Crispy teriyaki salmon

7 ingredients•Cook: 40 mins

Yakir Havin

•

June 29, 2026

If you're bored of teriyaki salmon (to me it's the most well-known, go-to salmon recipe), allow me to suggest the simple upgrade of making your own teriyaki sauce. You may need to buy one or two ingredients, but your pantry will thank you for blessing it with some new staples for your future Asian culinary adventures.

And if you're not making a huge batch of salmon, another upgrade you can make is pan-frying the salmon rather than baking it, to achieve a crispy, glassy skin. Sometimes changing up the texture of a dish, rather than just the flavour, can boost the eating experience quite a bit, and make something boring feel new and refreshing.

Teriyaki salmon can be served up whole alongside some broccoli and avocado (as pictured), or you can flake it up and make a sushi rice bowl with any of your favourite toppings and sauces.

2 servings

Instructions

If you're serving the salmon with rice, get the rice started in the rice cooker, following whatever your normal rice preparation quantities and ratios. Personally, I add rice, some unmeasured pinches of salt, and as much water as my rice cooker bowl markings tell me. I don't wash my rice and it always comes out good, so I've never bothered.
Add soy sauce (118 mL), mirin (118 mL), sake (59 mL), and sugar (50 g) to a saucepan, bring to a boil, then reduce to a simme for about 20 minutes or until a glossy, syrupy texture is achieved.
Cut salmon (454 g) into 227 g fillets, pat them very dry to help get a good sear, and season with salt on all sides.
Preheat pan on medium high, add oil (1 Tbsp), wait another half minute for the oil to heat up, and then add salmon pieces skin side down. Apply weights if you have, or some gentle pressure with a spatula. Reduce heat to medium, medium-low.
Cook for about 6 minutes until the skin is crispy and easily releases from the pan. If the skin is still clinging to the pan, slightly reduce the heat to avoid burning, and keep cooking until it releases. By this time, the salmon should be cooked most of the way up.
Flip the salmon and cook flesh side down for another minute or to your desired doneness, then remove from the pan so the skin side faces up and it remains crispy. I like salmon at medium, which is about 130 °F internal, but I don't mind if it goes a bit over. It's more forgiving than a steak as long as you don't overdo it.
After a couple minutes' rest, turn the salmon skin side down and liberally brush on the teriyaki sauce, or dunk the salmon in a bowl of the sauce. Just get it on however you want, but preferably not on the skin to maintain crispiness.
Serve salmon however you prefer, as mentioned in the story notes. Black and white sesame seeds (or everything bagel spice) look especially nice, and sliced scallions are also a common garnish.

Notes

The teriyaki sauce can be kept in a refrigerated airtight container for quite a long while, in the order of months (just like the once-used storebought jar you have hiding in the back of your fridge). Use your senses to judge if it's still okay to eat, but the high salt levels keep it pretty well preserved.

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