Miso-Glazed Salmon
How did I ever live without miso? Its history dates back thousands of years to China and Japan. Over 500 years ago, the Japanese started curing (“pickling”) fish with miso in Kyoto. Nobu Matsuhisa, of Nobu restaurant fame, introduced his beloved “Miso-Marinated Black Cod” in the early 2000s. And my mom made Cook’s Illustrated Miso-Marinated Salmon back in 2015, which was my first recollection and savoring of an umami-rich miso paste.
Sure, I had had miso soup in Japanese restaurants for many years, loved it, and felt a comfort similar to chicken soup. But I didn’t make the connection to the jars my mom used to make her Miso-Marinated Salmon, and which I subsequently have made many times, tinkering with the recipe and using different types of miso. Now I keep many different jars of umami-rich miso paste in my refrigerator, and at almost any time of the day, almost stealthily, I will scoop out a teaspoon and eat it straight from the jar. The Nobu and Cook’s Illustrated miso-marinades have only four ingredients: white miso paste, sugar, sake, and mirin. My recipe also includes grated ginger, rice vinegar, and sesame oil. The miso marinade works as a curing technique: miso (an unpasteurized paste made by fermenting soybeans, salt, and a grain- or bean-based starter called koji), sugar, and alcohol seasons and pulls out moisture from the salmon. Not only does the flesh become firmer and denser but the marinade adds sweetness, acidity, and a more pronounced, complex umami savoriness.
Though I prefer fresh wild salmon, usually in season from late spring through late summer, fresh, high-quality farmed salmon also works, and some people, like my mom and Nancy, prefer it to wild salmon. Make sure you have good quality miso and, if available, real mirin (see Notes). The most common cooking methods are broiling or grilling. Pan-frying and subsequent baking in the oven is another option. I recommend using a digital thermometer so as not to overcook the salmon.
SERVES 4
MARINADES 6–24 HOURS
Ingredients
4 6- to 8-ounce skin-on salmon fillets
⅓ cup white miso
¼ cup mirin (see Notes) or ¼-cup sake and 1 tablespoon sugar
3 tablespoons rice vinegar
2 teaspoons ginger, grated
1 tablespoon sugar or maple syrup
2 teaspoons sesame oil
Kosher salt and ground black pepper, to taste
1 tablespoon sesame seeds, toasted
2 scallions, cut into rings diagonally, or dill
Pickled ginger (optional), for serving
Steps
Whisk miso, mirin, rice vinegar, ginger, sugar, and sesame oil in a medium bowl into a smooth paste. You can use some of this paste to brush on the fillets after cooking; if so, reserve ½ tablespoon per fillet in a container and refrigerate.
Dip each fillet into the miso marinade to coat evenly on all sides. Place fillets in either a Ziploc bag (and seal) or in a dish or bowl (seal with a cover or plastic wrap). Refrigerate the fillets for at least 6 hours and up to 24 hours.
Remove fillets from the refrigerator and wipe off excess marinade from fillets (do not rinse) so the excess marinade does not burn during cooking. If broiling, place fish skin-side down on a baking sheet (no aluminum foil) and place on oven rack about 6 inches from broiler. When broiling, if the flesh starts to blacken, move to a lower shelf. If grilling, place fish flesh down directly on the preheated grill grates and carefully turn onto its skin halfway through the grilling process. Broil or grill salmon until fillet-center registers 120°F, around 8–10 minutes.
Brush on reserved paste if desired. Transfer to a serving platter or individual plates. Garnish with sesame seeds and scallion rings (or dill). Serve.
Notes
Salmon: fresh only, wild or farmed (Faroe Island or Ōra King). Miso: South River Miso (from western MA, available at Whole Foods). Mirin: Mikawa or Takara. Sweetness: malted rice syrup or honey. Other fish: black cod, seabass, butterfish, arctic char. Meat options: chicken thighs, pork chops, ribeye.
