Ginger Beer Poached Salmon

I am gutted to have to admit that as a Scotsman, but I had the best salmon I've ever eaten from a fish farm near Twizel in New Zealand. The friendly Yorkshireman who worked there explained that as they farm the fish in fresh water (didn't even know that was possible) the salmon grow more slowly, require less nasty chemicals and subsequently have a better flavour. I took a whole fillet from a fish that was only a few hours deed and a whole smoked fillet to take trekking.

His top tip for cooking it was to simply poach it in ginger beer. Here is how I cooked it at my hostel that night. I would recommend it to anyone who likes some sweetness with their salmon and oriental gingery, garlicky, chilli type things

Ingredients

• Salmon - fillet or even whole, preferably from the fish farm near Twizel, South Island, New Zealand
• Enough ginger beer to cover the fish. I used Bundaburg, but the fiery Jamaican stuff in the yellow cans would probably be even better
• Some garlic, thinly sliced
• An inch or so of fresh ginger, thinly sliced
• Red chilli, thinly sliced, to taste, optional
• Spring onions, sliced
• Handful fresh coriander

Method

• Place salmon in a saucepan large enough to take the salmon without folding it
• Cover in ginger beer
• Add the garlic, ginger and chilli
• Cover with a lid and gently bring up to a simmer. As soon as it is simmering turn off the heat
• Leave it to cool. Not sure how long exactly but the beauty of this is that it doesn't really matter. As the temperature is quite low it won't overcook
  
• Sprinkle with the spring onions and coriander and serve with a bit of the poaching liquid. garlic, ginger and chilli spooned over the top (you can reduce this a bit once the salmon has been removed if you want).
  
• There are loads of serving options for this. Hot, cold, with noodles, with rice, with steamed or stir fried veg. I had it hot with noodles for supper and then cold the next day. I think I preferred it cold, would be perfect as a summer picnic dish.