Why This Recipe Works

To produce this delicious one-pan meal, we turned to the oven for an unconventional rice-cooking method: baking. After rinsing long-grain white rice to rid it of excess starch so it wouldn't turn mushy, we baked it, covered, with chicken broth in a 400-degree oven. When the rice was nearly tender, we added the remaining components—salmon, broccoli, and shiitake mushrooms—to cook along with it as it finished cooking. To avoid overcooked broccoli and pale, boring salmon, we broiled the fish and vegetables after uncovering the nearly done rice: The broiler's direct heat roasted the broccoli and mushrooms quickly and gave them dark color, crisp texture, and deep flavor. A stir-together sauce featuring hoisin brushed over the salmon provided a sweet, tangy, complex punch of flavor and ensured that the tops of the fillets caramelized into beautiful browned crusts. Placing the fillets along the sides of the dish rather than in the middle helped them cook evenly, and completely covering the surface of the rice with the fish and vegetables before broiling meant that no hard, crunchy bits of exposed rice dried up under the broiler's blast.

Before You Begin

You will need a broiler-safe 13 by 9-inch baking dish for this recipe. Do not use a Pyrex dish; it is not broiler-safe. Rinse the rice in a fine-mesh strainer under cold running water until the water runs almost clear, about 1½ minutes, stirring the rice with your hand every so often.

Instructions

For the rice, vegetables, and salmon: Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 400 degrees. Combine broth, rice, and ½ teaspoon salt in broiler-safe 13 by 9-inch baking dish. Jiggle dish on counter to even out layer of rice. Cover tightly with aluminum foil and bake until rice is tender, about 30 minutes.

For the sauce: Meanwhile, stir all ingredients together in bowl. Transfer ¼ cup sauce to second bowl; set aside both bowls.

Remove dish from oven and heat broiler. Carefully remove foil, allowing steam to escape away from you; discard foil. Toss broccoli, mushrooms, oil, and remaining ½ teaspoon salt together in third bowl. Place 1 salmon fillet, skinned side down, along each side of dish. Brush tops and sides of fillets with reserved ¼ cup sauce. Place vegetables in center and corners of dish so no rice is exposed (do not cover fillets).

Return dish to oven and broil until vegetables are very dark around edges and centers of fillets are still translucent when checked with tip of paring knife and register 125 degrees (for medium-rare), 9 to 12 minutes. Sprinkle with scallions and serve, passing remaining sauce separately.