Hoisin Maple Oven Salmon (+ the BEST way to cook salmon!)

2 days ago

An impressive but simple dish, this Hoisin Maple Oven Salmon recipe is primarily a vessel for me to talk about the BEST way to cook salmon!

The marinade in this recipe is totally delicious- sweet and salty with an Asian flair, it magnifies the taste of the fish instead of covering it up. But the real purpose of this recipe is to talk about my absolute favorite way to cook salmon, which will work with any marinade. The magic comes from first searing your portion on the stove and then flipping it over to finish in the oven. The result is skin that is shatteringly crispy and flesh that melts in your mouth. If you don’t have all of the ingredients for the marinade, or just have another that you would prefer to use, read on! The technique is the star here.

When you start this recipe, make sure you are using a frying pan that is oven safe with absolutely no plastic. This is a great time to bust out your cast iron, although it’s not strictly necessary to make this dish a success. If you don’t have any frying pans that are oven safe, line a baking sheet with foil. Cook your fish face down as instructed and then transfer to the baking sheet to finish in the oven.

This probably goes without saying but I’m going to throw it out there anyway- if you’re going to make the marinade in this recipe, please PLEASE use real maple syrup. This is just good advice for your life in general. An unbelievable amount of commercially available “pancake syrup” is merely brown high fructose syrup with maple-ish flavor and it’s… just awful. I have not made this marinade with that sketchy brown goop so I can’t say how exactly it will turn out but my guess is, poorly. You can find out more about maple syrup vs. pancake syrup here.

The other ingredients that may look unusual are chile paste and hoisin. Both can be found near the sriracha in the Asian section of basically any grocery store. Hoisin is a thick, sweet and salty glaze. You can find hoisin that is almost as thin as water but the thicker stuff is better. Chile paste comes in many forms but often can be found labeled as “chile garlic sauce” in American grocery stores. The type I use is literally just pureed chiles and some water and soy sauce, but you can’t go wrong with the kind you find.

There are many ways to serve salmon. This recipe is great paired with asparagus, brussels sprouts, red potatoes or dark leafy greens such as kale. It’s also great over salad, rice (or coconut rice!), pasta, or vegetable noodles.

Like I said, I believe that this is the best way to cook salmon at home! If you’re interested in other recipes with great secret techniques, try out my Sweet Corn Zucchini Soup, Best-Ever Black Bean Patties and Honey Butter Quinoa and Corn recipes!

Hoisin Maple Oven Salmon (+ the BEST way to cook salmon!)

An impressive but simple dish, this Hoisin Maple Oven Salmon recipe is primarily a vessel for me to talk about the BEST way to cook salmon!

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Prep Time 30

Cook Time 15

Course Dinner, Holiday, Main Course

Servings 2 people

Equipment

Oven-proof frying pan (no plastic on the handle!)

Ingredients

For marinade:

2 tbsp soy sauce
1/2 tbsp chile paste
1 tbsp maple syrup
1 tbsp hoisin sauce
1 tsp olive oil
1/2 tsp rice vinegar

For salmon:

2 6-oz pieces of salmon, about an inch thick
2 tbsp oil of choice (I used olive)
salt + pepper to taste

Instructions

To marinate salmon:

Combine all marinade ingredients in a medium bowl. Reserve 2 tbsp of the marinade in a separate bowl and set aside.
Add salmon pieces to the marinade and let sit on the counter for 20-30 minutes. Flip halfway through.

Cooking salmon the best way:

Preheat oven to 400 F.
Heat an oven proof frying pan or cast iron on the stove until very hot; add oil of choice to bottom of pan and heat until shimmering, not smoking.
Place salmon flesh side down (skin side up) in the pan. Discard that bowl of marinade. Sear for 2-4 minutes, undisturbed. No peeking or turning! It is ready when it lifts easily from the pan without sticking.
After searing, flip the salmon so the skin side is touching the pan. Salt and pepper the flesh to taste. Place in the oven for 6-8 minutes, or until the internal temperature reaches about 130 F. I usually do mine for about 7.5 minutes.
Remove pan from oven. Spoon the marinade you previously set aside over the top of the fish. Serve.