Prepared in quarter-hour, my simple and mouthwatering Teriyaki Salmon recipe makes a light-weight and savory meal on any weeknight. I’ll present you learn how to pan-grill the tender salmon fillets and make a do-it-yourself teriyaki sauce within the conventional Japanese methodology.
I grew up consuming a wide range of fish in Japan, and salmon was a favourite in our family. Right now, I’ll share an genuine and simple Teriyaki Salmon recipe, identical to we make at house. You’ll be taught the key to holding the salmon juicy but crispy and learn how to make a wonderfully balanced sauce with simply 4 substances!
Craving extra salmon dishes? Attempt my Miso Salmon, Japanese Salted Salmon, and Salmon in Foil recipes subsequent!
What’s Teriyaki?
Teriyaki (照り焼き) in Japanese really describes a cooking methodology that first appeared in Japan within the 1600s. Teri (照り) means luster, and yaki (焼き) means grilled, broiled, or pan-fried. It primarily refers to any meals cooked this manner that’s brushed with a shiny glaze known as tare (タレ). Outdoors Japan, each the cooking fashion and sauce are generally known as teriyaki.
Salmon, hen, yellowtail (hamachi), pork, and tofu are the preferred substances to cook dinner teriyaki-style in Japan. Residence cooks pan-fry them as an alternative of cooking in an oven.
Why I Love This Recipe
- It’s simple and no fuss! Pan-grill the fillets till golden brown outdoors and juicy inside, then end it off with a sweet-savory do-it-yourself glaze. I like the simplicity of this scrumptious, one-pan dish.
- Prepared in simply quarter-hour – Japanese-style salmon filets are thinly sliced, about 1 inch (2.5 cm) thick. The skinny items cook dinner quick in a frying pan. Learn extra in Nami’s Recipe Suggestions.
- Makes a easy, conventional sauce with 4 substances – Most Japanese recipes use solely soy sauce, sake, mirin, and sugar (non-compulsory) for the teriyaki sauce. For the most effective style, we sometimes put together the sauce from scratch.
- No marinade wanted – The glaze that’s lowered within the pan is all you want for the proper seasoning. It permits the fragile, unique taste of the salmon to shine by with out overwhelming it.
Components for Teriyaki Salmon
- Pores and skin-on salmon fillets – ¾ inch (2 cm) thick
- Salt and freshly floor black pepper
- All-purpose flour – for coating the salmon
- Cooking oil
- Unsalted butter
- Sake – for steaming
- Selfmade teriyaki sauce:
- Sake (Chinese language rice wine, dry sherry, or water)
- Mirin
- Soy sauce
- Sugar
Discover the printable recipe with measurements under.
Substitutions
- All-purpose flour: Use cornstarch or potato starch for gluten-free.
- Sake and mirin: In case you can’t discover mirin, substitute 1 Tbsp sake (or water) + 1 tsp sugar for each 1 Tbsp mirin. The taste gained’t be the identical, but it surely’s shut.
- Soy sauce: Use gluten-free soy sauce or tamari if wanted.
How one can Make Teriyaki Salmon
Preparation
Step 1 – Put together the teriyaki sauce and the salmon. Mix the sauce substances and whisk effectively. Season the salmon with kosher salt and floor black pepper on each side. Sprinkle and press each side with all-purpose flour and coat evenly.
Cooking
Step 2 – Cook dinner the salmon. Warmth a frying pan over medium warmth, then add oil and butter. Press the salmon pores and skin in opposition to the new pan‘s floor for 15 seconds to sear earlier than laying the fillets pores and skin aspect down. Cook dinner till the underside is golden brown, after which flip them over.
Step 3 – Add the sake and steam. Cowl the pan with a lid and scale back the warmth to low. Steam for 3–5 minutes or till the inner temperature registers 125–130°F (52–54ºC) on the thickest half. Switch to a plate.
Step 4 – Add the teriyaki sauce to the pan and coat the salmon. When the sauce begins to boil, add the salmon again to the pan and glaze with the sauce. Flip off the warmth as soon as lowered and thickened.
Step 5 – Switch to a plate and drizzle the sauce. Serve the teriyaki salmon as a foremost dish to your meal.
Nami’s Recipe Suggestions
- Use skinny, Japanese-style salmon fillets – Use skin-on fillets sliced skinny and diagonally, about ½ to ¾ inch (1.3-2 cm) thick. This helps stop overcooking, retains the salmon juicy, and lets it take up the seasoning sooner. Within the US, you could find them offered at Japanese grocery shops. In case you purchase a complete aspect of salmon, try my tutorial on How one can Reduce Salmon into Japanese-style Fillets.
- Coat the salmon evenly with flour. That is the key to juicy salmon! The flour creates a protecting layer that locks within the umami and juices whereas serving to the sauce to thicken and take up higher. For a gluten-free possibility, use cornstarch or potato starch.
- Sear the salmon pores and skin first earlier than laying it down. The pores and skin is so scrumptious when it’s crispy. Maintain the fillet and press the pores and skin in opposition to the new pan for 15 seconds.
- Place the presentation aspect (pores and skin aspect) down into the pan first. The aspect that hits the pan whereas it’s clear will get the most effective browning.
- Verify the inner temperature with a digital thermometer. Use an instant-read thermometer and cook dinner to an inside temperature of 125–130°F (52–54ºC) on the thickest half. This takes out the guesswork so the salmon cooks completely each time.
Variations and Customizations
- Play with the sauce ratios. In Japanese cooking, it’s frequent to regulate the teriyaki seasoning ratio. Be at liberty to tweak the seasonings to fit your style! For instance, you could possibly use much less soy sauce or low sodium soy sauce and scale back the quantity of sugar accordingly by a teaspoon or so.
- Attempt a special fish. You should utilize this similar cooking method to make Yellowtail Teriyaki, a traditional Japanese grilled fish recipe.
- Make it vegan/vegetarian. Crispy outdoors, smooth inside—my Teriyaki Tofu provides a scrumptious textural distinction. High this simple, plant-based tofu steak with a sweet-savory teriyaki glaze.
- Attempt it with hen. You may skip the salmon and go straight to my Hen Teriyaki and Teriyaki Hen Meatballs recipes.
What to Serve with Teriyaki Salmon
Teriyaki salmon pairs completely effectively with many alternative aspect dishes. For a wholesome Japanese-style weeknight dinner, I wish to serve it with a vegetable aspect dish, soup, and steamed rice. Listed below are some recommendations I feel you’d like:
Storage Suggestions
Do you know that you are able to do lots with leftover teriyaki salmon? I adore it in Teriyaki Salmon Bento, on a rice bowl, on Ochazuke (Inexperienced Tea Over Rice), or with noodles. It’s additionally nice in Teriyaki Salmon Onigirazu (Rice Sandwich).
To retailer: You possibly can maintain the leftovers in an hermetic container and retailer within the fridge for as much as 3 days and within the freezer for two weeks.
Regularly Requested Questions
Many non-Japanese recipes embody substances like rice vinegar, honey, brown sugar, sesame oil, hoisin sauce, or garlic. Whereas these could be flavorful, they’re not a part of conventional Japanese teriyaki sauce.
For further depth, I generally add grated ginger or onion, however by no means rice vinegar, sesame oil, or hoisin sauce. Some use a cornstarch slurry to thicken the sauce, but it surely’s pointless—simmering naturally reduces and thickens it, and the flour (or starch) on the fish helps as effectively.
Observe the baking methodology from my Miso Salmon recipe. Make the teriyaki sauce individually and brush it on the salmon a number of instances whereas baking for 10–quarter-hour.
Japanese-style salmon fillets are thinner than typical US cuts, in order that they cook dinner sooner. For excellent outcomes, use an instant-read thermometer and cook dinner to 125–130°F (52–54ºC) on the thickest half.
Sure, you may regulate the sugar to your style. I like to recommend holding some sweetness to steadiness the soy sauce’s saltiness. You can too use honey or maple syrup, however watch out—they burn simply.
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To Make the Teriyaki Sauce
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In a microwave-safe bowl, mix the substances for the teriyaki sauce: 1 Tbsp sake, 1 Tbsp mirin, 2 Tbsp soy sauce, and 1 Tbsp sugar. Combine effectively to dissolve the sugar.
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To assist dissolve the sugar, you may microwave the combination for 30 seconds.
To Put together the Salmon
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Rinse 2 skin-on salmon fillets and pat dry. Season one aspect with a few of the ¼ tsp Diamond Crystal kosher salt and ⅛ tsp freshly floor black pepper. Tip: The salmon pores and skin will maintain the flesh collectively whereas cooking.
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Flip over and season the opposite aspect with the remaining salt and black pepper.
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Sprinkle half of the 1 Tbsp all-purpose flour (plain flour) on one aspect of the salmon and coat evenly. Tip: Coating the salmon with flour helps retain its umami taste and juiciness. It additionally helps take up the sauce and thickens it.
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Flip over and sprinkle the remainder of the flour on the opposite aspect. Gently press it to stick, then take away the surplus flour.
To Cook dinner the Salmon
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Warmth a frying pan over medium warmth. When scorching, add ½ Tbsp impartial oil and 1 Tbsp unsalted butter. Don’t burn the butter. If the pan will get too scorching, scale back the warmth or transfer the pan off the warmth quickly. Subsequent, sear the salmon pores and skin: One fillet at a time, press the pores and skin in opposition to the new pan‘s floor for 15 seconds earlier than laying the fillet pores and skin aspect down within the pan. Repeat with the opposite fillet. Tip: The presentation aspect (the pores and skin aspect) ought to go into the pan first as a result of you’re going to get the most effective browning on the primary aspect that hits the clear pan.
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Cook dinner the salmon for 3 minutes till the underside is golden brown, after which flip.
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To the pan, add 1 Tbsp sake—1 Tbsp for skinny fillets and not more than 2 Tbsp for thicker fillets. Cowl the pan with a lid and scale back the range‘s warmth to low. Steam the salmon for about 3–5 minutes, relying on the fillet thickness. If the sake has evaporated however the salmon isn‘t cooked by but, add one other tablespoon of sake and proceed steaming.
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Cook dinner the salmon till it registers an inside temperature of 125–130°F (52–54ºC) on the thickest a part of the fillet (I take advantage of a Thermapen instant-read thermometer). Then, switch the salmon to a tray or plate. These fillets had been about ¾–1 inch (2–2.5 cm) thick and took roughly 4 minutes to cook dinner. Tip: The USDA recommends cooking fish to an inside temperature of 145°F (63ºC); nonetheless, the residual warmth will proceed to cook dinner the salmon, so you should take away the fillets at 125–130°F (52–54ºC) to keep away from overcooking.
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Add the teriyaki sauce substances to the pan and improve the warmth a bit. When the sauce begins to boil, add the salmon again to the pan.
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Spoon the sauce over the salmon. When the sauce thickens, flip off the warmth. Switch the salmon to a plate and drizzle the sauce on prime.
Energy: 274 kcal · Carbohydrates: 9 g · Protein: 24 g · Fats: 13 g · Saturated Fats: 5 g · Polyunsaturated Fats: 3 g · Monounsaturated Fats: 4 g · Trans Fats: 1 g · Ldl cholesterol: 77 mg · Sodium: 723 mg · Potassium: 565 mg · Fiber: 1 g · Sugar: 6 g · Vitamin A: 221 IU · Calcium: 17 mg · Iron: 1 mg
Editor’s Observe: This publish was initially printed on April 25, 2013. It was up to date with new step-by-step pictures and the ultimate pictures in March 2022, with a brand new video on October 13, 2023, and republished with extra useful content material on February 6, 2025.
