Maple Teriyaki-glazed Salmon

There are times when you're sick of everything you have in your normal repertoire. For me, tonight was one of those times, leading to me holing up in my room with a couple of Cook's Illustrated recipe collections. The basics of this glaze were actually supposed to be for a chicken recipe, but as it turned out we were all kind of chickened out (so to speak) and I figured that salmon takes a little more naturally to a sweet glaze anyway. A little bit of garlic and sesame oil and I turned out a rather nice Japanese-Korean-by-way-of-Vermont fish dish.

Use real maple syrup. I don't care how much it costs; you need real maple syrup for this dish.

• 4 salmon fillets (100-125g/~1/3-1/2lb each)
  
• 60mL/1/4c maple syrup
  
• 1 tbsp/15 mL soy sauce
  
• 1/4 tsp ground ginger or 1 tsp grated fresh ginger
  
• 1 clove garlic, crushed
  
• 1 tsp sesame oil
  
• cooking oil
  

1. Mix maple syrup, soy sauce, garlic, ginger, and sesame oil together with a whisk and set aside.
   
2. Heat a large nonstick pan over medium heat and splash some cooking oil into it.
   
3. Cook the salmon fillets until just barely cooked through, 3-5 minutes on each side, then set aside and drain the oil.
   
4. Return the pan to the heat and add the syrup mixture to the pan, reducing slightly.
   
5. Return the cooked salmon fillets to the pan, turning them to coat in the glaze.
   
6. Serve with rice or pasta of your choice.