Gordon Ramsay’s teriyaki salmon marinates fillets in soy sauce, maple syrup, mirin, ginger, and garlic, then pan-fries them until sticky and glazed. Four fillets feed four people, and the marinade needs as little as 20 minutes.
It comes from his Ultimate Home Cooking book, which calls it his “current favourite” way with salmon. He also cooks it on camera with his daughter Tilly, pouring in maple syrup he describes as “a bit like pure gold.”
The trick is the order. The salmon goes into the pan skin first with the marinade held back, then that sticky marinade gets poured in partway through. Holding it back stops the sugars burning before the fish is ready.
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Gordon Ramsay Teriyaki Salmon
Course: Dinner, MainCuisine: Asian, JapaneseDifficulty: Easy4
servings20
minutes8
minutes314
kcal28
minutesThe teriyaki salmon Gordon makes for his family in Ultimate Home Cooking, a five-ingredient marinade of soy, maple syrup, mirin, ginger, and garlic brushed onto pan-fried fillets. Marinate from 20 minutes, cook in under 10, about 314 kcal a portion.
Ingredients
4 salmon fillets, about 500g (1 lb 2 oz) in total
2cm piece of fresh root ginger, finely sliced
2 garlic cloves, peeled and finely sliced
3 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp maple syrup
1 tbsp mirin (rice wine)
Olive oil
Sea salt and freshly ground pepper
Directions
- Mix the marinade: Stir the ginger, garlic, soy sauce, maple syrup, mirin, and a drizzle of olive oil together in a bowl.
- Marinate the fish: Sit the fillets in a dish, season with salt and pepper, and pour the marinade over. Cover and chill for at least 20 minutes, or up to 2 hours for a deeper flavour.
- Start the salmon: Warm a dash of oil in a large frying pan over medium heat. Lift the fillets out, holding the marinade back, and lay them in skin side down. Cook for 2 minutes.
- Add the marinade: Pour the reserved marinade into the pan. Carry on cooking for a minute or so, until the fillets turn opaque halfway up the sides.
- Flip and glaze: Turn the fillets over and cook for 3 to 4 minutes, spooning the sauce over so they take on a glossy coat. Splash in a little water if the sauce thickens too far.
- Serve: Plate the salmon and spoon any sauce left in the pan over the top.
Notes
- The marinade doubles as the glaze, so there is no separate sauce to make. If you marinate the fillets the night before, the soy and maple sink right through and the flesh darkens.
FAQs
How long does Gordon marinate the salmon?
The book gives a window of 20 minutes to 2 hours, and Gordon says the longer soak is worth it for how much the marinade soaks into the fish. Twenty minutes still works on a busy night.
Cooking with Tilly, he points out that leaving it overnight actually shifts the colour of the salmon as the soy and maple seep in. The flavour goes deeper too, so make it ahead if you can.
What does Gordon serve with his teriyaki salmon?
In the book he suggests garlic tenderstem broccoli and the sesame soba noodle salad, a bowl of buckwheat noodles with kale, sugarsnaps, and carrot ribbons in a sesame and lemon dressing.
The salad turns the salmon into a full meal and the cold noodles play off the warm sticky fish. For another cool, sharp side, the hoisin cucumber salad works well, or keep it simple with plain steamed rice to soak up the glaze.
Why cook the salmon skin side down first?
Gordon always starts fish skin side down to shield the soft flesh from the fierce heat of the pan. The skin acts like a buffer, so the inside stays moist while the outside firms up. For a simpler sear without the glaze, the crispy skin salmon from Quick and Delicious lets the skin do all the talking.
In the video he shows Tilly to lay each fillet into the pan away from herself, so the hot oil does not spit back. Press it down for a second and the skin crisps flat instead of curling.
Why maple syrup instead of sugar?
Most teriyaki leans on white sugar or honey, but Gordon reaches for maple syrup, which he calls “a bit like pure gold” as he pours it in. It melts straight into the soy without graininess.
Maple brings a rounder, woodier sweetness than plain sugar, and it caramelises into that glossy lacquer as the marinade reduces. The mirin adds a second gentle sweetness alongside it.
Did Gordon really cook this with his daughter?
Yes. The version most people have seen is from his Ultimate Home Cooking series, where he makes it as a family dinner with Tilly handling the seasoning and slicing the garlic.
He frames it as a healthy, sticky midweek meal anyone can manage, which is partly why the recipe is so forgiving on timings. The book lists it as his current favourite thing to do with salmon.
Can I marinate the fillets the night before?
You can, and Gordon recommends it for the best result. Mix the marinade, coat the fillets, cover, and leave them in the fridge overnight so the flavour works right through. Another Japanese glaze worth the overnight wait is the miso cod, which swaps soy for white miso paste.
You will notice the flesh takes on a darker, richer tone by morning, which is the soy and maple at work. Bring the fish back towards room temperature for a few minutes before it hits the pan so it cooks evenly. Once this one is in your rotation, the salmon recipe collection are ranked by speed in my guide.
