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.
Thank you Nami for sharing this wonderful recipe. I tried it using the same measurements and came out so delicious. My family loved it very much.
Hi Susana! Yay!👏🏻 Nami and JOC team are so happy to hear the Salmon came out so delicious!
Thank you very much for trying this recipe and for your kind feedback.
Can you use frozen salmon fillets for this recipe?
Hi Amelia, Sure, you can use frozen salmon for this recipe.
Please adjust the cooking time as need it. Thank you for trying this recipe!
Absolutely delicious. I did add a little fresh ginger to the mix.
Light, fresh, quick, tasty and healthy
Thank you so much for sharing your beautiful recipes ❤️
Hi Katrina, Thank you very much for your kind feedback!
We are so happy to hear the Salmon turned out delicious!
Absolutely delicious ! I love your website.
I just moved to Japan last November and with the COVID have to cook a lot.
Thank you for all your recipes, insights, and hard work!
Hi Agnieszka, Thank you very much for trying this recipe and for your kind feedback! We are glad to hear you enjoy our website! Happy Cooking!😊
I made a foil of salmon with mirin and radish for the humans and a small plain piece for the cat on her birthday. Sorry to say, the cat rejected her piece but the mirin salmon was delicious.
One small piece of skin stuck to the foil but the rest was recoverable.
I was nervous that my stainless steel pan was going to be destroyed but everything worked out. Thank you for the recipe.
Hi Dave, First of all, Happy birthday to your cat!🎁 Thank you very much for trying this recipe and for your kind feedback. We are glad to hear you enjoyed this salmon, and we didn’t destroy your pan!😁
I am so excited to try this tonight! Quick question though… I only have some rice cooking wine, I do not have any sake on hand. Can I substitute the rice wine instead? Thanks so much!!!
Hi Julie!
The rice cooking wine should work. However, if it’s a sweet wine, the salmon will be sweeter, so please adjust the seasoning.
We hope you enjoy it!
Tried this recipe for a quick lunch today. Love it! It’s so easy to make and I didn’t burn my frying pan… 😆
Hi Eve,
We are so glad to hear it turned out great for you!😉
Thank you for trying this recipe and for your kind feedback!
Such a lovely recipe! Just wondering: can we do this using parchment parcels or parchment baking bags instead of aluminum foil?
Hi Lynn,
Sure! It will work with parchment parcels as well.
Thank you for trying this recipe!
Ohhhhh… this was SO wonderful! I used Chilean Sea Bass because that is what I had. Very minimal tweaks: added some maitake mushrooms to the shimegi and shitake. I had no chives so I finely sliced scallion and added them with the carrots, so the steam would soften their pungency. And yes, I used my parchment pouches instead of foil. All else exactly as you wrote it. Oh, used Marukan Yuzu Ponzu … quite good, and adds nice note to the finished dish. So fast, easy and so incredibly delicious (and a bit romantic.)
Oh, and because I had a nice packet of fresh shiso leaves (and am obsessed with their flavor), I cut them into very fine shreds and used as garnish. I will make this dish and it’s variations over and over. Thank you! 🙏🏽 ☺️
Hi Lynn!
We are so happy to hear it came out great!👏🏻 And a bit romantic with parchment pouches!😁
Thank you very much for sharing your cooking experience with us and for your kind feedback!
Hi Namiko, this is my favourite recipes of yours and I have cooked umpteen times. ❤️ May I know if this method works the same as steaming without foil over a pan of water?
Hi Ting,
Thank you very much for trying this recipe many times!💞
This recipe would work for steaming as well. However, the foil keeps the flavor and the Umami inside and makes the Salmon tastier, so we strongly recommend using the foil technique.
We hope this helps!
Love this recipe! 🙂 I have cooked the original version several times and now looking to try the variations (yum). I think I might cook the miso-mirin version next. How much miso and mirin do you think should I use to replace the butter and sake?
Hi Gul,
Thank you very much for your kind feedback!
Miso and mirin version sounds great! However, we have not tested this version yet.
How about try 1 Tbsp each? Miso and butter also sound good too. Let us know how it goes!😁
Thanks very much for the recommendation! 🙂 I used 1 tbsp of miso and 1 tbsp of mirin (divided across the two fillets) exactly as you recommended. I omitted salt from the original recipe given miso is pretty salty. I also drizzled a little sesame oil on each foil before putting the ingredients. Turned out just perfect! 🙂
Hi Gul!
Thank you very much for your update!🤩
We are so glad to hear that it turned out great! Thank you!☺️
Hi, I love your Salmon in Foil recipe, seems very nutritious and easy to make.
I have a couple of questions: is it safe to cook in aluminum foil? Is is possible to cook it in the oven instead? At what temperature?
I love your website and all your recipes.
Thank you very much!!!!
Best regards
Hi Patricia,
Thank you very much for trying this recipe!
Aluminum foil is safe to use for this recipe. But please make sure that foil is not touching the heating/broiler element inside the oven.
The oven temperature should be 400 ºF (200 ºC) and bake it for 12-15 minutes. (Step 11)
I hope this helps!😊
Easy and delicious — a winner!
Hi Yi-Nan! So happy! Thank you for your kind feedback and for trying this recipe!
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. 🙂