Teriyaki Salmon 照燒三文魚

What is a good dish to cook when you want something quick, easy and delicious? Salmon teriyaki is one of my top choices. I used to order salmon or chicken teriyaki very often at Japanese restaurants, it seems one can't go wrong with this combination of broiled/grilled meat topped with sweet savory sauce.

One day I decided to make my own teriyaki sauce using Just One Cookbook's recipe. I realized, to my surprise, how good yet simple it is. Ever since then, teriyaki has been a regular feature at home, it's one of my family's top favorites and being requested for all the time.

Teriyaki refers to a Japanese cooking technique in which foods are broiled, grilled or pan-fried with a glaze of soy sauce, sugar, mirin and/or sake. At the more traditional restaurants, they will dip or brush the meat with sauce several times during cooking. In this recipe for home cooking, the salmon is pan-fried first before being glazed with the teriyaki sauce. The ingredient ratio for the sauce can be adjusted to fit personal taste.

There are different breeds and cuts of salmon being sold in the supermarkets, with varying fat content. I prefer to use fatter salmon here as it makes a more tender bite, nicer taste and especially when salmon fat is good fat. If you enjoy teriyaki but have never made this at home, I strongly encourage you to try it!

RECIPE FOR TERIYAKI SALMON

Adapted from Just One Cookbook

Serves 2

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Ingredients

2 salmon fillets (about 350g-400g)

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp black pepper

1 Tbsp plain flour

1 Tbsp butter

1/2 Tbsp olive oil

1 Tbsp sake

Sauce

1½ Tbsp soy sauce

1½ Tbsp sugar

1 Tbsp mirin

1 Tbsp sake

Steps:

1) Mix the ingredients for sauce in a bowl and stir well till sugar dissolves.

2) Rinse salmon and pat dry, and season with salt and pepper. Coat salmon with flour on both sides and remove excess flour.

3) Over medium heat, add olive oil and butter to pan. When butter has melted, place salmon fillets in pan. Cook till salmon is nicely browned on one side. Flip fillet over and brown other side. 

4) Add 1 Tbsp sake and cover pan with lid to steam fish. The amount of time needed to cook salmon will depend on thickness of fish. I usually stick a knife into the center of the fillet and pry it open a little bit to check if it is fully-cooked. Turn the heat down a bit if the sides are getting too browned.

5) When they are cooked, transfer fillets to a plate.

6) Turn heat to low, add sauce and cook till slightly thickened. Add the fillets back to pan and spoon sauce over fillets. Once sauce thickens, transfer salmon with sauce to plate and serve hot.