Crispy Skinned Salmon with Springy Green Pea Jook

a delicious off season jook

Hello hello!

I meant to send out this recipe last week but my mind got caught up with deep recipe testing for laminated milk bread and then we flew down to to Southern California for a wedding and for the first time ever, I didn’t bring my laptop with me to squeeze in some work. So I apologize for that but I’m making up for it with a double recipe/newsletter week! In a few days a plump dumpling recipe will be hitting your inbox. If all goes to plan, I’ll hit send before hopping on a plane to Chicago. We’re traveling again, but this time for the James Beard Awards!

*high-pitched squeal*

I am so excited and nervous. While watching the Tony’s last night I was thinking to myself “should I prepare something to say?!”, just in case another miracle happens? I’ve sort of had 3 years to think about what I would say at the podium because I didn’t actually get a chance to be there in person to accept the award for Mooncakes and Milk Bread… so I have some thoughts. I’ll let you know next week how it goes and if I end of crying (despite the outcome, I most likely will).

tastes from the 2025 Jook Off Cook Off!

A few weeks back, I was honored to be a judge for this year’s Jook Off Cook Off! I’ve been living in the Bay for over 11 years now and in the early years of my time in the city I had heard of the Jook Off Cook Off because it was first held at a brewery near where Reuben lived in Bernal Heights. I loved the idea, loved what it supported, and even though I missed the last cook off, I decided I would enter one day (or better yet, be a judge). But then the Jook Off didn’t happen again and then the pandemic shut the world down. When I got a message that after 8 years the Jook Off was coming back and they wanted to know if I could be a judge I was ecstatic! I’ve been waiting for this moment.

The Jook Off moved up from the brewery to a much grander venue at the Asian Art Museum and over 500 people showed up to taste some creative jooks! It was honestly really beautiful to see. When I told my mom about the event, she was shocked that many people were interested in jook, but that’s why I love living in the Bay Area. People care about this food, this culture, and this community. All the jooks were delicious, some more traditional, some more innovative. I love this exploration of what jook could be. It doesn’t always have to be humble and sort of bland, akin to baby food. It can be so much more.

I definitely leaned in favor of the jooks that had a great balance of textures because I am a texture girl. The jook itself had to be creamy and smooth and the more crunchy, crispy toppings the better. The best topping of all of them in my opinion was Abaca’s fish sauce caramel popcorn, second was the sourdough Chinese doughnut. I made a note to eat jook with popcorn more often.

While this jook doesn’t have popcorn as a topping, I felt inspired to play around with a spring time jook after my day of judging! Generally, everyone’s jook focused a lot on the toppings and proteins. I wanted to experiment with the color/flavor of the rice and make a bowl that felt both light but still like a cozy hug. I wanted a seasonal jook that matches the weather I’m experiencing now, which is foggy cool mornings and evenings with a moment of sun and spring in the afternoon.

The base jook is extra creamy from soaking the rice before cooking. This is not something I normally do, I didn’t grow up doing this, but I have to admit that the results from a little bit of planning are worth it. I flavored the base with fish stock, but I also played around with a dashi base on a few iterations, both are delicate, flavorful, and fragrant. During the last few minutes of simmering I stirred in pureed peas (I love frozen peas and always have them in the freezer) and love the green hue and gentle sweetness they have the jook. On it’s own I think this jook would actually be good for young ones!

A lot of the times, the protein is cooked into the jook, but we’re already breaking all the rules with this recipe. I originally wanted to top the jook with a piece of tempura cod dusted with nori but it felt a little too fussy? My brain was going in the direction of fried fish with mushy peas… idk, let me know if that’s something you would actually do to amp up your jook! I decided to do a really simple pan seared salmon with crispy skin. I dip the skin in some rice flour, a trick I learned from my dad, and it helps give the salmon skin a potato chip like quality, so while you’re not deep frying you get a moment of indulgence from the crispy skin.`

A bowl of jook is not complete for me without a heaping pile of fried onions on top. I had some leftover fried green onions from testing scallion oil noodles, but some fried shallots or even French’s crispy fried onions will do the trick!

I really really love this jook. It is comforting while feeling special. While I stare out the window at the clouds rolling in, I wish I had a bowl of it now.

For a more summery jook, keep my tomato jook recipe in your back pocket for tomato season!

Crispy Skinned Salmon with Springy Green Pea Jook

serves 4

Crispy Skinned Salmon With Springy Green Pea Jook

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For the jook:

1 cup jasmine rice
4 cups (32 oz carton) fish stock, can substitute with water and 2 tsp of instant dashi powder
8 cups water
2” piece of ginger, thinly sliced
1 cup frozen or fresh peas
1/2 cup water
1 tsp coarse salt
1/2 tsp white pepper
Green onions, for topping
Fried onions or shallots, for topping
Chili oil, for topping

For the salmon:

1 1/4 lb salmon with the skin on, cut into 4 fillets
3 tbsp fine rice flour
2 tbsp avocado or neutral oil
1/2 tsp coarse salt
1/2 tsp black pepper

For the snap pea salad:

1 cup snap peas, thinly sliced
1 tbsp rice vinegar
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 1/2 tsp sesame oil

1. Optional step: Soak the rice in cold water for at least 1 hour or up to overnight. This will result in an extra creamy jook. Strain the rice before adding to the jook.

2. In a large pot, combine stock, water, and ginger and bring to a boil. Reduce the temperature to maintain a simmer. Add in the rice and stir for about a minute to prevent the rice from sticking to the bottom. Cover with a lid, leaving a small gap for steam, and continue to stir the pot, making sure to scrape the bottom, every 10 minutes, until the jook is thick and creamy, about 1 hour. As the jook thickens and reduces, you may have to reduce the temperature slightly to maintain a gentle simmer.

3. About 10 minutes before the jook reaches its fully creamy stage, blend the peas with water with a stick blender until you have a somewhat chunky puree and stir into the jook so it takes on a soft but bright green color. Taste and then stir in the salt and white pepper, adjust the amount to your liking (different stocks and dashi will have varying levels of salt). Once the jook is fully creamy, reduce the heat to low and cover to keep warm until you’re ready to serve.

4. While the jook is simmering you can prepare the salmon. Pat the salmon skin dry with a towel. Place the rice flour in a deep dish and then press the salmon skin into the rice flour to coat. Shake off any excess flour and then place skin-side up on a plate or baking sheet.

5. Heat up avocado oil in a large pan over medium heat. Once hot, add the salmon into the pan, skin-side down, and season the flesh with salt and pepper. Sear until the skin is crispy, 4 to 5 minutes, occasionally pressing down on the fish so the skin gets good contact with the pan. Flip and cook the other side until the salmon reaches your desired doneness, about 3 to 4 minutes. Transfer the salmon to a platter to cool for a few minutes before serving.

6. In a medium bowl, toss to combine snap peas, vinegar, soy sauce, and sesame oil.

7. Portion the jook into bowls, top each with a piece of salmon, snap peas, some fried onions, and chili oil if you desire. Enjoy!