Noodles and salmon tossed with a traditional four-ingredient Teriyaki Sauce makes for a tasty, quick and easy dinner that’s an all-in-one complete meal. It’s also a great way to stretch pricey salmon further to feed more people – a tip for putting together economical dinners!
I’ve used ramen noodles because I had them in the pantry, but this recipe is suitable for most dried or fresh noodles. Or even spaghetti – yes, really!
Teriyaki Salmon Noodles
My mother is such a stickler for the traditional in Japanese foods that she once wrote a furious letter to a TV network after watching a celebrity chef make what she judged to be total mockery of authentic tempura. She also rolled her eyes dramatically and flailed her arms in protest when she saw Jamie Oliver making ramen with soba noodles. “THAT’S NOT RAMEN!!!”, she yelled at the television.
Well, mum. Let’s just get this out of the way right upfront. I am not declaring this to be an authentic Japanese recipe!! 😂 However, I HAVE swiped the sauce from your traditional Teriyaki Chicken recipe for these noodles. It’s perfect as a double-duty sauce – for flavouring the salmon AND using as the sauce for the noodles!
What you need
Here’s what you need for this not-authentic-but-totally-delicious Teriyaki Salmon Noodles!
Salmon – Anywhere between 200 to 250g / 7 – 8oz salmon. Skinless is convenient, though if you can only get skin-on that’s fine too as the cooked flesh comes off the skin easily. You can use fillets, or cutlets with the bones removed.
Alternative fish: Ocean trout, but any fish really. Other proteins: This recipe would also work just fine with other meats such as bite-size strips of chicken, beef, pork. I’d scale up the sauce slightly however if using pieces of these meats (more surface area to flavour).
Noodles – I’ve used dried ramen noodles because it’s what I always have in stock in my pantry. While I actually prefer the flavour and texture of fresh noodles, I don’t always have them. Other dried noodles (yellow, white, rice noodles) and fresh noodles will work as well, see recipe notes for quantities. In the event of an emergency, spaghetti is fine too. Seriously!!! (Try it, most people can’t tell the difference 😂).
Chinese broccoli (gai lan / kai lan) – Probably my most used Asian vegetable, for sheer convenience (easy to chop) and also because I like the “broccoli” like texture of the stems. Substitute with any leafy Asian greens like choy sum, bok choy, pak choy, or about 2 1/2 cups of other vegetables sliced into stir fry-suitable sizes (eg. carrots and zucchini sliced on the diagonal).
Onion and garlic – Essential flavour base ingredients I use for virtually every stir fry. Especially garlic!
No self-respecting Japanese cook would ever call something “teriyaki” without using mirin and cooking sake!
Teriyaki Sauce
While I’ve been very up front about how this recipe is not a traditional Japanese dish (there is no such thing as teriyaki noodles in Japan!), the sauce ingredients are authentic.
Soy sauce – All-purpose Japanese soy sauce (my family uses Kikkoman brand) or light soy sauce. Please don’t use dark soy sauce, the flavour is far too intense and won’t work for this recipe! Sweet soy sauce (eg. kecap manis) is also unsuitable. More on different types of soy sauces here.
Cooking sake and mirin – Two types of rice wines that are essential to Japanese cooking. No self-respecting Japanese restaurant or cook would ever call something “teriyaki” without using these! Nowadays, both are readily available at major supermarkets here in Australia and of course at Asian stores (where they’re better value!).
To achieve a truly great teriyaki flavour, I can’t offer a decent substitute for mirin. However, the sake can be substituted with dry sherry or Chinese cooking wine.
Alcohol content note: The alcohol in cooking wine mostly evaporates when cooked, and the amount of wine used is small to begin with. There will be trace amounts remaining but it’s so negligible it’s barely worth acknowledging.
Sugar – Typically used in Teriyaki Sauce to make it a bit glossy and syrupy so it coats chicken nicely. In this recipe, it also helps the noodles caramelise, which adds flavour. It doesn’t make this dish noticeably sweet as there is only 1 teaspoon, a small amount compared to the volume of ingredients used.
How to make Teriyaki Salmon Noodles
A nice and easy 15-minute recipe! Teriyaki-seasoned salmon is firstly pan-seared and then set aside. We toss the noodles in the same pan before returning the salmon to the skillet and breaking it up into nice big chunks to mix through.
Flavour tip: more caramelisation on the noodles = more flavour!
Teriyaki Sauce – Mix the ingredients in a bowl.
Coat salmon in 1 tablespoon of the Teriyaki Sauce. No need to marinate – we’re cutting the salmon into thin-ish strips, which affords a good amount of salmon surface area for the Teriyaki Sauce to cover. The strips mean it also speeds up the cooking time. Win, win!
Cook salmon for just 1 1/2 minutes on each side until golden and just cooked through. The thin strips cook quickly! Once cooked, remove to a plate and set aside.
Sauté aromatics – Give the pan a quick wipe (else we’ll end up with burnt teriyaki sauce throughout our noodles). Next we give the onion and garlic a head start before adding the Chinese broccoli stems. We won’t add the leafy part of the Chinese broccoli until towards the end as they take barely a minute to wilt.
HALF the sauce – Add the noodles then just HALF the sauce. This allows the noodles to absorb the sauce faster so we can get nicer caramelisation on the noodles as they cook. If you add all the sauce at the same time, it takes almost double the time for the sauce to reduce.
Toss the noodles until the sauce is absorbed and you no longer see any traces of it in the pan.
Add remaining sauce then toss to disperse.
Leave 30 seconds – Once the sauce is absorbed again, spread the noodles out and leave them undisturbed for 30 seconds. This encourages caramelisation of the noodles, compared to constantly tossing. Repeat this 3 to 4 times until you see the noodles get some nice colour on them.
Extra oil + leaves – Add a bit of extra oil (again, for caramelisation encouragement!) then toss in the leafy part of the Chinese broccoli.
Toss for another 1 minute or until the leaves wilt.
Return salmon to the pan – Just tumble them on to the noodles along with any juices pooled on the plate.
Serve! Break the salmon into large chunks, and briefly toss through the noodles. That’s it, we’re done. Time to eat. YAY!
These Teriyaki Salmon Noodles are a complete meal (starch, vegetables and protein) so you won’t need to add a side dish. You could also dial up the vegetables in it, if you wanted to. If you add a lot more, you may want to increase the sauce.
Leftovers will keep for however long you’re comfortable keeping cooked salmon for. I personally will happily eat fish up to 3 days after cooking, but I know some people’s comfort limit is 2 days.
Tell me what you think if you try it! As I said in my opening, salmon isn’t cheap and I do think this is a really great dish to make a piece of lovely salmon go a lot further! – Nagi x
Watch how to make it
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Teriyaki Salmon Noodles
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp oil (veg or canola)
- 250 g / 8 oz salmon fillet (s), skinless, sliced into 2cm / 0.7″ strips (lengthwise, Note 1)
- 2 instant noodle / ramen noodle cakes (discard seasoning packs) (Note 2 other noodles)
- 1/2 onion , cut into 1cm / 0.3″ slices
- 1 garlic clove , finely minced
- 1 small bunch Chinese broccoli (gai lan), cut into 5 cm / 2" lengths, leaves separated from stem (Note 3)
Teriyaki Sauce:
- 2 1/2 tbsp soy sauce , light or all-purpose (Note 4)
- 2 tbsp mirin (Note 5)
- 2 tbsp cooking sake (Note 5)
- 1 tsp white sugar
Instructions
- Teriyaki Sauce: Mix the ingredients in a small bowl until the sugar is dissolved.
- Coat salmon with 1 tablespoon of Teriyaki Sauce in a bowl, then set aside while you cook the noodles. (No need to marinate)
- Cook your noodles per the packet directions. Drain, briefly rinse under tap water then set aside.
- Cook salmon: Heat 1/2 tablespoon oil in a large non-stick pan over high heat. Cook the salmon for 1 1/2 minutes on each side or until golden, then remove to a plate. Pour any remaining sauce in the skillet over the salmon.
- Cook aromatics: Roughly clean the pan with a paper towel then return to the stove, still on high heat. Heat 1 tablespoon of the remaining oil and cook the onion and garlic for 30 seconds. Add Chinese broccoli stems and cook for 1 minute.
- Noodles & sauce: Add noodles and half the Sauce. Toss for 2 minutes until the Sauce is absorbed. Add the remaining Sauce and toss to disperse. Then spread the noodles out in the pan, cook for 30 seconds un-disturbed. Repeat again 3 to 4 times (~3 min total) – a trick for nice caramelisation on the noodles (which = flavour!).
- Leafy greens: Drizzle the remaining 1/2 tablespoon oil around the side of the pan, then add the Chinese broccoli leaves. Toss for a further 1 1/2 minutes or until the leaves wilt.
- Add back salmon: Remove pan from stove. Place salmon on top, break into large chunks then toss through.
- Serve: Divide between bowls and serve immediately!
Recipe Notes:
– Other dried noodles: use the same weight (ie 160 – 200g / 6 – 7 oz total). Egg noodles, rice noodles or even spaghetti (YES REALLY!). Prepare per packet directions.
– Fresh noodles (eg hokkien noodles, from the fridge) – use 350g / 12 oz. Prepare per packet directions 3. Veg – Other Chinese greens will work just as well, eg. Choy sum, bok choy. Otherwise use 2.5 cups other sliced veg eg mushrooms, zucchini, carrots, cabbage. 4. Soy sauce – Light or all-purpose is required here. I use Kikkoman for Teriyaki Sauce, a Japanese soy sauce brand (my mother would have my head if I dared to use a Chinese brand for teriyaki – even if it doesn’t really matter!) Do not substitute dark soy (too intense). More on different soy sauces here. 5. Mirin and cooking sake – Teriyaki Sauce is not Teriyaki Sauce without these! These are Japanese cooking essentials, widely available at grocery stores these days. Both are alcoholic cooking liquors. See in post for more information about these, including addressing concerns about alcohol content (spoiler: don’t be too concerned!) Substitute: I can’t offer a decent substitute for mirin. However, the sake can be substituted with dry sherry or Chinese cooking wine. If you can’t consume alcohol, use the sauce in this Asian Beef Noodles instead. It’s not Teriyaki but it’s a tasty Asian sauce that will work for this recipe. Cook exactly per this recipe (including coating salmon). 6. Leftovers will keep for 2 days in the fridge.
Love noodles?
Me too! See?Nutrition Information:
Life of Dozer
I always poo-pooed the saying that “all dogs look like their owners”, with Dozer’s mass of golden fur and my jet black hair.
But the resemblance here is uncanny!!😂
Rebecca Zbuchalski says
This may sound crazy but for a low carb option could you sub spaghetti squash for noodles?
Nagi says
Hi Rebecca! You could but obviously not quite the same 😂 I actually think a cauliflower fried rice using the salmon and teriyaki sauce rather than spaghetti squash would be SUPER delish. Cauliflower fried rice is a revelation!! N xx
Leeann says
Thanks for the recipe. I made it last night and we both enjoyed it. So tasty and one piece of salmon for 2 was enough.
Warm regards from a sunny SW France♥ Leeann
Nagi says
Thanks great Leeann! I’m so pleased to hear that 🙂 N x
Zuleka says
This looks delicious! I was just wondering what type of pan you used to fry the salmon? The caramelisation looks incredible but I know if I attempt this on my (now-sticky) non-stick frypan, the salmon will rip to shreds and all the good bits will end up burnt at the bottom instead of in my mouth 🙁
Nagi says
HI Zeluka! It is a Scanpan non stick pan, I have a kitchenwares post here -> https://www.recipetineats.com/recipetin-eats-essential-kitchenware/. – N xx
Mikey says
Keen to know this too. In the past we’ve destroyed 2 non stick scanpans using high heat so we used a stainless steel one to make this but alot stuck to the base.
Ps, absolutely love your recipes!
Deanna says
Darling Dozer looks like a Kabuki performer 😆, so sweet! So lovely to have you both back.
Nagi says
Ba ha – Kabuki performer!!! 😂
Eha says
Thanks heaps ! Living alone and working from home I make dishes like this half the days of the week – idiot me had never thought of salmon strips !!! Can;t wait to prep ! Probably with baby bok choi . . . my constant love ! A hug to your Mom – I understand . . . I scream at Jamie Oliver every time he puts beetroot into gravadlax – swell, that was my place in the world . . . and that is WRONG !!!
Nagi says
BA HA HA – visions of you screaming at the TV 😂
Eha says
Thumping at all my pillows too . . . my big set sits right in front of the bed !! At the moment watching Tour de France all July most of the night !!!
Karen says
I Love many of your recipes and have made to many to name. However, here in Seattle, I CANNOT find Mirin anymore. I’ve gone to a number of stores and supply chain issues have made it impossible to buy. Any substitutions that almost work? Thanks!!
Nagi says
Oh no! Try online?? Mirin is hard to substitute. The best would be more sake and more sugar. So – another 2 tablespoons of cooking sake plus say 2 teaspoons white sugar. N x
Bec says
Try on line Karen. It’s worth it if you love cooking Nagi’s recipe’s.
Gail Leith says
Hi Nagi. Lovely to have you and Dozer back again. I’m on a super low carb diet so could I use Konjak noodles in this dish? I think they would work but would just like your opinion please. Many thanks. Gail xxx
Nagi says
Hi Gail! I think this recipe would work better with cauliflower rice. I’d use the cauliflower rice recipe on my website for method, but cook the salmon and use the teriyaki sauce per this recipe! N x
Gail Leith says
Great. Thanks Nagi. I do like cauli rice. Will give it a whirl and let you know how it goes !
Wendy says
This looks just fabulous. So easy, and I already have just about all the ingredients. I haven’t cooked it yet but I know it will be 5 stars!
Nagi says
Make it! Then come back and tell me what you think! 🙂 N x
Gail says
I love this recipe! Thanks, Nagi and so glad you and Dozer are back!
Nagi says
Thanks Gail! Hope you get a chance to give it a go! N x
Theresa says
Looks like a great recipe Nagi ! I usually poach my salmon in chardonnay wine but with inflation hitting us hard to in USA, I’ve just been doing it in water & herbs and lemon juice. Love how Dozer looked like do I get some at the end of the video.
Nagi says
Hi Theresa! Try the coconut poached salmon recipe on my website which uses the poaching liquid to make a sauce. It’s SO GOOD! N x
Dianne Braga says
Another win of a recipe! Any chance you can share what pan you used? Looked like cast iron but with a stainless handle.
Nagi says
Hi Dianne! It’s a Scanpan non stick pan – details in my kitchenwares post! -> https://www.recipetineats.com/recipetin-eats-essential-kitchenware/
Dianne Braga says
Thank you! This will be my next purchase.
Ish says
Oh I so love your panache in suggesting spaghetti as a noodle substitute. All my spagbol-loving daughter’s life it’s a substitution I’ve made because I *always* have spaghetti in the pantry. (And fettucine for flat noodles, yes!)
And nobody has ever noticed or complained.
(Just Marco Polo in reverse, right 😉 ?
(Great recipe BTW, scheduled here…)
Nagi says
He he I love hearing that Ish! N x
Colleen Flather says
Guess I haven’t been paying attention, but I LOVE the button on the recipe to scale it – fantastic! Can’t wait to order your cookbook 🙂
Nagi says
Super handy, isn’t it?? 🙂 N x
Marie says
Can you use regular sake instead of cooking sake?
Nagi says
Unfortunately not Marie! Cooking sake has less alcohol in it, more concentrated flavour and usually some salt. Do you have Chinese cooking wine? That will work as a substitute. – N x
Marie says
Didn’y catch the last part of your answer.. Yes I have Chinese cooking wine and I have Mirin. Which do you think would work best?
Marie says
Would Shaoxing Rice Cooking Wine work? Easier to come by here.
Marie says
it’s the salt I am concerned about, but I will see if I can find it here in Minnesota, USA.
Denny Dodge says
Looking fwd to trying this , but really commenting on your Mom!! Yelling at tv was too funny, authentic Japanese cooking. My Stepmom found a used Komoto for my husband at a yard sale, she grew up with her Mom cooking every meal on one! My Husband has a Big Green Egg, and they work so well together. When she comes to visit we try to cook something on the Komoto for good memories for her. Glad you are back!!!
Nagi says
Komoto?? Isn’t that a giant LIZARD???! 😂
Patrice Chang says
There are actually Japanese and Korean grocery stores in Paris that make deliveries for free. I can’t wait to start cooking your ramen and other recipes.
Welcome back Nagi an Dozer. We have missed you a lot. Update on your cookbook please.
Rintz says
Hi Nagi – can I make the sauce and keep in the fridge? Will it last and if so, for how long?
Nagi says
Gee, wish I had an Asian grocery store that did free deliveries near ME!!!! 😂
Jerrie Kheir says
Dumb question as I never make ramen noodles: do you put them in dry?
Nagi says
NOT DUMB because I have recipes were you CAN put them in dry! For this one – I should have written in directions to cook them first. Updating. Thank you Jerrie! N xx
Pauline McNee says
We love salmon, and often just fry it and have it with soy sauce, so your delicious recipe will take it to the next level Nagi. Looking forward to trying this one, and thanks to your Mum for her authentic teriyaki sauce. Looks so good.
Jamilla says
Can’t wait to try this out! Looove, just love your recipes x
Gazza says
Wow, good stuff Nagi and thank you, It is Salmon and Tailor season here in Port Stephens , so I reckon I might have to brave the weather and get the rod out, Nothing like some extra fresh marine delights. I have some huge spring onions that I grew from a bunch , the green top bits are great in these dishes, sorta like big chives,. Glad to hear that you are over covid as well, Best wishes!