Teriyaki Salmon Bowls (38g Protein)

Bottled teriyaki sauce is mostly sugar and cornstarch. Real teriyaki is soy, mirin, sake, and a little sugar, and it takes 10 seconds to mix. Pour it over pan-crisped salmon and you get a bowl with 38g of protein in about 20 minutes.

Salmon is the easiest fish to cook well, and this method is close to foolproof.

Why this works

Two rules. First, dry skin plus a hot pan plus patience equals crispy skin; if you move the fillet early it tears. Second, the sauce goes in only after the fish is nearly done. Teriyaki reduces fast, and if it hits the pan too early it burns before the salmon cooks through. Off the heat it tightens into a glaze that clings instead of pooling.

Ingredient notes

Mirin is sweet rice wine and it is what makes teriyaki taste like teriyaki; most supermarkets stock it near the soy sauce. No sake? Use water, not more mirin, or the glaze gets cloying. Skin-on fillets are worth asking for, but the recipe works with skinless too, just cut the first sear to 3 minutes.

Teriyaki Salmon Bowls

Crispy-skinned salmon glazed in real teriyaki, which is four ingredients, not a bottle.

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Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 12 minutes mins

Total Time 22 minutes mins

Servings: 4 bowls

Calories: 640

Ingredients Method

Ingredients

  

• 700 g salmon fillets, skin on 4 fillets, about 1.5 lb
• 4 tbsp soy sauce
• 3 tbsp mirin
• 1 tbsp sake or water
• 1 tbsp sugar
• 2 tsp fresh ginger, grated
• 1 tbsp neutral oil
• 500 g broccoli florets

Method

 

1. Stir the soy sauce, mirin, sake, sugar, and ginger together. That is teriyaki. No cornstarch, no garlic powder, no bottle.
2. Pat the salmon dry. Dry skin is the entire secret to crispy skin.
3. Heat the oil in a nonstick pan over medium-high. Lay the salmon in skin side down and do not move it for 4 minutes. Press gently with a spatula for the first 30 seconds so the skin stays flat.
4. Flip, cook 2 minutes, then pour in the sauce. Let it bubble and reduce for 2 to 3 minutes, spooning it over the fish as it thickens.
5. Meanwhile, roast or pan-char the broccoli with a pinch of salt.
6. Serve over rice, glaze spooned on top, skin side up so it stays crisp.

Tips and storage

For meal prep, slightly undercook the salmon; it finishes in the microwave without turning to sawdust. Keeps 3 days refrigerated. The sauce scales well, so make a double batch and keep it in a jar for chicken or tofu later in the week.