Salmon is one of my favorite fish and it does so well with various marinades. This time around, I gave this marinade recipe for Asian Salmon a try, which was from the lovely Ina Garten. With a few adaptations, it was a flavorful and healthy meal that took no time at all…
The marinade for the salmon is so super simple, using pantry staples you may already have on hand. Four ingredients make up the marinade – Dijon mustard, soy sauce, olive oil and garlic. Combine these four and allow the salmon to absorb the flavors. I reduced the amount of mustard from the original recipe because I thought it was a bit too strong but if you like that mustard flavor, by all means, add another tablespoon! You can even prepare this for the freezer by freezing the salmon with the marinade, which is what I’ve done. This recipe was originally prepared for grilling however I decided to bake it instead. If you do wish to try this for the grill during the summer months, click on Ina’s link below for the original recipe! I served this salmon with steamed brown rice and a fruity strawberry and mango spinach salad.
4 salmon fillets, skinless and deboned
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
3 tablespoons good soy sauce
6 tablespoons good olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced
1 stalk green onion, sliced for garnish
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper; set aside.
Whisk together the mustard, soy sauce, olive oil, and garlic in a small bowl. Drizzle half of the marinade onto the salmon and allow it to sit for 10 minutes.
Place marinated fish on parchment lined baking sheet, brush the tops of the salmon with the remaining glaze and bake in the preheated oven for 5-7 minutes, or longer depending on thickness. Remove from oven and allow to rest for 2-5 minutes. before serving. Garnish with sliced green onions and serve.
* To make ahead/freezer meal – Whisk together the mustard, soy sauce, olive oil, and garlic in a small bowl. Pour marinade in a quart size freezer bag and add the salmon fillets. Seal and freeze. When ready to prepare, thaw out salmon and preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and place thawed salmon on baking sheet. Bake in preheated oven for 5-7 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to rest for 2-5 minutes. before serving. Garnish with sliced green onions and serve.
Nothing like an easy prep-ahead meal that only requires ingredients I already have at home. Thanks for this one.
For a while, I thought you meant an Asian salmon fish! Hehe, but there's a salmon-like fish here in GenSan we call dayana or moonfish. It's very delicious, reminds me of salmon can be cooked like salmon as well.
Probably a silly question, but I assume the fish is to be thawed before baking if we're preparing this as a freezer meal?
Thanks for your comment Lisa! I've updated the freezer meal directions to indicate the salmon should be thawed before baking.
Made this for dinner tonight and we loved it! Even my 2,4, and 10 year olds at it! I've found some great keepers amoung your freezer recipes. So happy that I found your blog via Pinterest!
How long can you freeze it for?
Hi, I was wondering how you choose to thaw your freezer meals before you cook them? I know with the muffins and such you said you let it come to room temperature, what about something like this salmon or a chicken dish?
Hi Kara! Most of the freezer meals I prepared were not fully cooked before freezing. So after thawing partially or completely, the dishes finish cooking when they're heated up. For example, this salmon dish is simply prepped raw with the marinade and then frozen. Once thawed, the marinated raw salmon is baked until cooked through. Hope this helps!
Sorry to bug ya again – you said "once thawed." Do you just put it in the fridge to thaw or do you thaw it in the microwave? I have never frozen a meal and then cooked it. Thanks again!
Hi Kara – think of the freezer meals like the prepared freezer meals you find at the grocery store. For the salmon recipe above, place the raw salmon in a freezer bag with the marinade. Seal and freeze. Then, when you want to prepare the dish, remove the freezer bag with the salmon out and let it thaw in your fridge. Once it's thawed out safely, preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and place thawed salmon on baking sheet. Bake in preheated oven for 5-7 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to rest for 2-5 minutes. before serving. Garnish with sliced green onions and serve. You're essentially freezing prepared ingredients for a meal, allowing it to thaw and cooking/heating the ingredients up as you would cook it normally. Hope this clarifies things a bit!
This may sound silly but the salmon will be throughly cooked in 7 minutes? or did I miss part of the cooking process? Sounds yummy and want to start preparing meals ahead.:)
My question is…What if I buy the frozed salmon already then I need to thaw only to refreeze with the marinade? Can I make the marinade and throw in the frozen salmon and put back in the freezer or will it not incorporate into the already frozen salmon?
Carla – it depends on the thickness of your salmon. I used salmon that was about 3/4th inch thick and it cooked up perfectly. If your salmon is thicker, I'd add another minute or two. Just note the salmon shouldn't be completely firm when done (its a sign of it being overcooked) and the salmon will continue to cook as it rest due to the carry over cooking/temperature.
Crissy, if you purchase the froze salmon fillets you can prepare the marinade and combine the frozen salmon and marinade together in a freezer safe bag and freeze. No need to defrost the salmon and freeze it again with the marinade. The salmon will absorb the marinade flavors as it defrosts before you cook them.
When do you used the other 1/2 of the marinade?
Anonymous, the remaining half is brushed on the salmon just before baking.
Hello, great blog by the way! But I was wondering how long you can keep in the freezer for before its not longer good to cook?
Omg!!! I love your blog. I am making meal plan and making it on the weekends! Thank you for this blog!
The only thing that would improve this great blog is to include the Nutritional Info. I'm counting carbs!