An easy recipe that needs just 5 minutes of prep and 10 minutes in the oven. The salmon will turn out rich, moist, and buttery.
I used to cook salmon exclusively on the stovetop, because I was obsessed with crispy salmon skin. Lately I’ve been using the oven more often, especially when I want to get dinner on the table as fast as possible. The thing I love about baked salmon is that it is cooked more evenly, and the texture of the fish comes out more consistent. When I cook salmon on the stove, I need to keep it medium rare to get a moist texture. But when baking, I’ve found that the fish will taste very juicy and tender even when cooked through.
Today I want to share a new sauce to enjoy with salmon. The recipe was inspired by the roasted salmon glazed with brown sugar and mustard by the New York Times. I wanted to create a different version of the classic honey soy sauce glazed salmon.
The things I did differently:
- Use plenty of mustard to add acid instead of vinegar or lime, so it thickens the sauce naturally.
- Replace brown sugar with honey to make the recipe healthier.
- Use fresh herbs to give the fish a richer flavor.
- Bake the fish instead of cooking it on the stovetop, so you can prepare a side dish while cooking it.
Some baked salmon recipes recommend using the broiler all the way through, to create a crispy surface. I found this method is not very consistent. Since the honey glaze has a very high sugar content, it can easily end up burning the fish. With this glaze, you don’t need to have a crispy surface to enjoy the freshness of the salmon. The sauce will be cooked until thickened, so that it coats the salmon very well, and guarantees a satisfying mouthfeel.
To add a quick side dish, you could try the Garlic Spinach in Chicken Broth, Broccoli with Oyster Sauce, or Baby bok Choy with Garlic Soy Sauce. These are sides you can easily finish cooking in less than 10 minutes. If you cook brown rice beforehand, you can serve a hot dinner of freshly cooked fish and vegetables in 30 minutes.
Thaw, cook, and store properly
I always keep packaged frozen fish in the fridge. It is a great way to put a healthy and delicious protein on the dinner table, really fast.
To make the prep, serving, and storage easier, I want to introduce the OXO 14 Piece Glass Bake, Serve & Store Set. The set comes with four bakeware and four storage containers that work great for meal preparation.
First, remove the fish from the packaging and thaw it in the fridge. Note: never thaw fish on your countertop. Fish is very delicate and it loses its freshness very quickly in a warm environment. You should always thaw fish in the fridge and cook it without letting it return to room temperature.
I used the largest baking dish to thaw and bake the salmon instead of my usual “plate + plastic wrap” combo. I especially like the slosh-proof lid. It seals the odors and liquid inside without contaminating other items. Plus I can place other containers on top without squashing the fish.
Brown rice is the perfect side dish to serve with the salmon. You can cook it on the weekend, freeze it in portions in the fridge, and heat it up in a few minutes in the microwave just before serving.
I recommend these thermal shock resistant snap containers for this purpose. Both the lid and the container can withstand up to 250 degrees F of temperature change, so you can move the rice directly from the freezer into the microwave without the container cracking. Cooking rice without thawing, and heating it up properly are must-follow procedures to prevent foodborne illness. Just remember, you need to release the tabs on the container before heating it up in the microwave.
Lastly, you can use the bakeware to store the leftover fish. We are a family of two, but I always cook four fillets. Cooked fish stays in the fridge for 3 to 4 days and in the freezer for up to 3 months. Using the bakeware for storing, you can heat them up in the oven directly from the freezer, thus saving time and making for easy clean-up.
While I’d like to thank OXO for providing 14 Piece Glass Bake, Serve & Store Set, all the opinions in this articles are my own.
Honey Soy Sauce Glazed Salmon
Ingredients
- 4 pieces salmon fillets (*see footnote 2)
- 4 tablespoons honey (or brown sugar)
- 4 tablespoons soy sauce (or tamari for gluten-free)
- 4 tablespoons whole-grain Dijon mustard
- 2 teaspoons ginger , minced
- 1/4 teaspoon ground paprika (or chili powder)
Instructions
- Adjust oven rack to top third. Preheat oven to 220 degrees C (425 F). Spray a thin layer of oil onto a large baking dish.
- Whisk honey, soy sauce, Dijon mustard, ginger, and chili pepper in a small bowl.
- Place the salmon into the baking dish, skin side down. Pour marinade over each piece of salmon.
- Bake for 6 minutes, until the surface of the salmon is cooked, but the fish is still raw inside. Turn on broiler. Bake for another 2 to 3 minutes, until the salmon is just cooked to the preferred doneness. To check doneness, gently lift the thick end of the salmon. If the fish flakes easily along the grain, it is done. The salmon will be the tenderest if it is still a bit pink inside. If you prefer your salmon cooked through, return it to the oven and bake for another one or two minutes.
- Serve immediately with rice and spinach.
- For more information on preparation and storage, see the blog post above.
Notes
- Try to select (2 cm) 1 inch thick fillets with an even thickness. If you use thicker salmon, you will need to extend the baking time.
Mmmm, I just had my shake and coffee, but somehow you managed to make me hungry again!
It’s my regular go-to recipe. Delicious, fast and easy.
I made something a bit similar to this last night, Maggie (a recipe from Nagi’s blog!), and it was absolutely delicious! Next time I’m going to try your version with honey and soy sauce instead of brown sugar, as you suggest.
It’s a great idea to make double, too. Do you heat it up the next day or eat it cold? 🙂
I often use Nagi’s blog to make our weekday dinners too, because every single of her recipe is so solid!
Yes I heat up the salmon before serving. I bake it at 350F until the salmon is warm but not hot (don’t want to overcook it). Of course you can microwave it too. It is very tasty when serving cold too, but I always like serving my dinner warm 🙂
I love how detailed you are with your post Maggie . Always learn something new every time I visit which is quite often. Gorgeous Pics!!!!
Thanks Imma! I’m trying to include as many information into my recipes. Glad to hear it worked!
Hello Maggie, I’m looking for some guidance. I’ve made several recipes from your website and love them all. I have some fresh wahoo and grouper fillets that my husband caught on Sunday. I’d like to bake them with an asian flavor profile and as I look on line I keep seeing salmon. This recipe looks good – do you think it would be good with a firm white fish like wahoo or grouper, or would you tweak it a little?
Hi Julie, I’m pretty sure the same sauce works with those white fish too. When we cook white fish, we often rub it with cumin and chili powder, sometimes curry, and sometimes satay blend. And of course, a bit soy sauce and honey never hurt. If you want to tweak anything, probably make it less sweet.
It’s funny that you mentioned most online recipes are salmon. Because it’s such a popular fish. We cook with catfish a lot. But sometimes even when I found out a good white fish recipe, I’d manage to switch it to salmon when I share the post, so people tend to like it more lol
Thank you so much for making this website, I spent so long searching for a website with Asian recipes so well explained. You helped me so much with my GCSE coursework and cooking. Thanks for the great recipes,
Fabulous. I made double the glaze so that there would be more to top it off at the end of cooking. Everyone loved it.
Hello,
I would like to use your recipe for both salmon and chicken thighs. Do you have any recommendations on adapting recipe to chicken?
Thank you
Hi Lynda, you will need longer baking time for chicken thigh, 20 minutes for boneless thighs and 30 minutes for bone-in thighs.
Due to the longer baking time, the marinate will probably thicken better without turning on the broiler. Check on the chicken every 10 minutes. For the thigh, if the sauce gets too thick at the end and start burning, cover the pan with aluminum foil to prevent from burning.
Happy cooking and hope your dish turns out great!
Maggie, the chicken was fantastic and your directions adapting from salmon to chicken were perfect. Thank you so much !
I love how simply yet delicious this dish is! I had it with cauliflower rice, it makes an excellent meal together!
I made this dish with a Costco size salmon filet, and the baking and broiling time works just as well.
So good! Salmon was absolutely perfectly cooked. The marinade was exactly what I was looking for and I couldn’t wait to eat my left overs the next day.
Ridiculously easy, tender as promised, and addicting to boot! This has been swiftly added to my rotational salmon recipes!
This sounds delicious and I would love to make it. Are you able to still cook this recipe on the stove top? And my boyfriend doesn’t like am I able to omit that without ruining the flavor profile?
I’m pretty sure you can cook this one on stove top. I actually think the bok choy will cook better this way (you can either steam them by cooking them in the pan with a bit of water and cover the pan, or blanch them).
For your second question, I think you forgot to type what you want to omit from the recipe.