30-Minute Salmon Noodle Bowl with Coleslaw

Tender flaky juicy baked salmon served on noodles with coleslaw in a garlicky gingery savory sauce that’s lightly sweet. This recipe uses a blender to mix one sauce that is used as the salmon marinade and in the noodle sauce, so it literally takes 10 minutes to get ready. It’s a perfect dish for your busy weekday dinners and meal-prep. {Gluten-Free Adaptable}

Salmon is one of life’s little luxuries that used to seem plentiful and abundant. But it has become something we should all be giving more thought to. I have always tried to source the freshest and most sustainable ingredients to use in my cooking, and am grateful for every single component that makes each dish what it is. This applies especially to salmon.

Sustainable salmon

With all of the issues around overfishing and the depletion of oceanic biodiversity these days, it’s difficult to know exactly how sustainable your seafood is. Supermarkets will never show you the reality behind what you’re buying. When it comes to an ingredient as precious as fish, it really is worth sourcing from legitimate independent sellers. Not only is it better for your environmental footprint, but you’re also sure to get a higher quality, hormone-free, and chemical-free product. Without a doubt, you’ll taste the difference in your cooking.

For this recipe, I turned to Copper River Prince William Sound Marketing Association, a non-profit in rural Alaska that works on behalf of 540 fishing families to help share their stories and their salmon with the world. Copper River salmon is handled with extreme care on the journey from net to plate, which is why I choose it for my cooking.

I selected Sockeye salmon (commonly known as Red Salmon). It’s robust and rich in flavor with a firm texture that makes it versatile for any cooking method.

Cooking notes

1. One sauce, three purposes, five minutes

Make the sauce in a blender and you’ll have a multi-function marinade, coleslaw dressing, and noodle sauce all in one.

Once you mix the sauce, use a third of it to marinate the fish in a ziplock bag. This is my favorite way to marinate salmon because it uses minimal sauce to impart maximum flavor to the whole fillet. You can leave the fish on your kitchen counter and marinate it for 15 minutes while you prepare the noodles and the coleslaw. Alternatively, you can prepare it ahead of time and leave it in the fridge for a few hours to let the salmon absorb more flavor.

For the coleslaw, simply grab a bag of coleslaw mix from the grocery store and mix it with the sauce.

I usually reserve the rest of the sauce in a small bowl, or in sauce containers if you’re doing meal-prep.

2. How to cook the salmon

Since sockeye salmon is perfect for summer barbecues, I’ve included options for both oven baking and outdoor grilling in this recipe.

Note, the cooking time for salmon can vary a LOT. Sometimes you get very thin and wide fillets, such as the ones I used in this recipe. Sometimes you get super narrow cuts that can be as thick as 2” (5 cm). The oven (or grill) temperature can also vary a lot. For example, the electric oven in my apartment in Austin ran a bit cold. And my gas oven in New York runs super hot. It goes up to 500 F when I set it to 425 F.

Always take the cooking time in the recipe as a guide and check on your salmon as it cooks. You can simply use a fork to gently nudge the thickest part. The salmon is ready when it’s just cooked through, when the color turns pale pink, it flakes easily, and the meat is still very juicy and tender. If you like a sashimi texture, you can even pull the salmon out when the center of the fillet still has a bit of dark pink-red color.

3. Is it possible to adapt the recipe into a gluten-free dish?

It is possible to adapt the recipe into a gluten-free dish, but the flavor profile will change slightly. You should replace the soy sauce with tamari or coconut aminos. Use rice vinegar instead of Chinkiang vinegar. It will produce a lighter sauce that is slightly fruitier and less tangy. And of course, choose your favorite gluten-free noodles such as rice noodles or bean noodles (I love the edamame noodles from Explore Cuisine).

Eat more salmon!

Its long season, relative abundance, and lower calorie content make sockeye the perfect choice for everyone. Married with a gorgeously decadent, nutty Asian ginger sauce, I have to say, it’s love at first bite. The best part is that this gourmet dish can be whipped up in half an hour, and it’s an easy one-bowl recipe for busy weekdays. Wave goodbye to average after-work dinners — say hello to a sumptuous serving of salmon!

More delicious seafood recipes

• Steamed Fish with Black Bean Sauce (plus Baked Version)
• Honey Garlic Shrimp
• Macanese Broiled Fish with Potato and Peppers (One Pan Dinner)
• Salt and Pepper Squid
• Honey Soy Sauce Glazed Salmon

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30-Minute Salmon Noodle Bowl with Coleslaw

5 from 6 votes

Tender flaky juicy baked salmon served on noodles with coleslaw in a garlicky gingery savory sauce that’s lightly sweet. This recipe uses a blender to mix one sauce that is used as the salmon marinade and in the noodle sauce, so it literally takes 10 minutes to get ready. It’s a perfect dish for your busy weekday dinners and meal-prep. {Gluten-Free Adaptable}

Author: Maggie Zhu

Course: Main

Cuisine: Chinese Fusion

Keyword: Meal prep

Prep Time: 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes minutes

Servings: 4

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Ingredients

• 4 salmon fillets
• 1 lb (450g) noodles , dried
• 2 green onions , thinly sliced (Optional)

Coleslaw

• 4 cups coleslaw mix (or 4 cups thinly sliced purple cabbage)
• 1/3 cup toasted peanuts , coarsely chopped
• 2 tablespoons cilantro , chopped

Sauce

• 1/4 cup peanut oil (or vegetable oil)
• 1/2 cup Chinkiang vinegar
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1 tablespoon sesame oil
• 6 cloves garlic
• 3 slices ginger
• 1 teaspoon salt

Instructions

Make the sauce

• Add the sauce ingredients into a blender. Mix until it forms a smooth sauce.

Marinate the fish

• Place the salmon fillets in a large ziploc bag. Pour a third of the sauce into the bag. Squeeze out as much air as possible and seal the bag. Let marinate at room temperature for 15 minutes, or in the fridge for up to 3 hours.

Make the coleslaw

• Mix the coleslaw ingredients in a large bowl. Pour half of the remaining sauce into the bowl. Mix well and set aside.

Option 1 – Cook the salmon in the oven

• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Place the salmon fillets skin-side-down on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper. Discard the marinade. Bake for 8 to 15 minutes, depending on the thickness of the salmon. Once done, the salmon should be just cooked through and flake easily. If you like the raw texture of the salmon, you can cook it for an even shorter time so the inside is still a bit pink.

Option 2 – Cook the salmon on the grill

• Preheat an outdoor grill or indoor grill pan over medium-high heat until hot. Brush the grill with oil. Add the salmon fillets and cook for 5 to 6 minutes on each side, or until the salmon is opaque throughout.

Boil the noodles

• While the salmon is cooking, boil the noodles according to the instructions on the package. Once done, drain the noodles and transfer them to a large colander. Rinse them thoroughly with tap water and gently toss them, to let them cool. Set aside.

Assemble

• Transfer the noodles into each of the serving bowls. Add the coleslaw. Top with salmon. Serve the extra sauce on the side for the noodles.

Meal-prep

• Place the assembled dish into each meal-prep container and divide the noodle sauce into sauce containers. Store in the fridge for up to 3 days.

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving, Calories: 638kcal, Carbohydrates: 55.8g, Protein: 32.3g, Fat: 33.2g, Saturated Fat: 5.2g, Cholesterol: 85mg, Sodium: 1050mg, Potassium: 732mg, Fiber: 2.9g, Sugar: 18.9g, Calcium: 96mg, Iron: 3mg

Did You Make This Recipe?Don’t forget the last step! Leave a comment below, and tag me @OmnivoresCookbook and #OmnivoresCookbook on Instagram!