Miso-Teriyaki Salmon Recipe

This miso-teriyaki salmon is a simple but delicious recipe, made by lightly coating fresh salmon in nutty, umami-packed flavor. If you're not familiar with miso, it's a paste made from fermented soybeans, salt, and kōji. Miso is used in Japanese cuisine to add salty, nutty, earthy flavors to otherwise sweet and sticky dishes. Sometimes compared to peanut butter, but much more tangy and earthy, the two can be swapped in a pinch for a similar flavor profile.

Miso works particularly well in Japanese teriyaki dishes, complimenting the rich soy sauce and sweet notes of honey and sugar. In this teriyaki recipe developed by Michelle McGlinn, the salmon is generously coated in the nutty-rich glaze, perfect for rice bowls, noodle dishes, and leafy salads. You can use the more subtle white miso, or go bold with red miso for a strong, almost-funky flavor that works perfectly with dense salmon. Ready in less than 20 minutes, and full of deep flavor, we're sure this salmon will become part of your weekly dinner rotation.

You don't need many ingredients to make a delicious teriyaki glaze. To start, grab the main ingredients for teriyaki sauce: soy sauce, mirin, and brown sugar. This will create that signature sticky-sweet base so common in Japanese teriyaki dishes. Add freshly grated ginger, garlic, and honey for extra flavor; you can omit the honey for a less-sweet sauce. Of course, you will also need miso. You can use red miso for a deep, salty flavor, or white miso for a more subtle, nutty flavor. These are sold in boxes in the refrigerated section of most grocery stores near the tofu and mushrooms. If you can't find miso in your usual grocery store, try your local Asian market.

Lastly, you'll need oil and salmon filets. For this baked recipe, use a soft, pale pink Atlantic salmon. If you decide to grill your salmon, try a dense kind, like Coho or Sockeye. You can also optionally top the salmon with sesame seeds. 

Preheat the oven to 400 F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Whisk the miso paste, oil, mirin, soy sauce, grated ginger, grated garlic, brown sugar, and honey together vigorously to dissolve the miso into the sauce, yielding a smooth, thick glaze. You won't need any extra salt here, thanks to the umami-packed soy sauce and nutty miso. For a small amount of heat, try sprinkling in white pepper, or a drizzle of Sriracha.

Using a pastry brush, brush the glaze generously onto the salmon. Because the glaze brushes on in thin coats, brush each filet several times. Once the salmon is well coated in teriyaki, put the prepared baking sheet in the oven, and bake until flaky, about 15 to 20 minutes. 

To know when it's done, check for color, smell, and texture. Salmon gets paler when cooked, and under the teriyaki glaze, the salmon will take on a brown hue when ready. While the miso-teriyaki will produce a faintly nutty smell, you can also tell salmon is done when it starts smelling fishy (in a good way). The best tell of all, though, is simply prodding the fish with a fork; the fish should flake away easily without much force or friction. Top with sesame seeds, optionally. 

Not only is this miso-teriyaki salmon easy to make, it's also versatile and saves well. We love our teriyaki salmon in rice bowls, loaded up with avocado, cucumbers, edamame, and furikake. You can swap the rice for soba noodles, or serve it on top of fried rice. 

You can also opt out of carbs completely, serving this instead with a salad. You can also make this kid-friendly by slicing the salmon into bite-sized pieces, and tossing it in the glaze before baking for easy teriyaki salmon bites. The salmon can be stored in airtight containers in the refrigerator for up to 5 days, making it perfect for meal prepping, and with the endless serving options, you'll never get tired of this recipe.