Featured Comment:
“IT’S THE BEST SAMON OF MY LIFE!!! Thank you so much, it’s a life changing experience 😂”
– @yenefferdevengerberg2690 (from YouTube)
What is Miso Glazed Salmon?
Miso glazed salmon a fish dish made with tender salmon fillets coated with a salty, rich and slightly sweet miso sauce. The sauce is thick and packed with umami, I absolutely love this dish with rice!
There are a number of ways to cook miso glazed salmon, but my favorite way is in a frying pan. In fact, this is a one-pan dish, so not only is it easy to cook, but it’s easy to clean up too!
Ingredients & Substitution Ideas
- Miso paste: I’d recommend using awase miso (mixed/yellow miso) in this recipe. This blend is great for general cooking because it has a well-balanced flavor profile.
- Sake: If you don’t have sake, you can use dry sherry or white wine instead. If you’re looking for an alcohol-free option, just use an equal amount of water to keep the sauce consistency without affecting the texture.
- Grated garlic: Just a little fresh garlic really brings out the flavor in the glaze. If you’re short on time, a good quality store-bought garlic paste is a great option.
- Soy sauce: For brand recommendations, be sure to check out my full guide to soy sauce on the blog.
- Light brown sugar: Regular white sugar works well as a substitute.
- Salmon fillets: Go for high-quality, skin-on salmon fillets for the best flavor and texture. Look for moist, vibrant flesh—that’s a key indicator of freshness.
- Potato starch: If you can’t find potato starch, cornstarch is a great alternative.
- Sesame oil: Feel free to substitute with your preferred neutral cooking oil.
- Chopped green onion (scallions): You can leave these out if you like, but a sprinkle of finely sliced green onion adds a fresh, mild allium flavor and a pop of vibrant color.
Visual Walkthrough & Tips
Here are my step-by-step instructions for how to make Miso Glazed Salmon at home. For ingredient quantities and simplified instructions, scroll down for the Printable Recipe Card below.
If you prefer to watch the process in action, check out my YouTube video of this recipe for a complete visual walkthrough!
Take a small bowl and mix the miso paste, sake, garlic paste, soy sauce, and light brown sugar together. Set it by the stove for later.
Start preheating your frying pan on a medium setting. While it preheats, you can prepare the salmon. First, wash the fillets with cold water and dry them thoroughly with kitchen paper.
Once dry, sprinkle both sides with a pinch of salt.
Sprinkle the salt from a height to help evenly distribute it.
Next, coat the surface of the salmon with a thin layer of potato starch. Not only is this going to make the surface of the salmon beautifully crispy, but it will also help the sauce stick.
Once hot, add the sesame oil to the pan and swirl it around. Place the salmon fillets with the skin side facing down. Fry for 2 minutes on each side or until the salmon reaches an internal temperature of 52°C (125°F). (This may take a little longer for particularly thick fillets.)
Salmon continues to cook even after it’s taken off the heat; this is why it’s better to cook it to a temperature of 52°C (125°F) to avoid it becoming dry and overcooked. You can use a kitchen thermometer for accuracy.
Once the salmon is cooked through, turn off the heat and pour the miso glaze into the pan. Move the salmon around until it is completely coated in the sauce.
Miso paste easily burns, so it’s better not to cook it with direct heat. Instead, turn off the stove and allow it to bubble and thicken with the residual heat. You’ll find it thickens surprisingly fast!
Plate up, sprinkle with chopped spring onions and enjoy! I recommend serving miso glazed salmon as part of a teishoku set with steamed rice, miso soup, and pickles. See below for more serving suggestions!
How to Enjoy As A “Teishoku” Set Meal
Have you ever heard the term “teishoku” (定食)? It’s the Japanese term for “set meal” and is usually made up of 3 or more elements. The most common dishes that make up a teishoku set include:
- Main dish – usually grilled or fried meat or fish
- Rice – Japanese white rice is most common but brown rice or rice mixed with multi grains are also popular.
- Soup – miso soup is the classic option but other great options include tonjiru (pork miso soup), kenchinjiru (Japanese vegetable soup) or kaki-tamajiru (egg drop soup).
- Side dish – vegetables (boiled, stir fried etc), salad
- Tsukemono – Japanese pickles
Miso glazed salmon is a perfect dish for teishoku-style meals and can be served for lunch, dinner, or even breakfast! Each element comes together to make a very satisfying meal!
Teishoku is usually arranged in a specific order. I’ve made a guide for you below!
If you’re interested in making miso glazed salmon as part of a teishoku set, try out some of the recipes below to complete your meal!
FAQ
Sake in here works in three ways by eliminating fishy odors, tenderizing the meat, and adding a subtle umami flavor. Bu because this recipe only calls for a small amount, you can substitute it with dry white wine or sherry if you don’t have sake on hand.
Yes, Japanese dishes like this are often quite salty when eaten alone because they’re designed to be eaten with plain white rice. For example, we would typically take a small bite of this salmon along with a larger portion of plain rice. For a less salty version, try using less miso.
I hope you enjoy this Miso Glazed Salmon recipe! If you try it out, I’d really appreciate it if you could spare a moment to let me know what you thought by giving a review and star rating in the comments below. It’s also helpful to share any adjustments you made to the recipe with our other readers. Thank you!
More Japanese Salmon Recipes
Miso Glazed Salmon (Pan-fried)
Ingredients
Miso Glaze
- 1 tbsp yellow miso paste (awase)
- 1 tbsp sake
- 1 tsp garlic grated or garlic paste
- 1 tsp Japanese soy sauce (koikuchi shoyu)
- 1 tsp light brown sugar
Salmon
- 2 salmon fillets skin-on
- 2 pinches salt
- 1 tbsp potato starch (katakuriko)
- 1 tbsp toasted sesame oil or cooking oil of your choice
- 1 tbsp finely chopped green onions
My recommended brands of ingredients and seasonings can be found in my Japanese pantry guide.
Instructions
- Mix 1 tbsp yellow miso paste (awase), 1 tbsp sake, 1 tsp garlic, 1 tsp Japanese soy sauce (koikuchi shoyu) and 1 tsp light brown sugar in a small bowl until well combined.
- Preheat a frying pan on a medium-high setting. While it preheats, wash 2 salmon fillets with cold water and pat them dry with kitchen paper.
- Sprinkle both sides of the salmon with 2 pinches salt and coat with 1 tbsp potato starch (katakuriko).
- Once the pan is hot, add 1 tbsp toasted sesame oil and place the salmon fillets in the pan with the skin side down. Fry for 2 minutes on each side or until the salmon reaches an internal temperature of 52 °C (126 °F). (This may take a little longer for particularly thick fillets.)
- Turn off the heat and pour the sauce into the pan. Move the salmon around the pan until both sides are coated with the sauce.
- Serve up, sprinkle with 1 tbsp finely chopped green onions onions and enjoy!
Really love your recipes and especially this miso salmon. It’s a household favourite! I was wondering if it would work to substitute the salmon with cod fish sometimes or if you have another recipe for miso cod? Thank you so much 🙂
Hi Kelly,
Thank you for the comment and making this recipe!
Yes, this recipe should work with any fish fillets, including cod.
But if you use cod, you might want to do a bit of prep before frying to soften the odor (you can check out one of the techniques in my old teriyaki cod video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=scgmP2sxG-A
Yuto
Parfait!
Thank you!
We made this for New Years and paired it with your Sesame Spinach Salad (Horenso no Goma-ae) and rice. The salmon and spinach salad were the perfect complement to each other. It was all very delicious. Thank you for the recipes. Happy New Years.
Hi Marielena,
Thank you so much for sharing! I’m so glad you enjoyed both the salmon and the spinach salad together! This kind of feedback really makes my day! Happy New Year to you too!
Yuto
Your recipes always come out delicious and I can’t wait to make this one!
You are always my go to for Japanese food recipes
Arigato
Hi Luisa,
Thank you so much for your kind words! I’m happy that my recipes have become your go-to, it means a lot! Looking forward to sharing more recipes in the future! 🙂
Yuto
Absolutely delicious. One of the best recipes I’ve made of yours and it’s logged in as one of my go-to dinners now. You’ve really changed how I cook meals living in Japan. I’ve also got your cookbook in my basket on Amazon 🙂
Hi Ralph,
Thank you so much for making my recipes part of your kitchen and sharing your photo! It really means a lot. Since you’re living in Japan too, you probably have easy access to all the ingredients I use — so I bet you’ll be able to make any of the recipes on my website! And huge thanks for grabbing a copy of my cookbook too
Yuto
Hello Yuto! Is this dish called Sake Misoyaki in Japanese? Also, will this preparation work with chicken?
Hi Stephen,
Thank you for your question! This dish doesn’t really have fixed name, but I’d call it “Sake no Misoyaki (鮭の味噌焼き)” in Japanese. And yes, it would work really well with chicken, especially thighs. Just be sure to extend the cooking time accordingly! 🙂
Yuto