Flip and let them finish on the second side for about thirty seconds. The cooking happens really fast, but you don’t want to place too many chips in the oil or you will start to drop the temperature of the oil. If the temperature gets too low you will end up with greasy heavy chips instead of light and airy ones.
Place the cooked chips on a paper towel to drain a little and continue working with the rest in small batches until all the chips are finished.
The Salmon Nacho Sauces
What really makes these nachos is the blend of spice and sweet, which is achieved through having two different sauces drizzled over the nachos.
The spicy mayo is incredibly simple to make, and honestly is just a good mixture to have on hand. You could dip fries in it, put it on a sandwich for a little added heat, drizzle it over some breakfast potatoes. To make this sauce, simply get a small bowl and add a half cup mayo, 2 tablespoons of sriracha (or more if you want to get dangerous), 2 teaspoons of soy sauce, and two teaspoons of rice wine vinegar. Whisk everything together and voila, finito.
The sweet sauce is just a little, and I mean just a tad, more complicated than the spicy mayo. In a small sauce pan, add a half cup of mirin, four tablespoons, three tablespoons of vodka. Bring the mixture to a gentle boil and add in a half cup of soy sauce.
Reduce the sauce to a simmer and let it reduce down for about seven to ten minutes. You have to watch this sauce, as it can start to boil instead of simmer and you might need to reduce the heat even a little more.
Once you turn the heat off, the sauce should thicken pretty quickly. It is a sticky, molasses-y colored sauce that pleasantly sweet and makes a wonderful addition to these salmon nachos.
Plate up The Salmon Nachos
These nachos are best served in a bowl since there are lots of sauces going on and things can get messy. Put a generous serving of wonton chips in a large bowl. Then, add about a half a cup of seaweed salad. I bought a pre-made seaweed salad from our local sushi restaurant. You can also order it online. I had difficulty locating it at a grocery store.
Seaweed salad is typically made from kelp seaweed and then seasoned with soy sauce, miso, sesame, vinegar, and yuzu. It has an acidic but also semi-sweet vibe going on, but also isn’t so flavorful that it overpowers anything it is paired with.
Next, add some thin slices of cucumber and diced avocado. Put about a cup of the flaked salmon on top of your wonton chips. And then top with some chopped green onions. Drizzle a few tablespoons of the spicy mayo and the sweet mirin soy sauce over the top of everything. A squeeze of lime to finish everything off is also a wonderful idea!
And there you have it! Spicy, sweet, hearty, flakey, crunchy, delicious salmon nachos!
Happy Fishing!
Salmon Nachos
Ingredients
- 2-3 pound slab salmon, skin-on
- 3 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 2 tablespoons mirin
- Wonton wrappers
- Vegetable, canola, or avocado oil for deep frying
- Seaweed salad, pre-made
- 2 Avocados
- 1 Cucumber
- Bunch green onions
- 1/2 cup mayonnaise
- 2 tablespoons sriracha
- 2 teaspoons soy sauce
- 2 teaspoons rice wine vinegar
- 1/2 cup mirin
- 4 tablespoons sugar
- 3 tablespoons vodka
- 1/2 cup soy sauce
Instructions
- Preheat the smoker to 450. Add your favorite wood for fish, I prefer a fruit wood such as cherry.
- In a small bowl, mix together soy sauce, sesame oil, garlic and onion powders, ground ginger, and mirin.
- Massage the soy sauce mixture into the salmon, taking care to coat all the fish's surface.
- Place salmon skin side down on smoker.
- Smoke for thirty minutes for a two and half to three inch thick piece of fish. Smoker time will vary depending on fish thickness. (I set a timer for 22 minutes and began checking the salmon for "doneness" at this time every few minutes.)
- Fill a ceramic dutch oven, or whatever heavy bottomed pot you have on hand, and add enough oil to be about two inches deep.
- You need a high heat oil, such as vegetable or canola, for frying.
- Heat the oil over medium high heat until it reaches 360 degrees.
- Place three to four chips in the hot oil and let cook for about one minute. Flip and let them finish on the second side for about thirty seconds
- Place the cooked chips on a paper towel to drain
- In a small bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise, sriracha, soy sauce and rice wine vinegar.
- In a small sauce pan, bring to a gentle boil the mirin, sugar and vodka.
- Cook until the sugar has completely dissolved.
- Add the soy sauce and reduce to a simmer.
- Reduce sauce for five to seven minutes, until just starting to thicken.
- To a bowl add a handful of the wonton chips.
- Add about a half cup of seaweed salad, some thinly sliced cucumbers, and some diced avocados.
- Flake the smoked salmon into bite size pieces and add about a cup on top of the seaweed salad.
- Top with diced green onions.
- Drizzle a few tablespoons each of the spicy mayo and the sweet soy sauce.
- Dig in!
