Four pieces of honey glazed salmon in a pan

Honey glazed salmon is a home-cook favorite for a reason, and my version swaps the usual Western brown sugar and butter route for a glaze grounded in the Chinese pantry. Soy sauce and Shaoxing wine give the sauce a savory umami base I love, while ginger, garlic, cinnamon, star anise, and bay leaves simmer in the pan for a warm layered background.

Pan-fried salmon is one of my regular weeknight dinners because it is ready quickly and my husband will eat any version I put in front of him. Some nights I keep it plain with a spoon of ginger scallion sauce on top, some nights I flake it into salmon fried rice, and some nights I cut it into cubes for pan-fried salmon bites.

Here is how I make this recipe, I simply dry-cure the salmon in salt and sugar to firm up the flesh, sear the skin side hard in a hot skillet until it turns crispy, then flip the fish, pour in the sauce with all the aromatics, and baste until the glaze thickens around the salmon. That’s all! So I hope you give this Honey Soy Glazed Salmon recipe a try!

Flaked honey glazed salmon close up

Ingredients

Making this honey soy glazed salmon recipe is one of my favorite weeknight cooking. The best part is that most of the sauce ingredients are pantry staples I already keep on the shelf for Chinese cooking.

Aromatics for the sauce

Salmon filets: I use king salmon whenever I can find it because the flesh is rich, buttery, and forgiving if I slightly overcook it. Coho salmon works well too, and sockeye is fine as long as I shorten the cooking time and stop while the middle is still medium.

Cure salt and sugar: I use equal parts salt and sugar to lightly coat the flesh side of the salmon so the salt draws out moisture and firms up the texture. This dry-cure step is technically optional, but I do it whenever I have some time on my hands because it makes a real difference.

Honey: I use a mild, everyday honey because a strong, floral honey will fight with the aromatics. The honey does most of the glazing work, so I do not swap it for brown sugar or maple syrup.

Shaoxing wine: I add Shaoxing wine to the sauce for a savory depth that plain water or stock cannot deliver. Dry sherry is my go-to substitute when Shaoxing is not on hand.

Light soy sauce and dark soy sauce: I use light soy sauce as the main salt in the glaze and add a small amount of dark soy sauce for color.

Aromatics: I use a piece of smashed ginger, whole garlic cloves, fresh or dried bay leaves, cinnamon sticks, and whole star anise pods.

Lemon: I squeeze fresh lemon juice into the sauce at the very end to cut the sweetness and brighten everything up.

Vegetable oil and green onion: I use vegetable oil to sear the salmon skin and finish with sliced green onion for a fresh sharp garnish on top.

Remove the scales from the salmon skin

If you enjoy salmon skin as much as I do, make sure to check the skin and remove any remaining scales. Most grocery stores will remove the fish scales, but not very thoroughly. And it results in a very bad texture once the fish is cooked.

To remove the scales, place the salmon flesh side down on a cutting board. Hold the salmon in one hand. Use the back of a knife or one side of some poultry shears to gently scrape the skin against the direction of the scales. Once done, rinse the salmon filet to wash off the scales and pat dry.

How to remove scales from fish skin

How to cook

Dry-cure the salmon. Mix salt and sugar together and sprinkle over the flesh side of the salmon filets in a thin, even layer. Let the fish cure in the fridge for 30 minutes, no longer than an hour.

Curing salmon before cooking

Mix the sauce. While the salmon cures, whisk the honey, Shaoxing wine, light soy sauce, and dark soy sauce together in a medium bowl until smooth.

Prep the aromatics. Set the smashed ginger, whole garlic cloves, bay leaves, cinnamon sticks, and star anise together on a small plate so everything is ready to add at once.

Rinse and dry the salmon. Once the cure is done, rinse the salt and sugar off the salmon under cold running water. Pat the filets thoroughly dry with paper towels on all sides.

Sear the skin. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat until hot. Carefully lay the salmon in the pan skin side down and press each filet with a fish spatula so the skin makes full contact with the pan. Cook for about 3 minutes, until the skin turns golden and crispy.

Pan frying salmon

Add the sauce and baste. Flip the salmon, pour the sauce into the pan, and scatter the aromatics around the fish. Spoon the sauce over the salmon while it cooks, keeping the aromatics in the sauce to scent it. Cook until the sauce reduces into a glossy glaze and the thickest part of the salmon flakes easily with a fork.

Pouring in the sauce

Finish with lemon. Once the sauce has thickened, turn off the heat and stir in the lemon juice. Fish out the aromatics with a spoon, pour the glaze over the salmon, and garnish with sliced green onion. Serve immediately.

Glazing the salmon pieces

My Cooking Tips

Do not skip the dry-cure if you have time: The salt-and-sugar cure firms up the salmon flesh and seasons it all the way through, which gives me a better texture than a plain seasoned filet. It is the same trick restaurants use when they want their fish to stay firm and taste seasoned from the inside out.

Dry the salmon completely before it goes into the pan: Any moisture left on the skin will steam instead of sear, and I will not get a crispy skin. I press paper towels against both sides of the filet until the surface is completely dry.

Press the skin down when it first meets the pan: Salmon skin naturally curls under high heat, and a curled edge means uneven browning. I use a fish spatula to press each filet flat for the first 30 seconds so the skin gets full contact with the pan.

Keep the aromatics whole: I smash the ginger and garlic instead of slicing or mincing them so they scent the sauce without breaking apart. Whole aromatics are also much easier to remove at the end for a smooth glaze.

Check the fish before the sauce is fully reduced: Salmon cooks faster than most sauces reduce, so I flake the thickest part with a fork after about 3 minutes in the sauce. If it flakes easily, I pull the fish out onto a plate and keep reducing the sauce on its own.

Honey glazed salmon in a pan close up

How to serve

I plate the salmon skin side down with the reduced glaze spooned generously over the top so the sauce pools around the edges and pulls the aromatics from the pan onto the plate. Steamed rice is the easiest side because it soaks up whatever glaze runs off the fish, and I add a green vegetable like bok choy with oyster sauce for a fresh side.

When I want the meal to be a little more substantial, I swap plain steamed rice for garlic fried rice so the whole plate has more depth, or I serve warm milk bread rolls on the side to mop up the extra sauce. When I cook for friends I plate the salmon on a long platter with the aromatics still tucked around the edges as a garnish.

Serving honey glazed salmon with lemon and greens in a plate

Frequently Asked Questions

Why is my salmon skin sticking to the pan?

The two most common causes are a pan that is not hot enough and salmon that was not fully dry. I let the oil heat until it just starts to shimmer before I lay the fish in, and I press the skin down with a spatula for the first 30 seconds so it locks in flat and releases without tearing once the crust forms.

Can I bake this instead of pan-frying?

I recommend pan-frying because searing is what gets the crispy skin and the deeply glazed surface. If baking is the only option, I bake the salmon at 400°F on a lined sheet pan, reduce the sauce separately on the stove until it thickens into a glaze, and spoon it over the baked fish before serving.

How long does the salmon keep in the fridge and freezer?

The salmon and sauce keep in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. I do not freeze cooked salmon because the texture turns dry and chalky after thawing, so I make only as much as I plan to eat within a few days. To reheat, I warm the salmon in the oven at 350°F just until it is warm through, or I eat the leftovers cold straight from the fridge, which is also very tasty.

 

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A simple yet rich tasting honey glazed salmon that features moist, tender salmon glazed with a balanced sauce that is savory, sweet, and bursting with aroma.

Honey Soy Glazed Salmon

By Maggie Zhu
4.91 from 10 votes
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Inactive time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 55 minutes
Servings: 4 servings
Print
My honey soy glazed salmon is a Chinese-inspired pan-fried salmon dish glazed with honey, soy sauce, and warm aromatics like ginger, star anise, and cinnamon. I love that I can have it on the table for my family in less than an hour.

Ingredients 

  • 4 salmon filets (6 to 8 oz / 170 to 225 g per filet)

Salmon curing ingredients (Optional)

  • 1 tablespoon salt
  • 1 tablespoon sugar

Sauce

Aromatics

  • 1 ” ginger piece
  • 4 cloves garlic
  • 2 fresh bay leaves (or 4 dried bay leaves)
  • 2 cinnamon sticks
  • 2 whole star anise pods

Cooking

  • 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
  • 1 lemon , juiced
  • green onion , sliced (for garnish)

Instructions

  • To cure the salmon (Optional): Mix salt and sugar together, and sprinkle evenly over the flesh side of the salmon filets. Let it cure in the fridge for 30 minutes, and no longer than 1 hour. This will fully season the fish and give it a better texture.
  • Mix the sauce: While the fish cures, mix the honey, Shaoxing wine, and the light and dark soy sauces together in a medium-sized bowl.
  • Prepare the aromatics: place the ginger, garlic, bay leaves, cinnamon sticks and star anise in a small plate.
  • Once the salmon is cured, rinse the cure from the fish with cold tap water, and thoroughly dry with paper towels.
  • Cook the salmon: Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat until hot. Carefully place the fish into the skillet, skin side down. Use a fish spatula to press the fish down, one fillet at a time, so the skin gets full contact with the pan. Cook for 3 minutes, until the skin is golden crispy. Flip the fish and immediately pour in the sauce, and add the aromatics. Use a spoon to baste the fish with the sauce while cooking. Cook until the sauce thickens into a glaze. If the sauce is taking a long time to reduce, check the fish after cooking for 3 minutes. Use a fork to check the thickest part of the fish. If it flakes easily, immediately transfer the fish to a serving plate to prevent it from overcooking. And keep cooking the sauce until it thickens.
  • Once the sauce is reduced, add the lemon juice and mix well. Remove the aromatics. Pour the sauce over the salmon. Garnish with green onion. Serve hot as a main dish.

Ingredient Substitution Guide

Notes

  1. Gluten-Free Adaptation: to make the dish gluten-free, use dry sherry to replace Shaoxing wine, and use tamari to replace both light and dark soy sauce. Your dish will come out with a lighter color but still taste good.

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving, Calories: 445kcal, Carbohydrates: 40.4g, Protein: 35.3g, Fat: 17.8g, Saturated Fat: 2.9g, Cholesterol: 78mg, Sodium: 596mg, Potassium: 743mg, Fiber: 0.6g, Sugar: 37.3g, Calcium: 71mg, Iron: 2mg

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