miso+soy+salmon
Salmon is such an easy fish to play with, though admittedly I haven’t been overly adventurous with the flavors I typically use when making it for my family. Fish has been tough to sell at the dinner table with some of our children and there are just some days where the fight isn’t worth it (IFYKY). Once you find a preparation that will keep your kids from making the dinner table a battle ground, you tend to stick with it!
That being said, I get bored eating the same thing too frequently, as does my husband. So that doesn’t work for us for long and apparently we hate peace at the dinner table because we continue to test the waters.
For this switch-up, the fight was absolutely worth it – actually the fight was non-existent once our son leaned down to smell this after it was on his plate. We got the long sniff, the suspicious side-eye and then the finger poke into the glaze to taste it first. Within minutes, his fish was gone and he was asking if we made enough for him to have seconds. Quite honestly, if that isn’t an endorsement for this salmon, I don’t know what is!
Let’s get into the ingredients – this is a glaze with relatively few ingredients and what really takes it to the next level is the use of the red miso.
What is miso? Miso is a fermented soybean paste very commonly used in Japanese cuisines that dates back over 1,300 years, with three common varieties.
- White Miso
- Yellow Miso
- Red Miso
In the case of miso, the lighter the color, the shorter it is aged and the more delicate the flavor. White or yellow miso are traditionally used to make miso soup, a common dish at a Japanese steakhouse. Red miso is typically aged for 1-3 years and is used for heartier marinades or stews. The key ingredients in miso paste are soybeans, a roasted grain and a culture known as koji.
Guess what other ingredient happens to have the same key ingredients and a similar fermentation process?? SOY SAUCE.
As a student on this flavor journey, imagine my delight to learn and understand the reason behind why miso and soy sauce make such a perfect pairing. With such similarities, of course they marry beautifully together. Now there are several very small differences in the process that could be an entire post on their own (and probably will be some day!) but the largest differences are the percentage of soybeans in the initial mixture, the amount of water that is added during the fermentation stage and how the salt is incorporated.
Now onto the salmon. Most of us are familiar with two varieties – Atlantic and Sockeye. In this recipe, the salmon is truly just the vehicle for the sauce – while flavor and quality are obviously important, using one or the other will not overly impact the balance in the recipe. I’ve used both in the recipe tests and truly didn’t notice a difference.
This recipe not only brings huge flavor to the table, it doesn’t take a ton of time to do it! The glaze comes together in 10 minutes in a saucepan and the fish itself cooks in about 20 minutes. To round out the plate, I strongly recommend serving this dish with steamed jasmine rice, as it is a perfect vessel to soak up all the extra sauce. If you’re feeling fancy, a sprinkle of sesame seeds and/or sliced scallions really make the presentation pop!
miso+soy+salmon
Now it’s your turn! What would you do with this flavor combination? Tell me in the comments!
Printmiso soy salmon
this extremely flavorful salmon will turn anyone who doesn’t like fish into a believer!
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 4 4-oz servings 1x
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup soy sauce
- 1/4 cup light brown sugar
- 2 tbsp butter
- 1 tbsp red miso
- 6 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tbsp ground ginger
- 1/2 tbsp white vinegar
- 1 lb salmon fillet
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
In a small saucepan, combine all the glaze ingredients. Heat over medium low heat, whisking together as the butter melts to make one cohesive sauce. Cook for 5 minutes more to ensure sugar is melted then remove from heat.
Spray 13×9″ glass baking dish with cooking spray. Place salmon in a glass baking dish, skin side down.
Pour the glaze over the salmon and place in the oven for 15-20 minutes. Bake until internal temperature of the fish reads 125F (for medium doneness) or until the fish flakes easily with a fork.
Remove from oven and let cool for 5 minutes. Serve with rice or noodles of choice.
Notes
I love serving this dish with rice because it is so much better at soaking up the extra sauce, which I never want to leave even a drop of on my plate!
