Poaching small fish or fish fillets is a quick technique used in French retardates. Although classically such a dish would be made by poaching the fish in a court bouillon (light vegetable stock), I find the use of court bouillon advantageous only when poaching fish to be served cold. So I just poach fish fillets (salmon as here, or another thick fish such as sea bass or striped bass) in water, sometimes adding an acid such as vinegar, wine, or lemon juice if the fish is not extremely fresh.

The traditional sauce for poached fish is Hollandaise but I prefer to serve it with the sauce beurre blanc. You should have everything you want to serve ready before starting to poach the fish since it cooks in just a few minutes.