These Smoked Salmon Appetiser Bites havr a Japanese twist. I use sliced turnips with perilla leaves as a base. The thinly sliced turnip is softened and used as a wrap, with a perilla leaf, and rolled smoked salmon inside. Tied with a stalk of chive, it looks like an edible parcel.
See the step-by-step photo in the post.
Don't forget to see the section 'MEAL IDEAS' below the recipe card! It gives you a list of dishes that I have already posted and this recipe that can make up a complete meal. I hope it is of help to you.
- 150g/5.3oz sliced smoked salmon (note 1)
- 10 slices turnip (2mm/3⁄32" thick, round slices, note 2)
- 10 perilla leaves (note 3)
- 10 stalks chives (note 4)
- A pinch of salt (large pinch with two fingers and thumb)
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Sprinkle salt over the turnip slices in a bowl. Mix the turnip slices well using hands, ensuring that salt coats all around them. Leave for 15 minutes to let them wilt.
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Rinse the turnips quickly and pat dry with kitchen paper.
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Boil water (not in the ingredients list) in a wide and shallow saucepan or a frying pan.
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Put the chives in the boiled water for 30 seconds, then quickly cool them down under running water.
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Cut the smoked salmon slices into 10 equal portions, i.e., 15g/0.5oz each. Where possible make 5cm/2" wide strips (See note 5).
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Roll each portion into a log about 5cm/2" long.
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Place turnip slices on a workbench, without overlapping. Trill the excess stalks off the perilla leaves, then place a perilla leaf on each turnip (note 6).
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Place a piece of rolled smoked salmon in the middle of the perilla leaf, perpendicular to the midrib of the leaf.
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Taking one turnip at a time, place a stalk of chive beneath a turnip, matching the direction with the midrib of the perilla leaf.
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Lift the chive from both sides and tie it at the top (note 7).
1. The quantity of smoked salmon can vary if you want to have more or less per roll. It also depends on the size of your turnip. If your turnip is large, you will need more salmon to get a good balance between the turnip and smoked salmon.
2. I used the middle portion of my turnip to keep the size of the slices as consistent as possible. The diameter of my turnip was about 6cm/2⅜". The ideal size turnip is 5-6cm/2-2⅜" in diameter after peeling the skin off. If you only have a very large turnip, you can cut a smaller circle out of it.
The leftover turnip bits can be used in salads, miso soups, or simmered dishes.
I used a mandolin slicer, but you can slice it by hand with a sharp knife.
As an alternative to turnip, you can use daikon. Reduce the wilting time in instruction step 1 to 5 minutes.
3. The size of perilla leaves and turnip slices need to be similar. My perilla leaves were about 6.5cm/2 9⁄16" wide, which was just right for my turnip slices. If your perilla leaves are much wider than your turnip, you can tuck and fold the middle of the perilla leaf to adjust the width.
4. Instead of using chives to tie the roll, you can use toothpicks, which are less fiddly (see the sample photo in the post). Using chives makes the dish visually more attractive.
5. Due to the shape of the salmon fillet, it is not possible to cut out 10 slices of smoked salmon with the same shape. It’s OK to have 2-3 small pieces to make up 15g/0.5oz, as long as you can make a roll with the length of about 5cm. If you end up with a few small pieces, place them like a jigsaw puzzle to make a 5cm-wide/2"-wide piece. See the photo of how I cut the salmon slices.
6. If your turnip is not perfectly round, which is often the case, place the perilla leaf to match the midrib of the leaf vein against the longer diameter. This will give you an extra length of the turnip on the wrapping ends.
7. If you are using toothpicks to secure the rolls, lift up both ends of the turnip, meet both ends together, and put a toothpick through at the top (see the sample photo in the post).
8. For a special occasion, top Smoked Salmon Appetiser Bites with ikura (salmon roe) to make them luxurious (see the sample photo in the post).
9. Nutrition per piece.
serving: 26g calories: 21kcal fat: 0.7g (1%) saturated fat: 0.1g (1%) trans fat: 0.0g polyunsaturated fat: 0.2g monounsaturated fat: 0.3g cholesterol: 3.5mg (1%) sodium: 320mg (14%) carbohydrates: 0.7g (0%) dietary fibre: 0.2g (0%) sugar: 0.4g protein: 2.9g vitamin D: 0mcg (0%) calcium: 5mg (0%) iron: 0.2mg (1%) potassium: 47.5mg (1%)