Ingredients

Cucumber pickle

• 1 cup (250ml) rice wine vinegar, divided
• 40g ginger, peeled, cut into thin matchstick-sized strips
• 2 tablespoons caster sugar
• 1 continental cucumber, thinly sliced crossways
• 2 teaspoons sea salt (flakes preferred)

For the salmon

• 1 cup (220g) firmly packed brown sugar
• 1/4 cup (30g) sea salt (flakes preferred)
• 20g ginger, peeled, coarsely chopped
• 2 x 875g salmon sides or 8 x 225g salmon fillets
• 1/2 cup (125ml) soy sauce
• 2 heads baby cos lettuce, separated into individual leaves, rinsed, drained
• 1 mango, peeled, pitted, thinly sliced
• 2 spring onions, thinly sliced diagonally
• 2 tablespoons sesame seeds, toasted

Method

• Step 1 To make the cucumber pickle, in a small saucepan, combine 1/2 cup (125ml) vinegar, ginger and caster sugar and bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring to dissolve sugar. Boil for 2 mins, then remove pan from heat. Pour in remaining 1/2 cup (125ml) vinegar and 1/4 cup (60ml) water. Set pickling liquid aside to cool to room temperature.
• Step 2 In a medium bowl, combine cucumber and salt. Using your fingers, massage salt into cucumber. When pickling liquid has cooled, pour over cucumber. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour or until chilled.
• Step 3 To prepare salmon, in a 33cm x 22cm glass or ceramic baking dish, whisk 3 cups (750ml) warm water, brown sugar, salt and ginger until sugar and salt dissolve. Set aside until completely cool.
• Step 4 Place salmon in brine. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour (turn over halfway through if brine doesn't quite cover salmon completely). Meanwhile, prepare a barbecue for indirect heat. Heat burners under the flat plate on high heat, leaving burners under the grate side off.
• Step 5 Remove salmon from brine and transfer it to a rack set over a baking tray. Pat dry with paper towel. Lay salmon on a sheet of baking paper that is about 5cm larger than the salmon all around. Place on barbecue grate over unlit burner. Close barbecue lid and cook salmon sides for about 15 mins (12 mins for fillets), rotating 180 degrees halfway through cooking, or until salmon feels flaky on outside but has a rosy centre. Carefully remove salmon from barbecue and set on a baking tray to rest for 3 mins.
• Step 6 To serve, in a small bowl, stir soy sauce with 1 1/2 tbs pickling liquid from cucumbers. Drain remaining liquid from cucumbers.
• Step 7 Using a metal fish spatula, transfer salmon to a platter. Serve salmon with pickles, lettuce leaves, mango, spring onion, sesame seeds and soy dipping sauce. Encourage guests to flake off pieces of salmon from platter and build their own lettuce wraps with accompaniments.