Sweet Miso Salmon

Salmon is one of my favorite fish to cook. Because it’s a cold-water fish, it’s got plenty of oily goodness. It also has lots of good-for-you nutrients! Omega 3 fatty acids, B vitamins, potassium, selenium, and is a great source of easily digestible protein. Health pros will tell you it’s great for heart health, and bone health. It also helps your body reduce inflammation and heal / repair after injury. This sweet miso glazed salmon is a great way to enjoy all that goodness.

Salmon is known as a superfood, not just for overall health reasons, but is also a “beauty superfood.” Those Omega-3s protect your skin from the sun and contain plenty of antioxidants! It even blocks enzymes that break down collagen in your skin. It can also help boost serotonin levels. In short, salmon makes you feel and look good, inside and out.

I love salmon as sashimi, as sushi, and marinated as poke or ceviche. But one of my very favorite ways to prepare cooked salmon is this Sweet Miso Glazed Salmon. It’s super simple to make (the whole thing takes less than 20 minutes from beginning to end). I promise it’s the softest, melt-in-your-mouth-iest cooked salmon you’ve ever had!

I promise my Sweet Miso Glazed Salmon will impress your date, as well as your friends and family. Serve with a bowl of rice and miso soup for a traditional Japanese meal. It’s also fantastic the next day! Add to a bento box, or serve on a bed of salad greens with some mandarin orange pieces.

This sweet miso glaze is also really good with chicken. Salmon doesn’t require marinating, because it’s such a soft, delicate protein, but with chicken, marinating it for a couple of hours can help get those flavors all throughout the meat if you’re planning on oven-roasting. On a grill, you can definitely use this just like a BBQ sauce, for a Japanese spin on your traditional BBQ chicken.

For other delicious Japanese entrees, try my Chashu Pork, Japanese Beef Stew, Miso Eggplant, and Nikujaga. They’re all so good!

Ingredients

• 2 salmon filets
• 2 tbsp hot water
• 2 tbsp white miso
• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• ¼ cup light brown sugar

Directions

Remove skin from salmon filets. Place on baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

In a bowl, combine hot water and miso.

Add sugar and soy sauce to create a glaze.

Brush glaze on salmon filets; don’t forget to glaze the sides.

Set toaster oven to 400F at 10-15 minutes, depending on the thickness of your filet. If using a traditional oven, preheat to 375F for the same amount of time.

Brush on additional glaze two more times during the cooking time (approx every 3-5 minutes).

Serve this sweet miso glazed salmon alongside steamed short-grain Japanese rice, miso soup, and some fresh vegetables for traditional Japanese breakfast or date night dinner (crunchy cucumbers are perfect!) – or serve as a salad on some mixed greens and mandarin orange pieces. This also keeps well in the fridge overnight, to use in a bento box the following day.