Sesame Crusted Teriyaki Salmon

A sesame crusted teriyaki salmon filet on a black takeout tray

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5 from 17 votes

A quick and easy sesame-crusted pan-fried salmon recipe glazed with a sweet and sticky homemade teriyaki sauce

Prep Time15

Cook Time20

Total Time35

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Asian, Japanese

Servings:

Calories: 751kcal

Author: Joyce Lee

Ingredients

2 salmon (approx. 3 inches wide, 1.5 inch thick)
sesame seeds
salt

Teriyaki Sauce

3 tablespoons soy sauce
2.5 tablespoons sugar (or honey)
½ tablespoon garlic (approx. 2 cloves)
1 teaspoon ginger (grated)
½ teaspoon sesame oil (mix it after sauce has finished cooking)
1 teaspoon rice vinegar
7 tablespoons water

Corn Starch Slurry (To Thicken Teriyaki Sauce)

1 tablespoon corn starch
2 tablespoon water (cold)

Garnish

green onions (for garnish at the end)

Instructions

Make the Teriyaki Sauce

Take the salmon out of the fridge and keep it at room temperature while you are making the teriyaki sauce
Wash and finely chop the green onions and set them aside for the very end as a garnish
Peel the garlic. Grate or finely mince the garlic and set it aside
Grate the ginger or finely mince it. If you are mincing it, make sure they are as small as possible. Alternatively, you can use 1 slice of ginger, and discard it after the sauce has finished cooking. Set the ginger aside
In a small bowl, mix the rest of the teriyaki sauce ingredients (soy sauce, sugar, rice wine vinegar, water) minus the sesame oil. Set it aside
In another small bowl mix the corn starch and cold water together and set aside
Set the stove to medium-low heat and set a small pot over it. Add a bit of oil and wait until it gets hot and shimmery. and toast garlic and ginger in oil for approx 1-2 mins or until light brown
Add the garlic and ginger into the pot and toast it for 1-2 minutes until it is light brown in color
Once the garlic and ginger are brown, add the sauce ingredients you previously mixed in a small bowl into the pot. Keep stirring the sauce and cook for 3-5 mins until it starts to bubble
Once the sauce starts to bubble, mix the corn starch slurry again in the small bowl (the corn starch may separate and settle on the bottom of the bowl) and pour it into the sauce, Keep stirring until the sauce has thickened
When the sauce has thickened, turn off the heat and mix in the sesame oil. Put a lid on the pot to keep the sauce warm while we cook the salmon

Prepare the Sesame Crusted Salmon

If you are rinsing the salmon or using a previously frozen piece of salmon, make sure to pat dry fish so that the sesame seeds don't slide off the fish
Lightly salt both sides of the salmon pieces
Place a layer of sesame seeds onto a plate and press the salmon onto the sesame seeds and flip the fish and do the same on the other side. Alternatively, you can lightly sprinkle the sesame seeds on each side of the salmon if you want to use less sesame seeds
Using dry hands, gently press the sesame seeds into the fish so that it sticks to it. If your hands are wet during this step, the sesame seeds will transfer off the fish and stick to your hands

Pan Fry the Salmon

Set the stove to medium heat and set a frying pan on top. Add a bit of oil and butter to the pan and wait until the butter has melted and the pan is hot
Gently place the salmon into the frying pan, and pan-fry it for 3-4 minutes per side. Your goal is to toast the sesame seeds to a light brown color while cooking the fish
Once the salmon has finished cooking, remove it from the frying pan and set it on a plate

Glaze the Salmon and Serve

Brush (or drizzle) the teriyaki sauce on top of the salmon and serve it with rice or some vegetables. I like to drizzle a bit of the teriyaki sauce onto my rice as well for some extra flavor
Sprinkle some green onions on top of the salmon and enjoy!

Notes

I prefer to lightly sprinkle a bit of salt on the surface of the salmon instead of marinating salmon because I find that fish is a very delicate protein and it is very easy to over marinate it which can overpower the salmon flavor. Marinating salmon in a sugar base marinade will also make it burn when you are pan-frying it as well.
This recipe works well with salmon steaks as well. You would make the sesame crust on the salmon meat and not the skin. You would also need to cook it a bit longer per side as well since it will be thicker with bones within in.

Nutrition