Alexa & Matt Alfaro's Ginger Salmon

Recipes

Ginger Salmon

By Alexa and Matt Alfaro

Matt’s recipe conjures up summers in Alaska, something he daydreams about every time he makes this recipe, which is dependent on one very important factor – the salmon. Matt is particular about the quality of it and where it comes from. For him, nothing compares to the salmon from the Kenai River. Alaska’s significance for this Milwaukee family is that Matt and Alexa’s parents met there, and it’s also where Matt learned to fish. “Throw me on a river and I’m happy,” he says. When their dad travels to Alaska, he comes home with salmon, which they freeze for the year. That is the real deal for the Alfaros. “There’s no going back” once you have that salmon, says Matt. As for the baked ginger preparation, that method came from his paternal grandmother. He’ll cook up some salmon and serve it on white rice, which soaks up the soy sauce.

Having Alaskan salmon is a luxury for the Milwaukee-reared Alfaros. Matt says “sneaking” over there himself during the busy summer food truck season is a rarity but an ever-present goal, nonetheless.

Ingredients

Serves 4

1 whole onion

1⁄2 cup ginger

2 pounds salmon filet, skin on

1⁄2 cup green onions

1 whole lemon

Salt

Ground black pepper

Granulated garlic powder

1 cup olive oil

1⁄4 cup soy sauce

1⁄4 cup sesame seed oil

Instructions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Remove the papery skin and stem of the onion, then place the onion on its side. Cut thin rings, and lay them on the bottom of the cooking sheet next to each other.

Peel the ginger with a spoon to remove the outer skin, then julienne-cut the ginger into thin pieces. Cut scallions into scallion hairs. To make this cut, slice the scallions at an extreme slant. The knife should be almost parallel to the scallion. The thinner, the better.

Pat salmon dry with a paper towel and lay salmon on top of the raw onion rings. Sprinkle a thin layer of granulated garlic powder, salt and ground black pepper on the fish. Bake salmon for 15 to 18 minutes for a single side - do not flip. It should register 135 degrees on an instant-read thermometer inserted at the thickest part of the salmon. Remove from oven.

Place 1 cup of olive oil in a saucepan, and heat oil until it starts smoking or to 375 degrees. Leave the salmon on the cooking sheet and place green onion hairs and a julienne cup of ginger on top of the salmon. Then, drizzle about a quarter-cup of soy sauce and sesame seed oil all over the salmon flesh. Next, drizzle hot olive oil on top of the salmon, green onions and ginger with a spoon or ladle.

Squeeze lemon juice over the salmon. The amount of juice is dependent on the desired citrus level.

Bio

From 2014-2023, Matt and Alexa Alfaro operated Meat on the Street, a food business that celebrated their Filipino heritage and the dishes they grew up eating. With the siblings at the helm and the support of their parents, MOTS expanded from a food truck to include a catering business and a retail location in Downtown Milwaukee. After nine years, during which they became one of the most well-known mobile food businesses in the city, they closed MOTS to pursue new opportunities.

Matt and Alexa Alfaro

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