Should You Be Vacuum Sealing Your Food?

As busy people we are always looking for new ways to make our lives (and meal prep) easier. There is the constant battle between a home cooked meal and convenience.

But I was intrigued by RealEats, a meal prep company that sends healthy prepared meals via vacuum sealed packaging that keeps their food fresh for 7 days. I wondered whether this methodology could also work for people at home who want to prep food ahead.

RealEats’ Head of Culinary, Chef Aliya LeeKong, very kindly let us into her kitchen to share some of her tactics as well as a recipe for a delicious and easy miso salmon. Aliya goes into the types of food that work best for vacuum sealing and she even showcases how to hack your regular ziplock bags with another method for storage.

Of course if all this makes you just want Aliya’s food for yourself you can always head over to RealEats. But watch the video below to get a look at how you could make your meal prep even easier at home.

Miso Salmon

Ingredients
4 6-8-oz filets salmon, skin on
¼ cup sweet white miso
¼ cup mirin
3 tbsps honey
1 tablespoon ponzu or 1 squeeze of lemon juice
Salt to taste
2 to 3 tablespoons canola oil

In a small saucepan, whisk together the miso, mirin, honey and ponzo over a medium-low flame.  Let the mixture come up to a simmer and make sure all of the ingredients are smooth and uniform.  Let cool.

Place the salmon filets in a plastic bag and then add in the cooled marinade.  Refrigerate for a minimum of a half hour, but it’s best to let it do its thing overnight.

Remove the salmon from the marinade, wipe the marinade completely off the fish and dry the fish thoroughly.  Season the skin-side with a bit of salt. Heat a large sauté pan over medium-high heat and add the oil. Place the salmon filets skin-side down in the pan, reduce the heat to medium-low and hold it down with your fingers or a fish spatula to make sure they’re flush with the pan.

Usually, I let the fish cook on this side for the full time, but because of the sugars in the marinade, the skin will burn.  Flip the fish after two to three minutes, once the skin is crisped, and let it finish cooking on the flesh side to desired cooking temperature, usually another 3 to 4 minutes for medium rare.  The skin should look a bit charred but will taste salty and crispy, not burnt.