Miso Grilled Salmon is savory and sweet miso-marinated salmon grilled in a frying pan. Once the fish is prepared in the marinade, the cooking part doesn’t take much time at all. Delightfully tender and flaky, this salmon is a great dish that goes perfectly with fluffy steamed rice and makes a perfect dinner for everyday meals.
What’s Miso Grilled Salmon?
Miso marinating and grilling is a frequently used technique in Japanese cuisine. While miso paste is most famous for miso soup outside Japan, it’s actually a great seasoning for many dishes. Miso paste can tenderize meat and fish while reducing unwanted odors and adding a nice savory aroma and flavor.
The miso grilling technique is most often used with white fish like cod. The typical miso paste used in many recipes is white miso, specifically Saikyo miso. Saikyoyaki uses Saikyo miso, a type of white miso made in Kyoto. Saikyo miso has a very nice, sophisticated sweetness that’s perfect for marinades. However, since Saikyo miso is hard to find in the US, it can be substituted with white miso, which is easily found at many American supermarkets.
White miso has a much milder flavor than red miso. White miso is indeed milder and sweeter than other kinds of miso paste, and by marinating fish in it, the fish absorbs just enough saltiness to penetrate to the center. Mirin (sweet rice wine) and sake also give a nice aroma to the fish. If you only have awase miso (a mix of white and red, often used in miso soup), it works wonderfully too. Just be aware that the sodium level is higher than white miso.
In Japan, when we grill fish, we use a fish grill, which is similar to a broiler. If you have a toaster oven, that may be the closest alternative, but you can easily cook it in the conventional oven like in our recipe. Also you can cook it on the stovetop in a nonstick frying pan.
Tips and substitutions for Miso Grilled Salmon
- This recipe uses salmon, but you can use your favorite fish or other proteins. Using the miso marinating and grilling technique, any ingredient will become tender and moist.
- If you have white miso, there’s no need to adjust the other ingredients. If you’re using darker miso (red miso, especially Hatcho miso, is not suitable for this recipe), increase the amount of sweeteners (sugar or mirin). However, be aware that higher sugar content means the food burns more easily. Remove the miso mixture very well before cooking.
- Another point regarding burning is to cook at low heat the entire time when cooking in a frying pan. It takes a little longer to cook the salmon through, but it’s safer and prevents burning.
- Miso Grilled Salmon is a great entree, but it’s also perfect as an item in a bento lunch or as an appetizer with drinks. It’s very versatile.
More recipes like Miso Grilled Salmon
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Ingredients
- 1/4 cups Miso paste (white)
- 2 Tbsp Sake
- 2 Tbsp Mirin
- 1 Tbsp sugar
- 4 pieces salmon fillets
Instructions
- Mix miso, mirin, sake, and sugar in a bowl. Marinate salmon fillets in the miso mixture for at least 3 hours, or overnight.
- Carefully wipe excess marinade from the salmon fillets.
- If using an oven: Preheat oven to 450°F. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil, lightly oil it, and bake for 10-12 minutes.
- If cooking on the stovetop: Heat a nonstick frying pan with a touch of oil over low heat. Place salmon fillets in the pan and cook until nicely browned on both sides.
This recipe was originally published in May 2012. The post was updated on October 15, 2025 with more useful content, new photos.
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 :>)