Quick Microwave Fix : Salmon Bone with Brown Rice

My life as a bachelor, I've learn a lot from being independent. When I was studying in college, all I had was a rice cooker. There wasn't a stove or fridge at the student house I was staying, so I had to improvise with what I have. My rice cooker was my only tool to boiling pastas, rice, porridge, maggi mee and etc. It was really my "One-Pot-Wonder". Mind you, it was my mom's old National brand rice cooker; as old as me. So you could imagine how durable it was. 

Nowadays with the advancement of technology, we have access to tools that can cook with just using the microwave. Gone are the days when microwave are just used to heat up food.

Cooking for one person can be quite a hassle to fire up the pan and waste cooking gas. So sometimes I would resort to the alternative. I've always been experimenting with what sort "real meals" I could conjure up with microwave cooking; besides the usual instant noodles. So this is one of them.

Salmon bones. Pre cut from the supermarket.

The other day I was experimenting with one of my own dishes of Salmon bones cooked with brown rice. A simple dish that is easy to make and probably good for carbo loading (as long as keeping the high fat condiments in check)

Salmon is one of my favourite fish to cook. But usually a block of salmon is quite pricey. Recently I've discovered from Ben's Supermarket that they sell the Salmon bones; basically remanence cut off from the fish. Usually used for deep frying or making fish stock, I was wondering what else I could make out of it. I've picked a pack that has a good balance of fish meat, bone and fat content.  I will throw them in the freezer until I find the time I need them.

Brown Rice soaked overnight.

The preparation is fairly simple. One cup of brown rice is needed; enough to make 2 bowls. I love brown rice since it has a lower GI content. Soaking it overnight is preferable. Skipping this step is fine but takes a little longer to cook and may not have that fluffiness outcome at the end. For this, I soaked them in the morning before I go to work. When I return home to cook, I will wash out the soaked rice and prep it.

Here in a nutshell the ingredients:
1. One cup of Brown Rice (soaked overnight) - equivalent to 2 bowls of rice after.
2. 2-3 cups of water
3. Salmon bones (with a good balance of meat, bones & fat) ; roughly cut about 1-2 inches block size.
4. Salt & Pepper
5. 1 teaspoon of olive oil. (not too much as you will get some good fat content from the fish)
6. Dry herbs (Parsley used)

All the ingredients in microwaveable bowl. 

 Basically that's it. Throw all the ingredients into a microwaveable bowl and cover. Heat at Medium/High for first 15 minutes. Then remove it, give it a stir and check the consistency. I prefer mine to be a bit wet and sticky, so I add in a bit more water. Back into the microwave for another 15 minutes.

The results.

 Immediately serve while still hot. I carefully separated out the fish and added a bit of Japanese soy sauce (basically Kikoman). To finish off, topped the rice with some sesame seeds and a side of spicy fermented beancurd.

The finished product. Ready to serve. 

There you have it. A bachelor meal for one on a cold, rainy night. Enough to fill a hungry tummy.