This must be the fastest way there is to create a culinary sensation. You do scarcely a thing – just dibble some salmon steaks in a dark glossy potion, most of which you get out of a jar – and what you make tastes as if you had been dedicating half your life to achieving the perfect combination of sweet, savoury, tender and crisp.

If there are only two of you eating, I would be inclined to stick to the quantities given here, letting a couple of pieces or whatever you don’t eat get cold, as it makes a fantastic salad the next day.

My favourite accompaniment here is sushi rice, and since I am wedded to my rice cooker, this is no work and needs no skill whatsoever. Just cook the rice of your choice – or noodles if you prefer – according to the instructions on the packet if, cruelly, you are rice cooker-less.

Serves 4

60ml mirin (Japanese sweet rice wine)

50g light brown sugar

60ml soy sauce

4 x 125g pieces salmon, cut from the thick part of the fillet so that they are narrow but tall rather than wide and flat

2 x 15ml tbsp rice vinegar

1-2 spring onions, halved and shredded into fine strips

1 Mix the mirin, brown sugar and soy sauce in a shallow dish that will take all 4 pieces of salmon, and marinate the salmon in it for 3 minutes on the first side and 2 minutes on the second. Meanwhile heat a large non-stick frying pan on the hob.

2 Cook the salmon in the hot, dry pan for 2 minutes and then turn it over, add the marinade and cook for another 2 minutes.

3 Remove the salmon to whatever plate you’re serving it on, add the rice vinegar to the hot pan and warm through.

4 Pour the dark, sweet, salty glaze over the salmon and top with the spring onion strips. Serve with rice or noodles as you wish, and consider putting some sushi ginger on the table, too.

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