You might not have had Miso marinaded Salmon before. Yes, we use Miso paste for something other than Miso soup. Ordinary Japanese restaurants in the US don’t often seem to have this kind of dish on the menu. But it is quite popular dish in Japan because it’s tasty and very simple to make.
When fish or meat is marinaded in Miso paste, Miso gives it flavor, and also makes it tender. A famous kind of grilled fish marinaded in Miso is Saikyoyaki. Saikyoyaki uses Saikyo Miso, a kind of white Miso made in Kyoto. Saikyo Miso has a very nice, sophisticated sweetness that is perfect for a marinade. However, it is hard to get Saikyo Miso in the US, so we substituted with white Miso which is easily found at many American supermarkets.
White Miso has a much milder flavor than the red kind. It is still salty, but by marinading in it, fish absorbs only just enough saltiness to the center of the meat. Mirin, sweet rice wine, and Sake also gives a nice aroma to fish. We used salmon here, but other kinds of fish such as cod are very good, too. You can also use any kinds of meat. I love chicken thighs in this marinade…yum!
In Japan, when we grill fish, we use a fish grill which is like a toaster oven. But you might not have one (we don’t have it either:). So you can use a conventional oven instead, and that works well too. Because of the sugar in the marinade, it burns easily. Be sure to pat off excess marinade before and watch as it bakes in the oven.
This can be a main dish for a meal, or a great appetizer with your happy hour drink. Cheers!
Grilled Miso Salmon
Ingredients
- 1/4 cups Miso paste (white)
- 3 Tbsp Mirin
- 2 Tbsp Sake
- 1 Tbsp sugar
- 1 Tbsp soy sauce
- 4 pieces salmon fillets
Instructions
- Mix Miso, Mirin, Sake, sugar, and soy sauce in a bowl. Marinade salmon fillets in Miso mixture for at least 3 hours, or overnight.
- Preheat oven at 425F. Wipe marinade liquid well from salmon fillets and place them on oiled aluminum foil spread over a sheet pan.
- Bake for 10-12 minutes, until cooked through.
17 Comments
Would it be possible to use awase miso instead of white miso?
Yes, you can use awase miso. Thanks!
Will the taste be very different without sake
Amadea,
it tastes different without, but you could omit if you don’t have it.
Don’t worry, after it cook..you won’t able to taste the sake and mirin! In fact, they are the reason to make this dish yummy!
Kimmy,
glad you liked the recipe!
I had tuna steaks on hand so I substituted tuna steaks for salmon. I cut it into pieces to allow a better marinade. While the taste itself was pretty good, I feel the tuna is a bit too dry for this to be as enjoyable. I’m going to incorporate what I have left over into a soup/stew. I’m thinking about taking your Nikujaga recipe, taking out the meat, changing the cook time, then adding the tuna after the fact during some point during the cooling period. I’ve done similar things before and it’s turned out well in the past. So here’s to experimentation haha.
James,
I love your experimentation!
I like to use Kasu mixed with the Miso in place of liquid sake, will this work will on both the salmon and chicken?
Bob,
that sounds good. Let us know how it tasted.
Delicious!!! Amazing!!! おいしい!!!
Simon,
thanks!!!
very good!
sandra,
thanks! Try our Miso Grilled Chicken too!
You left out soy sauce in the instruction. I am going to make this for dinner tonight. Thank you for the recipe.
monica,
thanks for pointing that out!
I have made this recipe many times now. It is perfect – delicious and easy to make. Usually I don’t add the tablespoon of sugar (better for my diet). Sometimes I use butterfish, also very tasty. I also may let it marinate 2 or 3 days for extra goodness. Since I make it so often, it has taught me how to cook my fish to perfection. I use a pan on the stove with a bit of oil (& a splatter screen) only several minutes on each side. Thank you so much for this recipe :>)