Here at Pepper, we enjoy eating out as much as the next person does. Going to our favorite food haunts, checking out newly-opened restaurants, and trying out the latest taste craze sweeping the country are all part of the job–and we love it. But we also understand that being a daily restaurant hopper is not an option for most people, not even for us. Sometimes, it’s best to save up and eat in.

We know, we know. Not everybody has a knack for cooking, and attempting a restaurant-quality dish seems even more ludicrous. But today’s recipe will ease it a bit by helping you on your path as a home cook. Let’s start off with something that seems complex but is actually pretty simple to do: curing your own salmon (using local ingredients!). We’re keeping things under a budget, so it’s nothing too over-the-top, but it’s definitely more than just any average salt and pepper cure. To guide you through the process, we’ve made a short step-by-step for you to follow.

After curing the salmon, we couldn’t help but try it ourselves. We used thinly sliced strips of the fresh pink fish for a very straightforward sandwich. Layered with kesong puti slices in between sesame buns, we could still taste the raw salmon flavor – with the subtly citrusy, herbal hint from the cure.

How to Cure Your Own Salmon

Total Time: 24 hours + 10 minutes | Yield: 2 servings

Ingredients

• 400 g salmon
• 1/3 cup lemongrass, chopped thinly in strips
• 1/3 cup malunggay
• 1/3 cup salt
• 1/3 cup sugar
• Zest of 1 lime
• Zest of 1 dalandan
• Zest of 1 orange
• Zest of 1 grapefruit

Procedure

1. First wash the salmon, and then pat it dry with a paper towel after.
2. Mix all the ingredients, in their proper proportions, in a bowl.
3. Position cling wrap so that it’s able to hold the cure mixture. Pour half of the mixture onto cling wrap.
4. Put the salmon on top of the cure in the wrap, and then cover it by pouring the other half of the cure on top.
5. Place everything into a container, and refrigerate for a minimum of 12 hours. The longer you allow the salmon to cure, the richer the flavors will be.

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