Korean Salmon Simply Grilled or Broiled
Korean salmon fillet marinated in yang nyum inspired flavours before being slid under a hot grill until perfectly cooked with crispy skin.
This recipe is super simple. Yes, you need an hour to marinate the salmon fillet, but preparation takes 5 minutes, and cooking takes less than 10 minutes!
Yang Nyum Salmon
Fish is hard to beat when it comes to quick dinner recipes, and this simple Korean salmon offering is a real good 'un!
It joins my honey and mustard salmon, honey and miso glazed salmon, orange and marmalade salmon, hoisin glazed salmon and honey and soy salmon fillet recipes as quickly glazed salmon recipes.
It's loosely based on a Korean sauce called yang nyum, which is more commonly associated with chicken. But it also works really well with salmon, in my opinion.
The marinade is a simple mix of honey, soy, rice vinegar and spicy gochujang paste.
Gochujang is a glorious Korean ingredient that combines fermented rice with chillies, and it has a wonderfully sweet and spicy flavour.
Don't worry about filling your cupboard with another ingredient you will never get around to using!
I use it in recipes that range from Korean Steamed Chicken to Korean pork belly and a gochujang tofu stew to Korean chicken wings.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I use a different type of fish?
Yes, this recipe works well with many different types of fish; it is particularly good with sea trout.
It also works well with firm white fish fillets like cod, haddock, pollock and coley.
Can I cook this in an air fryer?
Yes, this is surprisingly good in an air fryer. It does not offer the same fierce heat as a grill, but it does a nice job.
Preheat your air fryer to 200°C or 400°F and then cook it for 7-10 minutes, depending on the size of the fish.
Can I oven-bake this salmon?
You can, but it is not the best method as far as I am concerned because the marinade never gets charred enough. The skin does not crisp up either, which is terribly disappointing!
To oven bake, place the fish on a baking tray and cook at 180°C or 350°F for 10-15 minutes, depending on the size of the fish.
Serving Suggestions
I like serving this recipe with noodles; it is pictured here with a stripped-back take on my sweet and sour noodles.
It would work equally well with my soba noodle salad or even something like a plain chow mein.
If you wanted some greens, how about stir-fried broccoli or an asparagus stir fry?
Pickles are also awesome with the oily flesh of salmon. My pickled daikon or pickled cucumber would be fantastic as a side!
Equipment used
I only name-check brands of equipment if I think that they make a material difference to a recipe. But if you have any questions, feel free to ask them in the comments section below the recipe.
- Grill/broiler.
- Chopping board.
- Kitchen knife.
- Weighing scales and measuring spoons.
- A shallow bowl to mix and marinate the fish.
- A spatula or fish slice.
Grilled Korean Salmon Recipe
Ingredients
- 300 g Salmon Fillet 10oz
For the Marinade
- 2 Garlic Cloves
- 15 g Ginger ½ thumb sized piece
- 1 tablespoon Rice Vinegar
- 1 tablespoon Honey 20g
- 1 tablespoon Light Soy Sauce
- 1 tablespoon Gochujang Paste
- ¼ teaspoon Black Pepper
Instructions
- Peel and mash the garlic cloves.
- Peel and grate the ginger.
- Combine the garlic and ginger with the remaining marinade ingredients.
- Place the salmon flesh side down in the marinade and allow to sit for an hour, and brush the marinade up the side of the fish, taking care not to cover the skin in the marinade.
- Preheat your grill/broiler as hot as it will go!
- Just before you cook the fish, scrape off any excess marinade.
- Place the fish on its side on a foil-coated baking sheet and slide it under the grill for 2-3 minutes, flip it over and cook the other side. Then flip the fish so that it is skin-side up and slide it under the grill until it crisps up. This should take 1-2 minutes.
Great dinner idea, incredible flavors! Your plating is spot on 🙂
That is the most gorgeous looking piece of salmon ever! We're big salmon fans in our house so I'll have to try this soon!
I'm also not that familiar with Korean kitchen, but I absolutely love the way this dish looks! Those crispy edges on salmon look just wonderful, and the selection of ingredients and spices is just mouthwatering!
Such delicious flavours! I don't think I have tried Korean cuisine, I need to seek some out! And I love the look of those noodles!
I always like to try something new when it comes to salmon as it can be so versatile and this sounds absolutely delicious, mum's put it on my list of dishes to try
Great dinner idea, incredible flavors! Your plating is spot on 🙂
Thanks Alina
That is the most gorgeous looking piece of salmon ever! We're big salmon fans in our house so I'll have to try this soon!
Enjoy, it is rally tasty!
I'm also not that familiar with Korean kitchen, but I absolutely love the way this dish looks! Those crispy edges on salmon look just wonderful, and the selection of ingredients and spices is just mouthwatering!
It is so good and so simple.
Such delicious flavours! I don't think I have tried Korean cuisine, I need to seek some out! And I love the look of those noodles!
Thanks Christine.
I always like to try something new when it comes to salmon as it can be so versatile and this sounds absolutely delicious, mum's put it on my list of dishes to try
Enjoy 🙂
This looks beautiful, and I've been eyeing that salmon recipe too. Sound fabulous. What noodles did you pair this with because they too look delicious?
Thanks Mary the noodles were just some simple egg noodles cooked with some Dark Soy, Chingkiang Vinegar and a little Mirin, the Cucumber was just shredded and soaked in a little salt and then squeezed dry.
BLUSHINGG!! Thank you so much for this, Brian! Your photos came out loverly. 🙂
As did your food Hillary 😀
Your salmon and egg noodle salad look so delicious! They just seem meant for each other! (I just landed on your site while browsing for my Pinterest materials on Foodgawker. And I realised that I actually "know" you from Food Blogger Central Facebook group. I never knew what your website was until now and it's so nice to meet you here finally! 🙂 )
Hey Sue, glad you found me... I had a poke around your site and now I have an even longer list of food that I have to cook 😀
This salmon looks so perfectly cooked, you're making me want to go out and get some right now for dinner tonight! -- I just may.. this looks amazing!
Thanks Whitney, it is well worth it 😀
Hi Brian,
This is such a fantastic recipe! I would most probably serve mine with grass salad because I want the salmon to be the star of this dish. It looks really amazing, great job!
Zaria
You could serve this with so much, such a simple and delightful dish 🙂
Being forced to do things never is fun! I hope you will recover the love for cooking on fire one day! I get the lack of time part... I never thought running a blog was taking that much time. On the other hand it's a fun thing to do! Hillary has more than this recipe that's getting my attention! I get why you find some inspiration over there!
Cheers!
Ah too kind of you, Simon!! xx
Beautiful recipe Brian! I love Salmon but mostly tend to smoke it without marinade! I'm curious how this tastes! Looking forward to try this recipe!
Cheers Simon, I'd love to expolore smoking and curing more but kinda got turned off cooking on fire after being forced to do it for the first 9 months of living in Hungary, whether it be 45C outside or -15C outside... Having said that I have vague plans on doing something this summer, if time ever stops getting away from me 😉 Hillary did a great job with the original recipe, I am really familiar with the flavours so know they work really well together but the ratios were very different and really good.
Thanks Sarah, it certainly was and I certainly will when I get there 😉
Thanks Laura, it's kinda a new one on me and I don't know a lot about Korean food but it tasted wonderful... I am comfortable with the ingredients, they were used in very different ratios to whatI am used to though which gave it a different edge and the cooking method is genius!
I love salmon, I just wish hubby did too! Enjoy your vacation!
I hear you both myself and my wife suffer from the same problem 😉
I am always on the look out for new salmon steak recipes and this looks delish!
The flavours on this are great but the revelation for me is the cooking method, I have never cooked a salmon steak under the grill and it rocks!
OMG! That's the *only* way I cook it lol. You have to try my Sake Salmon next time 🙂
Hehe, I'll hunt that one down... I usually pan fry skin side down on a piece of baking parchment to get the 'perfect' crispy skin... Call me a typical bloke if you want, but I judge almost all food by the crispy skin, chicken, fish, pork there is only one measure 😉
Great to play with a new idea though and will defo give that sake salmon a go, heading to the big city in 10 days or so and will put Sake on the shopping list 😀
I'm a big fan of salmon and I just know I would love this recipe! Need to get some mirin so I can try it. Beautiful!
What no Mirin 😮 hehe thank you 🙂