Description
This Japanese Miso Salmon Side recipe offers a deliciously marinated salmon cooked on the barbecue or baked, featuring a savory blend of miso paste, sake, mirin, and sugar. The marinade deeply infuses the salmon over 24 to 48 hours, resulting in a tender, flavorful dish with a beautifully caramelized exterior. Garnished with toasted sesame seeds and fresh scallions, this dish is perfect for a sophisticated yet simple meal.
Ingredients
Scale
Salmon
- 1.6 – 2.4 lb (0.8 – 1.2 kg) side of salmon, skin on
- Oil, for barbecue
Marinade
- 5 tbsp miso paste
- 2 tbsp white sugar
- 1 2/3 tbsp sake (Japanese rice wine)
- 1 2/3 tbsp mirin (Japanese sweet rice wine)
Garnish
- Sesame seeds
- Scallions or shallots, finely sliced
Instructions
- Prepare Marinade: Mix together the miso paste, white sugar, sake, and mirin in a small bowl until smooth, creating a rich marinade for the salmon.
- Marinate Skin Side: Place the salmon skin side up on a clean work surface and slather it with just under half of the marinade, ensuring even coverage.
- Marinate Flesh Side: Turn the salmon so the skin side is down onto a large piece of cling wrap and apply the remaining marinade to the flesh side.
- Wrap and Refrigerate: Wrap the salmon tightly in the cling wrap and refrigerate for 24 to 48 hours to allow the marinade to deeply penetrate the fish.
- Remove Marinade: Before cooking, scrape off the marinade with a spatula; do not rinse with water. Allow the salmon to come to room temperature for even cooking.
- Preheat Barbecue: Preheat your barbecue to medium-low heat with the plate side down and allow it to heat for 10 to 15 minutes. This step ensures even temperature for perfect cooking.
- Cook Skin Side: Add a small amount of oil to the barbecue just before cooking. Place the salmon skin side down and cook for 3 minutes.
- Cook Flesh Side: Use two spatulas to carefully turn the salmon over, cooking the flesh side for 2 to 3 minutes until caramelized.
- Final Flip and Rest: Flip the salmon skin side down again and transfer it to a tray. Loosely cover with foil and let it rest for 5 minutes; this lets the fish finish cooking gently while retaining moisture.
- Garnish and Serve: Sprinkle toasted sesame seeds and finely sliced scallions or shallots over the salmon just before serving to enhance flavor and presentation.
Notes
- Use skin-on salmon side for better structural integrity and flavor retention during grilling.
- The long marinating time (24-48 hours) is crucial for deep flavor infusion and tender texture.
- Do not rinse off the marinade after marinating; scraping is sufficient to preserve flavors.
- Bringing the fish to room temperature before cooking ensures even doneness and prevents sticking.
- Resting the cooked salmon covered with foil allows residual heat to finish cooking while keeping it moist.
- If a barbecue is not available, the salmon can also be baked in an oven at 400°F (200°C) for about 10 minutes, skin side down.
