Light yet flavorful, this delicious Salmon in Foil recipe is a perfect meal for a busy weeknight dinner. This quick dish takes 20 minutes from start to finish with easy clean-up! Inspired by the Japanese drama Midnight Diner: Tokyo Stories.
Salmon in Foil, or SHA-ke no Hoiru Yaki (鮭のフォイル焼き), is a fast, simple and delicious dish. When I was growing up, my mom would serve a variety of ‘salmon in foil’ for dinner when she was short on time. All you have to do is toss a few ingredients into a foil, wrap it up like a parcel and let it steam over in a frying pan. In no time at all, you have a healthy meal that your family will love.
Salmon and Mushrooms – Netflix “Midnight Diner: Tokyo Stories” Season 2
You can find this Salmon in Foil dish featured on the popular Netflix® show – Midnight Diner: Tokyo Stories (Season 2, Episode 6). In the show, this dish is called “Salmon and Mushrooms” as they include both salmon and mushrooms.
Salmon in Foil is rather a home-cooked dish in Japan. You rarely find it on the menu at restaurants or Shokudo (食堂) diners. So let’s make it at home!
Why You Should Try This Salmon in Foil Recipe
1. Moist and tender salmon
No one likes dry salmon. Cooking the salmon in foil is all about retaining the moisture and tenderness inside. This method, when cooked over low heat, also ensures a proper steaming process. It locks in all the delicious juice, resulting in a lush and delicate salmon!
2. Versatile recipe
The recipe never gets old in my family because you can switch up the veggies and the seasonings. Salmon pairs well with a range of vegetables, so you can always include seasonal greens to make things interesting.
I included some of my suggestions below. However, I personally love this salmon, mushrooms, and veggie combination. They work very well together with simple seasonings.
3. Quick cook and easy cleanup
As opposed to the oven method, there is no pre-heating required. You can literary cook the salmon in 12 minutes. It’s that FAST! If you can wrap up all the ingredients in foil in 8 minutes, this is a 20-minute meal!!
Since everything is tucked inside the foil, it makes the easiest cleanup. There is also no oil or sauce, so you don’t even have to clean the stove or the frying pan.
Variations for Salmon in Foil
If you enjoyed this recipe and wanted to try out other variations, here are more suggestions for your next dish.
Ingredients
- Enoki mushrooms
- King oyster mushrooms
- Green leafy vegetables (cut vegetables into julienned strips so they will cook fast)
Seasonings
Instead of suggested condiments in the recipe, you can try the following seasonings.
- Butter + Lemon
- Butter + Garlic
- Butter + Shio Koji
- Butter + Soy Sauce
- Butter + Miso
- Butter + Ponzu
- Mayo + Miso
- Mayo + Soy sauce
- Miso + Mirin
- If using salty seasonings, add in sugar, mirin, etc.
My favorite way to enjoy this dish is to drizzle on Homemade Ponzu.
Do We Add Water to the Frying Pan?
I thought some of you may wonder about this – don’t we need to add water to steam the fish? The answer is no; the salmon will be steamed inside the foil, so water is not necessary.
But how about the frying pan? Will it be damaged by the heat? My pan has never damaged by this cooking method. If you are worried, you can add water but you need to cook an extra 2 minutes or longer. The water in the pan distributes gentle heat so it requires more time for the onion to cook through.
Itadakimasu!
With layers of textures and flavors, this salmon in foil is predictably foolproof, every single time. Serve with steamed rice and miso soup, and a side of salad if you have extra time. With this recipe in your back pocket, you will have more reasons to cook healthy meals for yourself and your loved ones.
Other Quick and Easy Recipes
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Salmon in Foil
Video
Ingredients
- 2 skin-on salmon fillets (8.5 oz, 240 g total; I used thin-cut salmon from a Japanese grocery store)
- Diamond Crystal kosher salt
- freshly ground black pepper
- ½ onion (3 oz, 85 g)
- 3 oz carrot (2 inches, 5 cm)
- 1.8 oz shimeji mushrooms (½ package)
- 2 shiitake mushrooms
- 1½ Tbsp unsalted butter (divided)
- 1 Tbsp sake (divided)
For Serving
- 2 leaves chives
- 2 Tbsp ponzu or soy sauce (for drizzling; you can make my homemade ponzu recipe)
Instructions
- Gather all the ingredients.
To Prepare the Ingredients
- Sprinkle Diamond Crystal kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper on both sides of 2 skin-on salmon fillets.
- Thinly slice ½ onion and cut 3 oz carrot into julienne strips.
- Cut off the bottoms of 1.8 oz shimeji mushrooms and 2 shiitake mushrooms. Separate the shimeji mushrooms by hand into small clusters. Thinly slice the shiitake caps.
- Cut 2 leaves chives into small pieces.
To Prepare the Foil Packets
- Prepare 2 sheets of aluminum foil, each 12 x 12 inches (30 x 30 cm). Divide ½ Tbsp unsalted butter and thinly spread it in the center of the foil sheets (reserve the remaining 1 Tbsp unsalted butter for later).
- For one foil packet, place one portion of the onion slices on the foil. Then, put one salmon fillet on top, skin side down.
- Top with one portion of the mushrooms and carrot julienne strips.
- Add ½ Tbsp sake and ½ Tbsp butter on top.
- Bring the top and bottom of the aluminum foil together over the salmon and fold a few times to close the top. Then, bring the sides together and fold a few times to tightly sealed the foil packet. Repeat the same process for the other fillet.
To Cook on the Stovetop
- Place the salmon foil packets in a frying pan and cover with a lid (no need to add water). Cook the salmon over medium heat for 2 minutes, then medium-low heat for 10 minutes. If your salmon is 1–1½ inches thick, cook for 15–18 minutes. Carefully open the foil packet (avoiding the hot steam) to check the doneness, if needed.
To Bake in the Oven (optional)
- Alternatively, you can bake in a preheated 425ºF (218ºC) oven for 15 minutes. For a convection oven, reduce the cooking temperature by 25ºF (15ºC). If your salmon is 1–1½ inches thick, bake for 18–20 minutes. Carefully open the foil to check the doneness.
To Serve
- Carefully open the foil packets, avoiding the hot steam. Sprinkle with the chopped chives and drizzle each with 1 Tbsp ponzu or soy sauce. Enjoy!
To Store
- You can keep the leftovers in an airtight container and store in the refrigerator for up to 3 days and in the freezer for 2 weeks.
Nutrition
Editor’s Note: This post was originally published on December 16, 2017. The post has been edited and republished in April 2020.
I make this monthly using the butter + ponzu combination and it’s wonderful! I even use the oven method that she posted and it comes out amazingly moist and tender. I enjoy topping mines with microgreens. Thank you so much, Nami!
Hi Mercedez! I’m so glad to hear that you enjoy this recipe. Thank you for your feedback! 🙂
Thank you for the recipe! I have cooked it a few times already and really enjoyed it a lot!
May I ask if we can steam it instead?
Hi Pin! I’m so happy to hear you enjoy this recipe! Thank you for your kind feedback. You can use other types of fish – cod, chilian seabass, scallop, shrimp, mushrooms, veggies…etc. Works with pretty much any ingredient that will cook fast.
My family loved this dish .
Never had this dish before I lived in Okinawa toil 8 and moved to North Carolina then Hawaii and now Reno.
More familiar with Okinawa dishes.
Loved the flavor of butter miso and sake.
We had it for dinner tonight with miso soup rice and salad.
I drizzled it with kewpie wafu dressing and yuzu.
Thank for sharing this awesome recipe.
Chizu
Hi Chizu! Thanks so much for trying my recipe! So happy that you enjoy it and wow what a great meal!!! You lived in so many different places and I’m jealous. 🙂
My family thoroughly enjoyed this delicious recipe. I used sea bass instead of salmon and added some shredded ginger together with the mushrooms and carrots. Thanks Nami for an easy and delicious recipe. Will definitely cook it again and again!!
Hi Kim! I’m so happy to hear your family enjoyed this recipe! Oh that sounds delicious! Thanks for sharing your sea bass version! 🙂
My 5 year old enjoyed a salmon dish we had last week and requested that I find a salmon recipe with mushrooms- she LOVEs mushrooms! This recipe did not disappoint. Due to the pandemic, we were only able the find shiitake mushrooms, but we didn’t miss out on anything at all. The onions got caramelized, a big hit with my 2yo, and the carrots were tender but still had a snap to them- no boring veggies in this recipe! I used soy sauce and butter on top, as we didn’t have any sake. I served the entire contents of the packets over a wild rice blend with some asparagus on the side. We will definitely make this again, maybe with some of the other recommended combinations. Thank you!
Hi Stacy! I’m so happy to hear that your family enjoyed this recipe. Thank you for your kind feedback! Your meal sounds so healthy and delicious!
I made this as part of a birthday picnic lunch for 2. The foil helped the salmon stay moist, tender, and warm until it was time to eat. The mushrooms, carrots, and onions go great together with the ponzu sauce. Perfect recipe all around! Thank you!
Hi CeeCee! Thanks so much for trying this recipe and for your kind feedback. I’m so happy to hear you enjoyed the recipe. 🙂
I subbed some ingredients – red onions, thinly sliced Napa cabbage, sliced garlic, soy sauce and mirin for drizzling- no chives or shiitake. But wow, I was blown away by the flavour in the small packet! What an amazing recipe. I will keep making this for weeknights!
Hi Shuanny! I’m so happy to hear that you enjoyed this recipe! Thanks for trying it out and for your kind feedback. xo
My daughter loves enoki mushrooms and I made this today using enoki and salmon fillet from Costco (skinless) cut crosswise. Other than the mushroom substitution, I followed the instructions as is even the times. I cannot believe how juicy and tasty this turned out to be with just salt and pepper and even without additional water, just the cooking sake! It was one of those quick, easy and healthy meals that everyone enjoys.
Will definitely make again!
Hi Catherine! Yay! I’m so happy to hear you enjoyed this recipe. I recently got the same salmon fillet from Costco too and the quality is pretty good! I’ll try making this recipe with it too. Thanks for trying this recipe and for your kind feedback. I’m glad your family enjoyed it! 🙂
If I were to use miso + butter, would I put the miso in the foil at the same time as the left over butter, or top after cooking? I know you mentioned miso can burn easy in other posts, but trying to figure out how to distribute the miso among the salmon/veggies
Hi Jake! I think you can mix the miso and the butter and spread the paste/sauce and then spread it around the salmon. Since it’s not direct heat, it should not burn but more like steam cook with miso sauce. 🙂
Hi! If I don’t have any sake and can’t get to the store right now, can I omit it or replace it with something else like water? I’d love to make this but I realize the importance of the sake to create the steam.
Hi Angela! Yeah water or any dry wine would do. Sake or wine will help with removing the fish smell. But other than that, it’s there for steaming. 🙂
Another outstanding recipe. I used Steelhead Trout instead of Salmon. That’s what I had. Also used regular old button mushrooms and shallots. I don’t think it made huge difference to the flavor, which was supplied by the sake, butter and drizzle of soy sauce. The entire family enjoyed this meal, even my seafood adverse husband.
Thank you.
Hi Kathrin! I’m so happy to hear that your family enjoyed this recipe! Thank you for your kind feedback, Kathrin! 🙂
I just found your site and I loved it! I want to try it all <3
Hi Simoni! Welcome, and thank you for finding my site! I hope you enjoy my recipes!
Recipe looks amazing! Im planning on making a lot more though (3 sides of filet with each being about 2 pounds, so 6 altogether) for a larger group. Any experience with the cooking time for this large amount of fish? Im worried it will come out too dry.
Thank you so much in advance!
Hi Arpita! As long as you keep the fish in the foil, it will not become dry until serving. Hope you enjoy! 🙂
This looks great.I always cook salmon on the BBQ in aluminium foil, usually with lemon and asparagus or tenderstem. But this looks like a great alternative, will try this week.
Hi Ed! Thank you for your kind feedback. I hope you enjoy cooking this at home! It’s very simple and versatile when it comes to seasoning! Hope you enjoy the recipe!
I love how simple this is! Definitely a great candidate for a busy weeknight dinner, and although I personally don’t like fish too much, salmon is the one exception I make. It’s relatively cheap and if cooked right, just melts in your mouth.
Hi Kevin! I hope you enjoy this recipe! It’s really easy to make and flavor profile can be changed according to your preference. 🙂