This is a classic, simple, Japanese salmon marinade used in thousands (millions!) of Japanese households every day. With only 3 ingredients in the marinade, it takes all of 30 seconds to prepare and 6 minutes to cook, making this the ultimate 10 minute meal!
Japanese Salmon recipe
This is an authentic, simple Japanese marinade that can be used for any fish but is especially great with salmon.
In this recipe I’ve cooked this by pan frying but it is really great broiled/grilled too. With pan frying you get a really crispy skin (which I love) and the wonderful caramelisation, and with broiling/grilling, the exterior is less caramelised making it softer and a bit juicier which is also delicious. But with both, the inside is the same – moist and incredibly juicy (make sure you don’t overcook it!). If you are cooking salmon without skin, I recommend broiling/grilling it as flipping salmon without skin is quite difficult.
The salmon marinade is classic Japanese flavours – soy sauce, mirin and sake. It doesn’t get anymore “Japanese” than that! The fish really needs to be marinaded overnight (or 3 hours at the absolute minimum) because it’s not a “saucy” dish – all the flavour is in the marinade and it needs the time to infuse into the fish.
The most important thing to remember with this Japanese salmon is to cook it over medium heat – because of the sugar in the mirin, if you cook it over too high heat then the sugar will burn before the inside of the fillet is cooked. If you have trouble regulating the heat on your stove, then I recommend broiling/grilling it instead.
As you can see from the photo below, I love my salmon just cooked so the inside is a gorgeous coral colour and out-of-this-world juicy, infused with the flavours of the marinade. I only marinated it for 3 hours – the absolute minimum time. If you marinade it overnight, which is the recommended time (or even up to 24 hours for an oily fish like salmon) then your salmon will be slightly stained with the marinade.
This is also a great recipe for the BBQ – the smoky flavours add another dimension and the marinade is made for BBQ-ing! This is a great simple recipe to add to your repertoire. – Nagi x
Hungry for more? Subscribe to my newsletter and follow along on Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram for all of the latest updates.
Japanese Salmon with Mirin and Soy Sauce
Ingredients
- 2 salmon fillets (5 oz / 150 g each)
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
- 3 tbsp mirin
- 1 tbsp sake
- 1/2 tbsp oil
Instructions
- Combine all ingredients except the oil in a ziplock bag, remove as much air as possible and marinade overnight (or minimum 3 hours).
- Heat 1/2 tbsp oil in a non stick pan over medium heat.
- Add salmon skin side down, cook for 2 to 3 minutes until crispy. Check the skin to ensure it isn't cooking too quickly - if it is, then turn down the heat and/or remove the pan from the stove briefly to allow the temperature to decrease.
- Drizzle over remaining marinade in the ziplock bag over the flesh side. Flip and cook the flesh side for 2 minutes, or to your liking. I like salmon medium rare so the inside is very moist and just cooked.
- Rest for a couple of minutes, remembering that the salmon will continue to cook while resting, then serve.
Recipe Notes:
Nutrition Information:
Looks yummy! But I am reluctant (broke) to purchase a bottle of sake. Any suggestions for sub. Thanks. Food Bank had salmon this week. A super treat! I want to make it to go with your vermicelli noodle salad.
Thank you in advance Back. I e enough found poison at food pantry/ bank. Lol. My Asian ingredients didn’t arrive at my new house. I am buying one or two ingredients a month. !I’ve your recipes ! My goto food blog, sandi o
This is the best recipe – so simple, fresh and tasty. Thank you Nagi – your website is my go to I have been using your recipe’s for years.
This is wonderful! I made it with rice, squash and zucchini with garlic, tomatoes, sushi ginger and wasabi. (My whole family loves every recipe we try, BTW!)😁
Can I use air fryer for this? If so, what temp should I use and how long should I air-fry? Thank you so much!
How long can this be marinated for?
I love the crispy skin and the meat is cooked just right. Of course the sauce is delicious as well. Quick, easy and fills you up without feeling heavy afterwards,
Made this for lunch yesterday and it was delicious. Will definitely be making again.
I did omit the sake (didn’t have any on had)
Also only marinated for 2 hours.
Hi Nagi 🙂 I’m thinking of cooking this on a charcoal grill, is there anything I should do differently? I notice you said this shouldn’t be cooked on high heat. Thank you!
This is a great recipe, tastes just like the same dish in our favourite Japanese restaurant. Thanks Nagi!
Whoops, forgot to rate it – 5 stars of course!
Nagi do you have a Japanese simple cabbage Salad recipe, we had a Japanese girl live with us for a year and she wouldn’t give me the recipe,
I know she massaged the cabbage but this was in the Kate 60s and the ingredients would have been simple. Cheers Helen🐾
I have your recipe book and love it
I am so glad you enjoyed it! N x
Absolutely amazing that this 4 ingredients dish is so delicious and easy! The perfect mid week meal! Thanks heaps for this, Nagi. This one will be a regular on our menu from now on!
PS. I second Nel’s comment that you should give this recipe a fresh promo. 😊
A weekly standby! Love love love how easy this recipe is. What’s incredible is that It’s actually tastier than alot of other Japanese salmon recipes I’ve tried – and for a quarter of the effort!
Thank you for this recipe! It’s delicious and easy. My family loves Japanese food and they loved it. They said it’s on par with restaurants style.
Things I modified due to time and ingredients and it still turned out delicious!
– I didn’t have sake on hand so I substituted with vodka.
– I only had time to marinade for 30 minutes.
– I added the oil to the mixture by mistake. I broiled the salmon in my convection oven at 425 degrees so the fish released from the pan with ease.
Thank you for this simple , easy and delicious recipe
Just wanna say I think you ought to give this recipe a fresh promo.
Takes 30 seconds to prep (of course plus marination) and 5 mins to cook. It is an EPIC weeknight meal.
Flavours are exceptional. On weekly rotation with my family now.
Made this tonight with a three-hour marinade and it was delicious. Having it again tomorrow with a 24-hour marinade!
Aldi sells pieces of salmon approx 100gm each in a 4 pack and nice quality. Perfect for this recipe. Served with cabbage and rice.
I like my salmon cooked a little more so did just under 3 minutes per side and it was perfect. Thanks, Nagi.
What’s the shredded vegetable pictured on the side? Is it shredded cabbage? Shredded onion? Any other suggestions for a vegetable side? Thanks!
Hi Wade, it’s just shredded cabbage here, but this would be perfect with any of these as a side:
https://www.recipetineats.com/asian-side-salad/
https://www.recipetineats.com/smashed-cucumber-salad/
https://www.recipetineats.com/chinese-broccoli-with-oyster-sauce/
Hi Nagi…what brand of mirin you are using for this dish?
Hi Joe – this link should assist here: https://www.recipetineats.com/asian-market-grocery-store-shopping-list/ N x
Hi Nagi,
I don’t know what I did wrong, but after 10 min on the frying pan, the salmons are still quite raw and even on low heat they burned quite bad and so did the sauce. What can I do to fix this for next time? Can I cook it in the oven instead? We like ours well done.
Thank you in advance
Excellent! Marinated overnight, it took almost no time to fry up in a pan. The hubs who has never fond of fish practically inhaled it all. A 5* recipe. Thanks!
I just marinated the fish and realised that I would not be free to cook it tomorrow. Is it fine if I leave the fish in the marinade for 2 days?
Has anyone tried making this with salmon steak instead of fillet? I’ve never done that, but I got salmon steak today and was curious to try it for this classic Japanese recipe 🙂
Its another Ripper from Nagi!
Lovely skicky marinade with great flavour. Served with Asian coleslaw and another salad.