Ready in 15 minutes, my easy and mouthwatering Teriyaki Salmon recipe makes a light and savory meal on any weeknight. I’ll show you how to pan-grill the tender salmon fillets and make a homemade teriyaki sauce in the traditional Japanese method.
I grew up eating a variety of fish in Japan, and salmon was a favorite in our household. Today, I’ll share an authentic and easy Teriyaki Salmon recipe, just like we make at home. You’ll learn the secret to keeping the salmon juicy yet crispy and how to make a perfectly balanced sauce with just 4 ingredients!
Craving more salmon dishes? Try my Miso Salmon, Japanese Salted Salmon, and Salmon in Foil recipes next!
What is Teriyaki?
Teriyaki (照り焼き) in Japanese actually describes a cooking method that first appeared in Japan in the 1600s. Teri (照り) means luster, and yaki (焼き) means grilled, broiled, or pan-fried. It essentially refers to any food cooked this way that’s brushed with a shiny glaze called tare (タレ). Outside Japan, both the cooking style and sauce are commonly called teriyaki.
Salmon, chicken, yellowtail (hamachi), pork, and tofu are the most popular ingredients to cook teriyaki-style in Japan. Home cooks pan-fry them instead of cooking in an oven.
Why I Love This Recipe
- It’s easy and no fuss! Pan-grill the fillets until golden brown outside and juicy inside, then finish it off with a sweet-savory homemade glaze. I love the simplicity of this delicious, one-pan dish.
- Ready in just 15 minutes – Japanese-style salmon filets are thinly sliced to cook fast in the pan. Read more in Nami’s Recipe Tips.
- Uses a traditional sauce with 4 ingredients – Most Japanese teriyaki recipes use only soy sauce, sake, mirin, and sugar (optional). For the best taste, we typically prepare a simple sauce from scratch.
- No marination needed – For the perfect seasoning, you only need the glaze that’s reduced in the pan. It allows the delicate flavor of the salmon to shine through without overwhelming it.
Ingredients for Teriyaki Salmon
- Skin-on salmon fillets – ¾ inch (2 cm) thick
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- All-purpose flour – for coating the salmon
- Cooking oil and unsalted butter
- Sake – for steaming
- Homemade teriyaki sauce:
- Sake
- Mirin
- Soy sauce
- Sugar
Find the printable recipe with measurements below.
Jump to Recipe
Substitutions
- All-purpose flour: Use cornstarch or potato starch for gluten-free.
- Sake: You can substitute Chinese rice wine, dry sherry, or water.
- Mirin: If you can’t find it, substitute 1 Tbsp sake (or water) + 1 tsp sugar for every 1 Tbsp mirin. The flavor won’t be the same, but it’s close.
- Soy sauce: Use gluten-free soy sauce or tamari if needed.
How to Make Teriyaki Salmon
Preparation
Step 1 – Prepare the sauce and salmon. Whisk together the sauce ingredients. Season both sides of the salmon with kosher salt and ground black pepper and coat evenly with flour.
Cooking
Step 2 – Cook. Heat a pan over medium heat, then add oil and butter. Sear the skin against the hot pan‘s surface for 15 seconds then lay the fillets skin side down. Cook until golden brown, and then flip over.
Step 3 – Steam. Add the sake and cover the pan. Reduce the heat to low and steam for 3–5 minutes or until the internal temperature registers 125–130°F (52–54ºC). Transfer to a plate.
Step 4 – Simmer the sauce, then glaze the salmon. Coat the salmon with the hot sauce. Reduce and thicken the glaze, then turn off the heat.
Step 5 – Serve. Drizzle with pan sauce and serve the teriyaki salmon as a main dish to your meal.
Nami’s Recipe Tips
- Use thin, Japanese-style salmon fillets – Use skin-on fillets sliced thin and diagonally, about ½ to ¾ inch (1.3-2 cm) thick. This helps prevent overcooking, keeps the salmon juicy, and lets it absorb the seasoning faster. In the US, you can find them sold at Japanese grocery stores. If you buy a whole side of salmon, check out my tutorial on How to Cut Salmon into Japanese-style Fillets.
- Coat the salmon evenly with flour. This is the secret to juicy salmon! The flour creates a protective layer that locks in the umami and juices while helping the sauce to thicken and absorb better. For a gluten-free option, use cornstarch or potato starch.
- Sear the salmon skin first before laying it down. The skin is so delicious when it’s crispy. Hold the fillet and press the skin against the hot pan for 15 seconds.
- Place the presentation side (skin side) down into the pan first. The side that hits the pan while it is clean gets the best browning.
- Check the internal temperature with a digital thermometer. Use an instant-read thermometer and cook to an internal temperature of 125–130°F (52–54ºC) at the thickest part. This takes out the guesswork so the salmon cooks perfectly every time.
Variations and Customizations
- Play with the sauce ratios. In Japanese cooking, we commonly adjust the seasonings to taste. For example, you can use less or low sodium soy sauce and reduce the amount of sugar accordingly by a teaspoon or so.
- Try a different fish. You can use this same cooking technique to make Yellowtail Teriyaki, a classic Japanese grilled fish recipe.
- Make it vegan/vegetarian. Crispy outside, soft inside—my Teriyaki Tofu offers a delicious textural contrast.
- Try it with chicken. You could skip the salmon and go straight to my Chicken Teriyaki and Teriyaki Chicken Meatballs recipes.
What to Serve with Teriyaki Salmon
Teriyaki salmon pairs perfectly well with many different side dishes. For a healthy Japanese-style weeknight dinner, I like to serve it with a vegetable side dish, soup, and steamed rice. Here are some suggestions I think you’d like:
Storage Tips
Did you know that you can do a lot with leftover teriyaki salmon? I love it in Teriyaki Salmon Bento, on a rice bowl, on Ochazuke (Green Tea Over Rice), or with noodles. It’s also great in Teriyaki Salmon Onigirazu (Rice Sandwich).
To store: You can keep the leftovers in an airtight container and store in the refrigerator for up to 3 days and in the freezer for 2 weeks.
Frequently Asked Questions
Many non-Japanese recipes include ingredients like rice vinegar, honey, brown sugar, sesame oil, sesame seeds, hoisin sauce, green onion, or garlic. While these can be flavorful, they’re not part of traditional Japanese teriyaki sauce.
For extra depth, I sometimes add grated ginger or onion, but never rice vinegar, sesame oil, or hoisin sauce. Some use a cornstarch slurry to thicken the sauce, but it’s unnecessary—simmering naturally reduces and thickens it, and the flour (or starch) on the fish helps as well.
Follow the baking method from my Miso Salmon recipe. Make the teriyaki sauce separately and brush it on the salmon multiple times while baking for 10–15 minutes.
Japanese-style salmon fillets are thinner than typical US cuts, so they cook faster. For perfect results, use an instant-read thermometer and cook to 125–130°F (52–54ºC) at the thickest part.
Yes, you can adjust the sugar to your taste. I recommend keeping some sweetness to balance the soy sauce’s saltiness. You can also use honey or maple syrup, but be careful—they burn easily.
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To Make the Teriyaki Sauce
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In a microwave-safe bowl, combine the ingredients for the teriyaki sauce: 1 Tbsp sake, 1 Tbsp mirin, 2 Tbsp soy sauce, and 1 Tbsp sugar. Mix well to dissolve the sugar.
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To help dissolve the sugar, you can microwave the mixture for 30 seconds.
To Prepare the Salmon
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Rinse 2 skin-on salmon fillets and pat dry. Season one side with some of the ¼ tsp Diamond Crystal kosher salt and ⅛ tsp freshly ground black pepper. Tip: The salmon skin will hold the flesh together while cooking.
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Flip over and season the other side with the remaining salt and black pepper.
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Sprinkle half of the 1 Tbsp all-purpose flour (plain flour) on one side of the salmon and coat evenly. Tip: Coating the salmon with flour helps retain its umami flavor and juiciness. It also helps absorb the sauce and thickens it.
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Flip over and sprinkle the rest of the flour on the other side. Gently press it to adhere, then remove the excess flour.
To Cook the Salmon
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Heat a frying pan over medium heat. When hot, add ½ Tbsp neutral oil and 1 Tbsp unsalted butter. Do not burn the butter. If the pan gets too hot, reduce the heat or move the pan off the heat temporarily. Next, sear the salmon skin: One fillet at a time, press the skin against the hot pan‘s surface for 15 seconds before laying the fillet skin side down in the pan. Repeat with the other fillet. Tip: The presentation side (the skin side) should go into the pan first because you will get the best browning on the first side that hits the clean pan.
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Cook the salmon for 3 minutes until the bottom is golden brown, and then flip.
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To the pan, add 1 Tbsp sake—1 Tbsp for thin fillets and no more than 2 Tbsp for thicker fillets. Cover the pan with a lid and reduce the stove‘s heat to low. Steam the salmon for about 3–5 minutes, depending on the fillet thickness. If the sake has evaporated but the salmon isn‘t cooked through yet, add another tablespoon of sake and continue steaming.
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Cook the salmon until it registers an internal temperature of 125–130°F (52–54ºC) at the thickest part of the fillet (I use a Thermapen instant-read thermometer). Then, transfer the salmon to a tray or plate. These fillets were about ¾–1 inch (2–2.5 cm) thick and took roughly 4 minutes to cook. Tip: The USDA recommends cooking fish to an internal temperature of 145°F (63ºC); however, the residual heat will continue to cook the salmon, so you must remove the fillets at 125–130°F (52–54ºC) to avoid overcooking.
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Add the teriyaki sauce ingredients to the pan and increase the heat a bit. When the sauce starts to boil, add the salmon back to the pan.
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Spoon the sauce over the salmon. When the sauce thickens, turn off the heat. Transfer the salmon to a plate and drizzle the sauce on top.
Calories: 274 kcal · Carbohydrates: 9 g · Protein: 24 g · Fat: 13 g · Saturated Fat: 5 g · Polyunsaturated Fat: 3 g · Monounsaturated Fat: 4 g · Trans Fat: 1 g · Cholesterol: 77 mg · Sodium: 723 mg · Potassium: 565 mg · Fiber: 1 g · Sugar: 6 g · Vitamin A: 221 IU · Calcium: 17 mg · Iron: 1 mg
Editor’s Note: This post was originally published on April 25, 2013. It was updated with new step-by-step images and the final images in March 2022, with a new video on October 13, 2023, and republished with more helpful content on February 6, 2025.
