Salmon with XO Cream Sauce

STEP 1: MAKE THE SHELLFISH STOCK

Heat the neutral oil in a saucepan over medium-high heat and add the shrimp or lobster shells. Cook, stirring, until deeply fragrant and lightly browned, about 4–5 minutes. Stir in the tomato paste and cook for 1 minute, then add the halved shallot and smashed garlic. Deglaze with the white wine, scraping the base, and reduce by half. Add the water, bring to a gentle simmer, and cook uncovered for 25–30 minutes. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve, pressing on the solids, and reserve. You will use a little to glaze the turnips and a little to loosen the sauce.

STEP 2: PICKLE THE GINGER (BLANCH TWICE)

Peel the ginger and slice it into the finest possible julienne. Bring a small pot of water to the boil, add the ginger for 30 seconds, then drain. Repeat the blanch a second time in fresh boiling water — twice-blanching tames the ginger's heat so it brightens the plate without fighting the salmon. Warm the rice vinegar, sugar, and a pinch of salt until dissolved, add the drained julienne, and pickle for at least 20 minutes. Drain before plating.

STEP 3: GLAZE THE TURNIPS & WILT THE GREENS

Separate the greens from the baby turnips and halve any turnips larger than bite-size. Place the turnips in a small pan with a splash of the shellfish stock and the butter, season lightly, and cook over medium heat, swirling, until just tender and glossy with glaze, about 6–8 minutes; add more stock if the pan runs dry. In a separate pan, warm 1 tablespoon neutral oil with the sliced garlic, add the washed turnip greens, and wilt for 1–2 minutes until bright and just tender. Season and set aside.

STEP 4: SCALLIONS, TWO WAYS

Separate the scallion whites from the greens. Slice the whites and sweat them gently in 1 tablespoon neutral oil until soft and sweet, then set aside as the cooked, mellow expression. Thinly slice the raw greens on the bias and reserve as the fresh, sharp finish to scatter at the end. (Alternatively, blanch and blend a portion of the greens with the remaining 1 tablespoon oil into a vivid scallion oil for plating.) The two preparations together bring freshness and brightness to the plate.

STEP 5: MAKE THE XO CREAM SAUCE

Sweat the minced shallot in 1 tablespoon neutral oil over medium-low heat until soft and translucent without colour. Add the XO sauce and warm through for a minute so it blooms. Pour in the heavy cream and 1/4 cup of the shellfish stock, bring to a gentle simmer, and cook for 4–6 minutes until lightly thickened and glossy. The goal is to cut the intensity of the XO so it supports rather than overwhelms the fish. Finish with a few drops of lemon juice and keep warm. Do not boil hard or the cream may split.

STEP 6: COOK THE SALMON UNILATERALLY

Pat the salmon completely dry and season the flesh side with kosher salt just before cooking. Set a heavy skillet over medium-low heat with the neutral oil. Lay the fillets in skin-side down and do not move them — keeping all the heat on one side cooks the fish slowly from the bottom up, and you will see a line of opaque flesh creep up the side of each fillet. Add the butter partway through and spoon it over the top once or twice to baste, keeping the heat gentle. Cook for roughly 8–10 minutes, until the fish is cooked about three-quarters through and the top remains barely warm and silken. Do not flip; a brief rest finishes it.

STEP 7: PLATE

Spoon a pool of warm XO cream sauce onto each plate. Lay a bed of wilted turnip greens and arrange the glazed turnips alongside. Rest a salmon fillet on top, skin-side up or removed as you prefer. Scatter the sweated scallion whites and the raw scallion greens (or dot the scallion oil), tuck small piles of drained pickled ginger around the plate, and finish each portion with a teaspoon of salmon roe and a few flakes of flaky sea salt. Serve immediately, while the sauce is warm and the fish is at its silkiest.