Asian Salmon in Foil
The best and easiest way to make salmon in foil – and you won’t believe how much flavor is packed right in!
You know that signature line by The Most Interesting Man in the World? Well, I’m going to have to steal his meme for just a second here to say this.
I don’t always cook salmon, but when I do, I prefer foil. Stay hungry, my friends.
No, but really, foil is the only way to cook salmon. The only way. It seals in all that flavor and the clean-up is a breeze. All you have to do is toss the foil. It doesn’t get easier than that, right?
And the flavors are soaked right in, leaving you with the most tender, flavorful salmon ever that flakes so easily. You can’t beat that!
Asian Salmon in Foil
The best and easiest way to make salmon in foil - and you won't believe how much flavor is packed right in!
Ingredients
- ¼ cup honey
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tablespoons reduced sodium soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon seasoned rice vinegar
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- 1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger
- 1 teaspoon Sriracha, optional
- Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 2 pounds salmon
- 2 green onions, thinly sliced
- ½ teaspoon sesame seeds
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with foil.
- In a small bowl, whisk together honey, garlic, soy sauce, rice vinegar, sesame oil, ginger, Sriracha and pepper, to taste.
- Place salmon onto the prepared baking sheet and fold up all 4 sides of the foil. Spoon the honey mixture over the salmon. Fold the sides of the foil over the salmon, covering completely and sealing the packet closed.
- Place into oven and bake until cooked through, about 15-20 minutes.* Open the packet and broil for 2-3 minutes, or until caramelized and slightly charred.
- Serve immediately, garnished with green onions and sesame seeds, if desired.
Notes
*Baking time may need to be adjusted depending on the thickness of the salmon.
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Hi. This looks amazing; however, my family doesn’t care for salmon. Do you think a different fish could be substituted? Could you recommend one? Thanks!
Halibut would also work very well!
Is it possible to use ginger seasoning instead of fresh ginger? I know it will not be as fresh of a taste, but if fresh ginger is not available, what would you recommend for the seasoning?
Ground ginger would be a great substitute.
I’ve made this four times already this month I love it so much. I’m terrible at mincing garlic, so I threw all the ingredients into a food processor and then poured it over the salmon. Amazing!
My wife made this salmon recipe for dinner today and it was a hit. Will definitely use this recipe again and the marinade would probably work nicely on chicken too. Great recipe.
Damn, that WAS delicious. I mean for real-real. Best salmon I’ve ever had, I followed your recipe exactly. Mmmm!!! Out-freaking-standing.
Hi. Just a tip from a life long salmon fisher and avid salmon cook from the Pacific Northwest- because salmon can be any one of five species the quality varies greatly between species. Avoid salmon called “pink” salmon which is usually in chain stores and less money but this is the worst for table fare. My suggestion for the best table salmon is absolutely “sockeye” followed by red flesh chinook aka “King” and then “Coho” aka “Silver”. because some on the blog have reported mixed results I am pretty sure it is the species of salmon that they bought. The “pink” is the cheapest species and we usually use them for crab bait as they are too mushy and don’t keep well. Usually found in cheap canned salmon in the store. Forget Atlantic farm salmon and go with wild pacific if you can . Always pick sockeye or chinook or coho. Hope this helps the fish lovers out there. I like your website and look forward to more great recipes!
This is the first time I ever cook salmon fresh, not out of a pack or box, FABULOUS!! Absolutely delicious!!
I cooked it tonight and it was delicious! I only used 1/4 tsp of Sriracha sauce because I’m not fond of hot food and this was a new ingredient for me. I did buy frozen Alaskan salmon because fresh was not available in our area. My husband who is not a fish eater really enjoyed it and I will definitely make it again. The flavor of the sauce is wonderful. I did put it under the broiler for about 3 minutes at the end. I will be making your “Sesame Ginger Salmon” next!
Have made this recipe part of our regular rotation! Turns out perfect every time! So delicious. 🙂
How many salmons did you use and fold into foil??
I used one salmon that weighed 2 pounds.
I did everything in the recipe but it didnt come out like in the photos. Any tips?
Lol im joking. No one freaking reads comments before making a comment
Nice recipe!
Hilarious!
Right? It blows my mind! I read every comment before making a recipe so that I can pick up other peoples tips too. How hard is it to read the comments? Gah!
Did you use fresh or frozen salmon?
It is best to use fresh salmon.
Just made this and it is amazing!!!! I’m the queen of marinating everything and I can’t believe how the flavours came together so wonderfully. Will definitely make this again! Thanks for the recipe!
I followed the recipe to a tee but when I unsealed the foil, mine didn’t look at all like your photos. The filets were pink & the sauce was runny. I ended up cutting the filets into smaller pieces & searing them with the sauce in a hot skillet to get them to look more appetizing.
Molly, as mentioned in the previous comments, you can try broiling the salmon for a couple of minutes while basting the sauce but this is also a completely optional step. Also, if you broil for too long, you run the risk of overcooking the salmon.
I only have rice vinegar. If I use it instead of seasoned rice vinegar, do I need to add extra seasoning?
Rice vinegar should work just fine without additional seasoning.
can you marinate the salmon over nite for more flavor?
I haven’t tried it myself but I don’t see why it wouldn’t work!
Hi,
Are rice vinegar and rice wine vinegar the same thing?
Can i substitute with regular white vinegar?
No, they are not the same. Here is a great article from the Seattle Times regarding these two: http://seattletimes.com/html/foodwine/2003902560_ricewine26.html.
As for the substitution, you can certainly try substituting white vinegar but without further recipe testing, I cannot speak for how much this will change the overall taste/texture of the dish. Using a substitution may also result in a mediocre outcome.
I found your recipe and sent it to my friend who also likes to eat sockeye salmon. He made it that night and I followed up and made it last night. The sauce was excellent. I only cooked one piece that was not very thick and I should have cooked it a little less than 15 minutes. I also put a little vegetable oil on the foil where the fish would be placed and smeared it with a paper towel. It did not stick at all to the foil… Very good. (Link above is my facebook picture of the salmon)
The flavours are delicious but there’s no way it will look like the photos unless you stick the salmon under the grill/broiler at the end. The foil envelope steams the fish, which makes it very moist but it will have no colour. Great recipe but the photos are misleading.
I apologize if you feel that the photos are misleading but the reason I omit the broiling step is because it’s really an unnecessary extra step except for aesthetic reasons. But if anyone asks, I hold no secrets!
Ah sorry, “misleading” sounds unnecessarily harsh. I mean it could be a bit confusing if you’re expecting it to look like the photo. I absolutely didn’t want to infer you were deliberately withholding information. 😉 Why not add broiling to the recipe as an optional step? I found it made a difference to the taste in the sauce as well.
As mentioned earlier, the broiling step is unnecessary except for aesthetic purposes, which is why I decided not to include it in the recipe. You also run the risk of overcooking the salmon!
I’ve read several comments about the broiling (after making). I was wonderful and I did broil it prior to serving because my recipe says to with an *.? I only used two 1/2 lb. pieces and the exact amount of sauce ingredients. I actually would have liked more sauce for dipping while eating. Thanks for a wonderful recipe. I’ve made many of your recipes and have never been disappointed.
Hey Chungah,
Just finished making this but doesn’t taste quite marinated. I followed the exact recipe and even cooked it a little longer since it wasn’t fully cooked. I mean it looks just like yours but doesnt taste right. What went wrong here? :/
Julie, unfortunately, it is very difficult to answer what went wrong here as I was not in the kitchen with you. Perhaps the cut of salmon was just too thick, causing it to dry out?
Yea I think so.. but my husband really liked it and I would like to try the recipe again with a thinner cut 🙂
Thanks!