This Miso Salmon is marinated in a sweet and savory miso sauce and broiled until the outside is beautifully crisp and the inside is perfectly moist. It’s even better when you serve the fish with Japanese ginger rice. You‘ll make it a staple in no time.
Salmon is truly one of the best choices of fish out there! I love that the fish is readily available, extremely versatile, and makes a healthy protein for any meal. Today, I’m going to share my tried-and-true easy salmon recipe—Miso Salmon (味噌サーモン).
Here, salmon fillets are marinated in a mixture of miso, sake, mirin, soy sauce, and sesame oil, and then broiled until they become succulent and golden brown. You and your family will love how simple and satisfying it is, especially when served with rice and vegetables.
Table of Contents
Using Miso in Japanese Recipes
Miso (味噌) is a Japanese condiment primarily made from fermenting soybeans, salt, koji (a fermentation starter), and sometimes rice or barley.
New to miso? Read this post.
From miso soup to salad dressing and miso marinated fish, miso is a common condiment used every day in Japanese kitchens. Its sweet and salty flavor makes it a wonderful marinade, particularly well-suited for fatty fish like cod and salmon.
I have previously shared the Miso Black Cod recipe made popular by Nobu on the blog. In today’s recipe, we’ll learn the best way to apply the miso treatment to salmon and how to achieve flavorful, tender fish with a golden top that everyone will enjoy.
How to Make Miso Salmon
The Ingredients You’ll Need
- Salmon: I recommend using salmon that is less than 1 inch (2.5 cm) thick for broiling. If you don’t have a broiler, wild King/Chinook salmon, which is thick and has a high-fat content, is ideal for baking. You don’t have to worry about the fish drying out quickly. Farmed Atlantic salmon, while very rare to find in the wild, is a more affordable and accessible option.
- Miso: I use white miso (shiro miso) in this recipe for two reasons. First, it is widely available in Japanese and Asian markets, as well as mainstream grocery stores. Second, the flavor profile complements this recipe well. If you have other types of miso, you can certainly use them (I use various miso for this recipe as well). Just remember that each brand and type of miso has a different level of saltiness, so adjust the amount accordingly.
- Soy sauce: I use organic kikkoman soy sauce. Please note that Chinese and Korean soy sauces have slightly different tastes.If you plan to cook more Japanese food, consider getting Japanese soy sauce.
- Sake: I use a $5-8 drinking sake and do not use a cooking sake that contains other ingredients, like salt. Sake is an important ingredient in Japanese cooking (read why it’s important here). If you don’t have it at the moment, use Chinese rice wine or dry sherry.
- Mirin: Just like sake, mirin is another important condiment for Japanese cooking. More about it in this post.
- Roasted sesame oil: We just need a tiny bit for the aroma.
- Garnish: Toasted black and white sesame seeds, and chopped green onion.
The Cooking Steps
- Make the miso marinade and marinate the salmon for 1-2 hours.
- Remove the marinade from the salmon and broil it.
- Serve and enjoy!
How to Prep the Miso Salmon
It’s a very easy recipe, but make sure to read the following tips to make Miso Salmon successfully on the first try!
- Use skin-on salmon. Don’t remove the skin. It will prevent the flesh from overcooking and drying out. You don’t have to eat it, but keep it on!
- Remove small bones and scales from the skin before marinating. This would make your dinner more enjoyable, especially when you serve it to young children or to your dinner guests.
- Cut the salmon into individual fillets. Smaller fillets marinate and cook quickly!
- Marinade for 1-2 hours. For a salmon fillet less than 1 inch (2.5 cm) thick, you can marinate for up to 2 hours. For thick salmon, you can marinate for up to 3 hours. I don’t recommend marinating overnight because miso is quite salty.
- Remove the miso marinade completely. When cooking miso-marinated food, regardless if it’s fish or meat, you must remove the marinade completely because miso burns very easily. Plenty of flavors have been already absorbed into the salmon. If you still want a nice glaze, cook the remaining marinade with water over the stove and drizzle the sauce over the cooked salmon.
Broiling Tips
If you’ve been baking salmon all this time, I highly recommend trying the broiling method.
When you broil fish, the infrared energy from the heating element cooks the fish. Broiling is a much faster cooking method, resulting in beautifully browned fish that stays juicy and never dries out!
However, it’s important to exercise caution when broiling, as the miso, fresh herbs, and other garnishes are prone to burning. Keep a close eye on the food to prevent burning.
- Use a heavy baking sheet lined with aluminum foil. Avoid using parchment paper, as it can burn under the broiler. I recommend brushing or spraying oil on the foil to prevent the skin from sticking after the salmon is done cooking. You can then use a metal spatula to separate the skin from the foil. Once cooked, the salmon’s flesh can be easily separated from the skin by gently nudging and scooping it up with a spatula.
- Set the oven rack placed in the center position, 9 inches (23 cm) away from the top heating element.
- Set the broiler to high (550ºF/288ºC). My current oven comes with 3 settings (low, medium, and high), but my previous oven did not have a medium setting. Since each oven is different, make sure to control the heat by adjusting the distance of the rack. If you’re new to broiling, you might want to start with a medium setting or keep more distance from the heating element and gradually cook.
- Adjust the cooking by controlling the distance between the broiler and the surface of the food. Unlike baking, you don’t control the temperature in the oven. Broiling is similar to using hotter and cooler zones on your grill.
- Test if the salmon is cooking by flaking the flesh. If it flakes easily, it’s cooked through.
🙋🏻♀️ If your oven doesn’t come with a broiler setting, I included the baking method in the recipe card.
How Long Do You Broil Salmon?
Please remember that the broiling time depends entirely on your broiler’s settings, the distance of the rack from the heating element, and the thickness of the salmon fillets.
When I buy salmon fillets, I always opt for skin-on, center-cut fillets that are less than 1 inch (2.5 cm) thick. And make sure all the fillets are of the same thickness, each weighing roughly 6 ounces (170 g). After marinating the salmon in the refrigerator, it takes 10-13 minutes to broil.
How Do You Know When Salmon is Done?
You can tell when salmon is cooked when the flesh of the salmon goes from translucent to opaque, and the salmon flakes easily with a fork, chopsticks, or by pressing on the fish.
If the fish looks dry, you’ve probably cooked it a bit too long. When salmon is overcooked, you may notice white protein (known as albumin) coming out from the fish. While you can’t undo it, the salmon is still edible, albeit a little dry.
Useful Kitchen Tools
The best method is to use a meat probe thermometer (that comes with your oven) or an instant-read thermometer, especially when the salmon fillets are very thick. With the right tool, you don’t need to guess if the salmon is cooked to the right temperature: It’s perfect every single time.
- A probe thermometer allows you to track the temperature of your chicken, turkey, salmon, etc. in the oven as they cook so you don’t have to repeatedly open the oven door to test.
- An instant-read thermometer is a lot more versatile. You can check the temperature of your deep-frying oil and pan-fried fish or steak.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Wait, you said to cook the salmon until an internal temperature of 125-130°F (52-54ºC). I thought we had to cook it to 145°F (63ºC).
The USDA recommends cooking fish to an internal temperature of 145°F (63ºC); however, the remaining heat will continue to cook the salmon, resulting in well-overcooked fish. There are many discussions online on this topic, and many reputable cooking websites do recommend cooking the salmon to 120-130ºF (49-54ºC).
Q: Can I marinate the salmon overnight?
Miso is quite salty, so I don’t recommend marinating the salmon overnight, especially if the fillet is thin. Also, to marinate the salmon evenly, I recommend cutting a one-pound salmon fillet into two to four pieces. One to two hours is my recommendation. If you feel it’s not flavorful enough, please adjust it to your liking.
Bake vs. Broil Methods
In case you’re curious, I summarized the differences between broiling and baking fish, and which type of fish is suitable for broiling or baking for your future reference.
Broiling Method
When you broil fish, the infrared energy from the heating element cooks the fish. You don’t control the temperature in the oven; instead, you control the distance between the broiler and the surface of the food.
Fish suitable for broiling:
- Fatty fish—salmon (thin-cut; under 1 inch or 2.5 cm), mackerel, and swordfish
- Moderately lean fish—cod, haddock (should be brushed with oil before broiled)
- Thin fish fillet—Japanese fish cut is often very thin (sold at Japanese supermarkets)
Baking Method
When you bake fish, hot air cooks the fish. The heat is carried through your oven by slow-moving natural currents of hot air, which is why baking takes a relatively long time and makes the fish surface a bit dry (see the image above). But it is more hands-off as you do not need to pay attention constantly.
Fish suitable for baking:
- Fatty fish—salmon (thick and fatty cut), mackerel, and swordfish
- Whole fish
- Thick and large fish fillets
- Lean and fragile fish—sole
What to Serve with Miso Salmon
For a hearty yet wholesome family dinner, I enjoy serving Miso Salmon with Ginger Rice. The rich flavor of miso-marinated salmon is lovely when matched with the aromatic ginger-infused rice.
Here are other delicious side dishes that you can serve with Miso Salmon.
- Rice: Ginger Rice
- Soup: Kakitamajiru (Japanese Egg Drop Soup)
- Sides: Spicy Japanese Pickled Cucumber and Kinpira Gobo
- Salads: Spinach Gomaae (Japanese Spinach Salad) and Tofu Salad with Sesame Ponzu Dressing
Other Delicious Salmon Recipes
Wish to learn more about Japanese cooking? Sign up for our free newsletter to receive cooking tips & recipe updates! And stay in touch with me on Facebook, Pinterest, YouTube, and Instagram.
Miso Salmon
Video
Ingredients
- 2 skin-on salmon fillets (¾ lb, 340 g; ideally, less than 1 inch or 2.5 cm thick; 4–6 oz or 113–170 g per fillet)
For the Marinade
- 2 Tbsp miso (use any type of miso; I used Hikari Miso Organic White Miso)
- 1 Tbsp sake
- 1 Tbsp mirin
- 1 Tbsp soy sauce
- ¼ tsp toasted sesame oil
For the Garnish (optional)
- ½ tsp toasted white and black sesame seeds
- 1 green onion/scallion (chopped)
Instructions
- Before You Start: Please note that this recipe requires a marination time of 1–2 hours.
- Gather all the ingredients. Check your 2 skin-on salmon fillets for scales and tiny bones. For bones, run your fingers along the flesh surface and sides to feel for the hard tips of any bones and pull them out with fish boning tweezers. For scales, run your fingers back and forth across the skin to find any scales and scrape them off with the flat edge of a knife.
To Lightly Marinate
- In a large bowl or flat tray, mix the marinade ingredients: 2 Tbsp miso, 1 Tbsp sake, 1 Tbsp mirin, 1 Tbsp soy sauce, and ¼ tsp toasted sesame oil.
- If your salmon is not cut into fillets yet, cut it into individual portions so that they cook faster and evenly. The typical American serving size is 6 oz (170 g). Then, place the salmon in the bowl with the marinade, skin side up.
- Spoon the marinade on top of the salmon, making sure to coat the sides and skin. Cover and keep it in the refrigerator for 1–2 hours for fillets up to 1 inch (2.5 cm) at the thickest part. Marinate for 3 hours for a thicker cut. Tip: This fish is marinated for a short time, unlike Black Cod with Miso. I don’t recommend marinating the salmon overnight, as it will get quite salty.
To Broil (for thin fillets less than 1 inch or 2.5 cm thick)
- Turn on the broiler to High (550ºF/288ºC) with a rack placed in the center position, 9 inches (23 cm) away from the top heating element. Preheat for 5 minutes. Tip: When broiling, you don‘t adjust the oven temperature; instead, you control the distance between the heating element and the surface of the food. It‘s similar to using hotter and cooler zones on your grill. Meanwhile, cut the green onions diagonally into thin slices. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil (since parchment paper will burn) and spray or brush the oil so the salmon skin won‘t stick.
- Next, take the salmon out of the refrigerator and remove any excess marinade completely; otherwise, the miso may burn during broiling.
- I take the additional step of scraping off the excess marinade with an offset spatula or butter knife (optional). Next, place the salmon pieces skin side down on the prepared baking sheet.
- Broil the salmon until the thickest part of the fillet registers an internal temperature of 125–130°F* (52–54ºC), for roughly 10–13 minutes. You do not need to flip the salmon during broiling. If you prefer it medium rare, you can stop cooking at 120ºF (49ºC). *Please note that the USDA recommends cooking fish to an internal temperature of 145°F (63ºC); however, the residual heat will continue to cook the salmon, resulting in overcooked fish.
To Bake (for thick fillets)
- Preheat the oven to 425°F (218ºC) with a rack placed in the center position. For a convection oven, reduce the cooking temperature by 25ºF (15ºC). Next, take the marinated salmon out of the refrigerator and remove any excess marinade completely from the fish; otherwise, the miso may burn during baking. You can scrape off the marinade with an offset spatula or butter knife if you‘d like.
- Place the salmon pieces skin side down on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. If you‘re using an oven probe, insert it into the thickest part of the flesh. Tip: If you don‘t have a probe, I highly recommend getting a Thermapen instant-read thermometer.
- Transfer the baking sheet to the oven and attach the probe (if using) to the oven. Bake the salmon until the thickest part of the fillet registers an internal temperature of 125–130°F* (52–54ºC), for roughly 18–20 minutes. You do not need to flip the salmon during baking. If you prefer medium rare, you can stop cooking at 120ºF (49ºC). Tip: My recommended baking time is 5 minutes per ½-inch (1.3-cm) thickness of salmon measured at the thickest part. *Please note that the USDA recommends cooking fish to an internal temperature of 145°F (63ºC); however, the residual heat will continue to cook the salmon, resulting in overcooked fish.
- Take it out from the oven. Test if the salmon is cooking by flaking the flesh. If it flakes easily, it’s cooked through. To char (optional): You can broil the salmon to give it a nice char, if desired. When the salmon is getting close to the desired internal temperature, remove the probe from the salmon and oven. Then, change the oven setting to Broil on High (550ºF/288ºC). Keep the oven rack placed in the center position, 9 inches (23 cm) away from the top heating element. Then, broil the salmon for 3 minutes or until the surface is blistered and browned a bit. Note that the salmon will continue to cook while broiling; therefore, don't wait too long to switch to broil.
To Serve
- Serve the Miso Salmon and top with ½ tsp toasted white and black sesame seeds and 1 green onion/scallion thinly sliced (both toppings are optional). I like to serve this salmon with Ginger Rice. Enjoy!
- Optional: I always discard the marinade (that‘s why I try to use the least amount of marinade), but if you don‘t want to waste it or make too much, you can dilute the marinade with water and cook it for a few minutes. Serve it with the salmon or use it for other dishes.
To Store
- You can store the leftovers in an airtight container and store in the refrigerator for up to 3 days and in the freezer for a month.
Nutrition
Editor’s Note: This post was originally published on September 2, 2014. The post has been updated with revised, clear instructions (still the same recipe) with new step-by-step pictures, final photos, and video on November 17, 2023.
Nice, easy and tasty recipe. To cut to the saltiness of miso, best to enjoy with pickles. I tried mine with chilli onion Japanese pickles and it is divine. Loves this recipe vs the salmon in foil.
Hi Lee, We are glad to hear you enjoyed this recipe! Thank you very much for your kind feedback!
We make this very often. Your detailed instructions have made cooking much easier 🙂 . Thank-you!
Hi Kirti, You have no idea how much your kind words meant to us! Thank you very much for trying this recipe and for your kind feedback!
Hi there,
I just tried to make this and the salmon turned very mushy, like it was watery, even mushier and softer than canned salmon. I’m wondering if I did something wrong in the preparations. I needed to descale the salmon skin and ran it through water afterwards. Is that a reason why? I patted the salmon dry before I put on the marinade as well. I appreciate your help with understanding why my salmon turned so mushy. Thank you!
Hi Eric, We are sorry to hear your Salmon did not turn well this time. This salmon shouldn’t be mushy, and we wonder what went long during the preparations. Our first thought is, If it was sliced fish and descale the salmon skin, it might add too much pressure while you are descaling and fish got mushed. As we were not in the kitchen with you, it’s hard to know what went wrong…😔
I made this for a quick and easy dinner last night and my husband raved about it! Didn’t have sake in the house so I used 1.5 Tbsp of mirin. I’m so glad I found this website! I grew up eating miso butterfish in Hawaii, but your explanations of how miso burns easily, not to marinate the salmon past 2 hours because it’s different from preparing miso butterfish, baking is recommended 5 minutes for 1/2 inch thickness, demystifies Japanese home cooking – I wish I found your website sooner! This will be my go to recipe when I need a healthy delicious meal on the fly!
Hi Candi!
We are so glad to hear you and your husband enjoyed this Miso Salmon!
Thank you very much for trying this recipe and for your kind feedback!☺️
I was a bit skeptical having to remove the excess marinade thinking it won’t taste as good but I was wrong! This was SO good, thank you!
Hi Krispykwn,
Thank you very much for trying this recipe, and follow the instruction carefully!
We are so glad to hear you enjoyed this dish!
Thank you for your kind feedback.😊
I’ve made this recipe several times – it’s my family’s favourite way of eating fish now!
I’d love to ask: Do you think one could use this recipe for a whole side of salmon?
Hi Alex,
Thank you very much for trying this recipe and for your kind feedback!
We are so happy to hear this is your family’s favorite way to eat fish!
Yes. You may use this recipe for a whole side of salmon, but please know that it will have less surface with Miso.😉
I’m 15 and I made this! It was so good, I was literally devouring it! I baked it at 425 for 13 minutes and it came out wonderfully! The only thing that I did was leave out a little bit of the awase miso, just because I thought that 2 tbs was a lot and that it was going to be really salty, but I feel like with 2 tbs it would’ve tasted even better. Can’t wait to try out more of your recipes!
Hi Gitika!
WOW!🤩 Great Job! We are so impressed by how you thought about ingredient amount and made adjustments.
Thank you very much for trying this recipe and sharing your cooking experience with us!
Happy Cooking!
This was delicious and exactly how I wanted it to taste…not too salty or strong! Also the recommended ginger rice goes with it beautifully. Simple, quick and easy midweek meal, ready in under an hour!
Hi Jen!
We are so happy to hear this recipe tasted exactly how you wanted it to be.
Thank you very much for trying Nami’s recipes and for your kind feedback!
こんにちは, Nami-san!
The salmon looks great and I can’t wait to try it in my Bento box! I love Miso marinades and Miso buttered foods, so this is perfect for me, but I had a qick question.
I know people below were asking about Sake and I don’t mind cooking with it, but I don’t have any. However, I do have Mirin. Should I still use water in place of the Sake or could I sub with a little more Mirin than is already in the recipe so it still has a nice flavour? ありがとう!
こんにちは、Liz!
If you use Mirin as a substitute for Sake, the Marinade will be sweeter. Therefore we recommend adjusting the Marinade taste to your liking by adding more miso or soy sauce.
You can also substitute with dry sherry or Chinese rice wine if you have one.
We hope this helps!☺️
Nami-san,
Yes, this helps me out a lot. I took an interest in Japanese food years ago as I also started learning the language, but I am still very much a beginner at cooking the way the Japanese do. 🙂 I’ll have to try a little of each to see which tastes better and I’ll try to leave a review on my experimentation with the marinade. ありがとございます!
Hi Liz!
It’s our pleasure!
Wow! 日本語もがんばってね!😊
Out of curiosity, do you think one could steam the salmon?
We’ve had quite a lot of success with steaming salmon as is, but it would be interesting to try something new and more flavourful.
Would the marinade not shine through in the case of steaming? Or do you reckon it might work?
Hi Alex! Have you cooked in foil? I’d highly recommend steaming miso salmon in foil. 🙂
https://www.justonecookbook.com/salmon-foil/
No, I have not cooked in foil, but that looks like a great way of doing it!
If using this miso salmon, would you still add the other ingredients from the linked recipe? Or simply foil up the miso marinated salmon?
Hi Alex! I’d only use sake which is for steaming (if you don’t have sake, use water). Just like the oven method, remove the excess marinade as it can burn on the bottom. 🙂
It’s delicious! I tried this recipe last night for my dinner. My husband and l love it! Easy recipe, but it turns out good result. I will cook more in the future. 😁
Hi Esther! Thank you so much for trying this recipe! I’m so glad you and your husband enjoyed it!
I love this recipe! It’s a staple in our house.
Is there any way to cook the excess marinade to serve it with the salmon? It’s so delicious and I do wish there was a little bit of sauce.
Thanks!
Hi Maria! You cook/simmer the marinade in the saucepan. Because miso burns fast and easily, you can’t really have “extra sauce” left after baking. 🙂
Opinions on broiling with the skin side up? This allows you to get crispy salmon skin. Is this okay?
Hi Makoto! Sure! 🙂
Thanks for this recipe – it was really tasty!
Just a comment regarding substitutes for mirin/sake – as I made this on a whim, I had neither of them around the house. Following a bit of internet research, ended up replacing with white wine + a bit of honey. Maybe not 100% authentic, still tasted nice. 🙂
Hi Cris! I’m so glad to hear you enjoyed this recipe! Thank you for your tip on substitution! 🙂
New to your blog! So happy I found you! Made this salmon today. So YUMMY!!! I am happy to say in the last few years my fridge always has miso. Such a wonderful thing. 🙂
Welcome to JOC, Carol! I’m so glad to hear you enjoyed this recipe. Thank you for trying this recipe!