Maple Soy Glazed Salmon
This sticky, sweet glazed salmon is about to become your new go-to salmon recipe. As it bakes in the oven, the incredible glaze transforms into a delightful sticky coating and helps to keep the inside of the fish perfectly moist. Packed with delicious Asian flavors like soy and hoisin, this glaze works double duty: it infuses the salmon with incredible flavor as a marinade, then turns beautifully sweet and sticky as it bakes. While I can imagine it being fantastic on chicken and shrimp, this glaze truly shines with salmon! Serve this amazing glazed salmon alongside some rice, such as my cilantro lime rice, and a side of something green, like our ginger green beans or steamed cabbage. It’s also fantastic with a fresh side, such as my broccoli slaw or my new favorite Napa cabbage salad! Key Ingredients Salmon: Any salmon fillet will work, but I especially love baking salmon with higher fat content, like sockeye, king, and coho. The higher fat content helps the fish to stay soft and moist (this is something I recommend for most of our salmon recipes). Maple Syrup and Brown Sugar: This combination makes one of my favorite glazes for salmon. It turns out perfectly sticky and sweet. I love using pure maple syrup. If you don’t have maple syrup, try honey as a substitute. Soy Sauce: To balance the sugar in the glaze, stir in a bit of soy sauce or tamari. Hoisin Sauce: You can buy hoisin sauce or make your own. I love our recipe for homemade hoisin sauce, which uses garlic, ginger, and a simple list of pantry staples like peanut butter and maple syrup. If you have some leftover, I highly recommend using it to make our hoisin sticky ribs! Dijon Mustard and Garlic: These ingredients round out the flavor of our glaze, making it extra delicious. I love finely grating the garlic so it “melts” into the glaze. Salmon: Any salmon fillet will work, but I especially love baking salmon with higher fat content, like sockeye, king, and coho. The higher fat content helps the fish to stay soft and moist (this is something I recommend for most of our salmon recipes). Maple Syrup and Brown Sugar: This combination makes one of my favorite glazes for salmon. It turns out perfectly sticky and sweet. I love using pure maple syrup. If you don’t have maple syrup, try honey as a substitute. Soy Sauce: To balance the sugar in the glaze, stir in a bit of soy sauce or tamari. Hoisin Sauce: You can buy hoisin sauce or make your own. I love our recipe for homemade hoisin sauce, which uses garlic, ginger, and a simple list of pantry staples like peanut butter and maple syrup. If you have some leftover, I highly recommend using it to make our hoisin sticky ribs! Dijon Mustard and Garlic: These ingredients round out the flavor of our glaze, making it extra delicious. I love finely grating the garlic so it “melts” into the glaze. How to Make Glazed Salmon If you have the time, the salmon glaze works wonders as a marinade. I like making the easy glaze in the morning, pouring it over the salmon, and refrigerating it until the evening. It’s worth it, I promise! Then, when you are ready to start dinner, the salmon only takes 15 to 20 minutes in the oven (maybe a few more if it’s cold from the fridge). Here’s the secret to that perfectly sticky, sweet top: As the salmon bakes, tilt your baking dish to gather any glaze that has fallen to the bottom into one corner. Then, simply spoon that glaze back over the fish. Repeat this a few times while the salmon bakes, and you’ll achieve the most irresistible, beautifully glazed salmon! Maple Soy Glazed Salmon PREP 35 mins COOK 15 mins TOTAL 50 mins PREP 35 mins COOK 15 mins TOTAL 50 mins This maple soy glazed salmon has become a new family favorite! The glaze is sweet, delicious, and a little sticky. Marinating is optional but guarantees the best flavor. Just 30 minutes in the glaze will help, but you can marinate the salmon in the glaze for up to 8 hours. As for serving, we love it with cilantro lime rice, saffron rice, coconut rice, or fluffy quinoa. I love something crunchy, like broccoli slaw, ginger green beans, or this easy steamed cabbage with lime butter. 4 Servings Watch Us Make the Recipe You Will Need 4 salmon fillets, 6 ounces each, preferably skin on 2 tablespoons hoisin sauce, try our homemade hoisin sauce 2 tablespoons maple syrup 1 tablespoon brown sugar 2 teaspoons soy sauce 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard 1 clove garlic, finely grated or minced 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt Sliced green onion for garnish, optional Directions 1In a small bowl, make the glaze by mixing the hoisin sauce, maple syrup, brown sugar, soy sauce, mustard, garlic, and salt. 2Marinate the salmon fillets (recommended but optional). Pour the glaze over the salmon fillets and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes and up to 8 hours. A large zip top bag or air-tight container works well for this. 3When ready to bake the salmon, preheat the oven to 400° F (204° C). 4Place the salmon fillets, skin-side down, into a baking dish. Pour or spoon the marinade/glaze over the salmon, then bake until it flakes easily with a fork, 15 to 20 minutes. While the salmon bakes, every 3 to 5 minutes, spoon the glaze pooled at the bottom of the dish back over the salmon. 5Serve with sliced green onion scattered on top. 1In a small bowl, make the glaze by mixing the hoisin sauce, maple syrup, brown sugar, soy sauce, mustard, garlic, and salt. 2Marinate the salmon fillets (recommended but optional). Pour the glaze over the salmon fillets and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes and up to 8 hours. A large zip top bag or air-tight container works well for this. 3When ready to bake the salmon, preheat the oven to 400° F (204° C). 4Place the salmon fillets, skin-side down, into a baking dish. Pour or spoon the marinade/glaze over the salmon, then bake until it flakes easily with a fork, 15 to 20 minutes. While the salmon bakes, every 3 to 5 minutes, spoon the glaze pooled at the bottom of the dish back over the salmon. 5Serve with sliced green onion scattered on top. Adam and Joanne's Tips Skin-on salmon: The skin acts as an insulator for the bottom of the salmon so that it cooks through perfectly while staying moist. When serving, we gently slide a knife between the skin and the salmon to remove it. It comes away easily. How to tell when salmon is cooked: Cook salmon to 125° F (51° C), which means it will be soft, tender, and slightly pink in the center. For a visual cue, look for the flesh to be somewhat opaque. Also, when inserting a fork into the salmon, it should flake easily. What’s the white stuff on cooked salmon? The white stuff around cooked salmon is called albumin. It’s perfectly fine to eat, but since it isn’t the prettiest thing to look at, I quickly scrape it away and spoon a bit more glaze from the bottom of the dish on top. The nutrition facts provided below are estimates. Skin-on salmon: The skin acts as an insulator for the bottom of the salmon so that it cooks through perfectly while staying moist. When serving, we gently slide a knife between the skin and the salmon to remove it. It comes away easily. How to tell when salmon is cooked: Cook salmon to 125° F (51° C), which means it will be soft, tender, and slightly pink in the center. For a visual cue, look for the flesh to be somewhat opaque. Also, when inserting a fork into the salmon, it should flake easily. What’s the white stuff on cooked salmon? The white stuff around cooked salmon is called albumin. It’s perfectly fine to eat, but since it isn’t the prettiest thing to look at, I quickly scrape it away and spoon a bit more glaze from the bottom of the dish on top. The nutrition facts provided below are estimates. Nutrition Per Serving Serving Size 1 (6-ounce) fillet / Calories 279 / Total Fat 8.3g / Saturated Fat 1.4g / Cholesterol 86.9mg / Sodium 513.9mg / Carbohydrate 13g / Dietary Fiber 0.2g / Total Sugars 10.6g / Protein 38.3g AUTHOR: Joanne Gallagher We’re Adam and Joanne, a couple passionate about cooking and sharing delicious, reliable recipes since 2009. Our goal? To inspire you to get in the kitchen and confidently cook fresh and flavorful meals.More About Us