It’s a mash up of one of my fav cookbook recipes with one of my fav blog recipes – it’s Miso Salmon with Sesame Ginger Noodles!!

We’ve talked about the miso marinated cod that I used to make for my private chef clients on a weekly basis. I think the recipe is so engrained in the back of my brain, I could make it with my eyes shut. Well today I’m swapping out the cod for salmon and serving it over a VERY FLAVORFUL bed of sesame noodles! The result: truly the most perfect bowl of food you’ll taste this month! Miso Salmon with Sesame Ginger Noodles for everyone.
Let’s talk logisitics:
- the recipe calls for ramen noodles, but you can use any thin noodle your prefer. Or not thin – go for udon. The key is really in that sauce so don’t skimp on that.
- below you’ll find the fish called for is salmon, but you can still use cod if you prefer. You just want something that’s medium thick. Nothing too thin.
- the miso marinade – if you’re in a crunch for time, you’re okay to let it sit for just 30 minutes. But the 3 hour mark really can do a LOT for the flavor. And over night is even better if you plan that far ahead! xx

Miso Salmon with Sesame Ginger Noodles
Ingredients
For the Fish
- 1/4 cup sake
- 1/4 cup mirin
- 4 tablespoons white miso paste
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 4 salmon fillets, about 1/3 pound each
For the Noodles
- 1 knob fresh ginger (about 4-5 inches) peeled, finely chopped
- 6 cloves garlic finely chopped
- 1 bunch scallions (green onions) thinly sliced
- 1/2 cup olive oil or neutral light olive oil or grapeseed oil
- 3 tablespoons soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- 1 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon white sugar
- kosher salt to taste
- 4 5-ounce packages ramen noodles
Optional Garnishes
- sesame seeds
- cilantro
- scallions
- fresno chiles, sliced
Instructions
For the Fish
- Bring the sake and mirin to a boil in a medium saucepan over high heat. Boil for 20 seconds to evaporate the alcohol. Turn the heat down to low, add the miso paste, and whisk. When the miso has dissolved completely, turn the heat up to high again and add the sugar, whisking constantly to ensure that the sugar doesn't burn on the bottom of the pan. Remove from heat once the sugar is fully dissolved. Cool to room temperature.
- Pat the salmon fillets thoroughly dry with paper towels. Slather the fish with the miso marinade and place in a non-reactive dish or bowl and cover tightly with plastic wrap. Leave to marinate in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours and up to 3 days.
- Preheat oven to 425°F. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil. Lightly wipe off any excess miso clinging to the fillets, but don't rinse it off. Place the fish skin-side-down on the pan and transfer to the oven and cook for 8 minutes, then turn the oven to broil and broil for 3-4 minutes until the top of golden/black in spots and is opaque in the center and flakes easily. Flake fish into pieces and pile on top of the noodles. Garnish and serve.
For the Noodles
- Combine the ginger, garlic, and two-thirds of scallions together in a large bowl.
- Heat the oil in a small saucepan over medium high heat for about 2 minutes. Turn the heat off and add the ginger mixture. Let the mixture infuse for 5 minutes before stirring in remaining scallions. Stir in soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, pepper, sesame oil, and sugar; season with salt. Set aside for 15 minutes to let flavors come together. Taste and adjust seasonings.
- Meanwhile, cook noodles according to package directions. Drain and toss with as much or as little scallion sauce as you'd like in bowl. Top with flakes of salmon and assorted garnishes.
Notes
- the recipe calls for ramen noodles, but you can use any thin noodle your prefer. Or not thin – go for udon. The key is really in that sauce so don’t skimp on that.
- below you’ll find the fish called for is salmon, but you can still use cod if you prefer. You just want something that’s medium thick. Nothing too thin.
- the miso marinade – if you’re in a crunch for time, you’re okay to let it sit for just 30 minutes. But the 3 hour mark really can do a LOT for the flavor. And over night is even better if you plan that far ahead! xx
This sounds so delish! Any possible sub for the sake? I don’t drink and prefer not to buy alcohol since it will end up sitting forever in my cabinet.
sake comes in tiny little bottles so you could use up a whole one! i dont have a great sub
This looks yummy! I’m always looking for new ways to prepare salmon. I’m looking forward to trying this one,
If I decide to go with the cod, does the cooking time change? Can’t wait to try this!
if you do the cod – follow this recipe https://whatsgabycooking.com/miso-marinated-black-cod/
Hi Gaby!
This looks incredible. I am compiling the ingredients and was wondering for the sesame oil is this toasted or regular? Thanks!
either or!! doesnt matter in this
Hi Gaby,
I can’t wait to try this salmon recipe. It looks delicious.
Congratulations to you and your husbands on the baby news.
Have a wonderful weekend
Lucy
Hey Gaby,
Can you make this dish without the sake?
you could!
Use rice vinaigre instead of Sake
Made it, was awesome! recommended!
This sounds like such a flavorful dinner. Can’t wait to try this one out!
This is amazing! I’ve probably made at least 30 of Gaby’s recipes and many of them
multiple times. They are consistently delicious.
Absolutely delicious! This is amazing! I’ve probably made at least 30 of Gaby’s recipes and many of them multiple times. They are consistently delicious
Changed it up a bit , made a spicy ginger broth, added broccolini and oyster mushrooms, did the salmon as per recipe, it was delicious
Hi! Love your recipes!
Going to serve the miso Salmon for a friends bday dinner- any suggestions for apps and the salmon bowl can be served alone don’t you think! Seems hearty enough as a main dish w/o anything else
Or do you have suggestions???
Thank you!
Congrats on your baby!
Janina
the shrimp summer rolls from my site would be the PERFECT app!
Do you flip the salmon so it’s skin side up when doing the final few minutes under broiler?
nope!! no need
Made this last weekend, it was delicious!! I can’t wait to make it again.
Just made the salmon for my family. Everyone loved it. So easy and delicious. Thank you!
Made this last night and HOLY MOLY! So delish! Everyone said was restaurant quality – which is a big compliment at our house! I prepped the marinade in the morning and let it sit on the fish for about six hours and it was perfect. Can’t wait to make it again! Thanks for a great recipe!
Making this tomorrow. Can you make the noodles ahead and will they hold?
never tried it!
I wouldn’t. The starch in noodles makes them sticky as they sit and cool down. Do all the prep for the sauce ahead of time then you just need to blanch the soba noodles for 60 seconds and toss with your prepared sauce to save time.
Hey Gaby!
Trying this recipe this week because we are obsessed with your cod version. It’s perfection.
I’m distressed bc I’m using frozen salmon(and new to cooking fish)! Do I thaw then marinate or thaw while marinating?
thaw and then marinate!
OMG. This was so delicious. I had this recipe at a friend’s house a few weeks ago and loved it. Last night I made it for New Year’s Eve dinner using Chilean sea bass. My guest said we would be paying $100 per person for a meal like this in a restaurant. It’s light and you don’t walk away from the table feeling stuffed. I served it in individual low pasta bowls on top of fresh soba noodles accompanied by asparagus. This recipe is now going into my favorites file.
This looks so amazing and flavorful. Is it possible to use chicken or shrimp instead of salmon?
totally would be delish! But rather than baking the chicken or shrimp, I would saute and then douse with the sauce once cooked
Think I can do this with chicken?
Where do you find the mirin and the miso paste? I looked at Ralphs and Albertsons…
Also, I didn’t know what mirin is so I looked it up. Which kind do you use and does it matter? Hon? Shio? or shin? Mirin…. I live in south Orange County. Thank you
My salmon is marinating as I type and I can’t wait to taste tomorrow.
Questions: there is a fishy smell. Is that common because of the marinade?
Also, can the salmon be served whole on a bed of noodles rather than in pieces?
Thank you and I will let you know how the dish turns out.
no, not common. Did smell fishy before marinating.
and yes, you can absolutely serve it whole
The recipe was a huge hit! I served the salmon whole on a bed of chow mein noodles and used dry sherry instead of mirin. The noodle marinade was so tasty and I will use it as a marinade with other meals. Hubby said “one of my best salmon dishes”. Thank you Gaby.
This was absolutely delicious! I could have eaten 2x the serving size because it was so good. Gaby, I am a huge veggie person, what kind of veggies could I add? I thought maybe some edamame, but do you have any other suggestions?
Boy Choy, Eggplant, Asparagus and Edamame would all be my first choice!
Amazing boyfriend loved it! Making it again. Your third recipe I’ve tried recently that I love ♥️
Have made this recipe twice so far and love love it!!! It even tastes better the next day!!
Dayummmmmm! This is so good! All of my kids ate it and loved it — thank you!
Absolutely FABULOUS – I did put a bit of the miso marinade into the noodle sauce & for me that worked – but this is a KEEPER !! Thank You
Will this work with shrimp?
yes!
Delicious! I made it for two of us and made 10oz of pasta and the full recipe of everything elseBarb
Followed this recipe to a T, it was so delicious!
Hi! I could not find miso paste anywhere. Is there something I could substitute for? Thanks!
I made this last night for dinner and it was AMAZING. Have never cooked with miso before and now it will be a go-to. This will be on permanent rotation. Thanks for another great recipe Gaby!!
This was outstanding. I’m so used to recipes like this using heavy peanut butter or toasted sesame oil rather than just sesame. I though amount of ginger was too much but went with it – so damn good, all the flavors together. I used shaoxing cooking wine in place of sake and it was great! I also added some quick sautéed broccoli, red pepper and mushrooms for added nutrition. Leftovers were great cold or warm! Will definitely be making again and again!
If have a sesame allergy, can one omit the sesame oil, or is there a possible substitute? (also a peanut allergy so no peanut oil!)
yes you can totally omit!!
This recipe is insanely delicious! It is beyond restaurant quality. I’m full, and I want to eat more. You are a genius.
Pretty tasty. Not as much flavor as expected, but I’m not complaining. A challenge to get everything finished at the same time. It does seem that there were more noodles than salmon, although we used .9 lbs salmon (instead of 1.3), and 16 oz (not 20) of a rice noodle (not ramen). Lots of variables there, but the recipe will be a keeper! I’ll probably add cilantro and sliced jalapeno to the leftover portion; I forgot those in the first pass. (Suggestion: put those in the ingredient list and mark as optional there.)
(One other thing we’re doing is saving the infused oil to cook some broccoli with next time around,)
I had to come here to rave about this recipe. It was phenomenal. I am trying to eat more fish and this helped the salmon taste delicious but not fishy. I did not have sake so doubled the mirin and it worked beautifully. This made 6 servings for us. My 10 year old loved it. Thank you so much. More seafood recipes please — you’re the best!
Great recipe! Husband loved it. What is the best way to save the noodle sauce to use later this week? Does it need to be refrigerated?
yes keep in the fridge!
I don’t normally post reviews…. so when I do it’s because it’s well deserved. This was the best thing I’ve cooked in a long time. Easy and delicious. I followed the recipe exactly. Was worried there wouldn’t be enough sauce for the noodles but it was just the right amount. Can’t wait to add this to the regular rotation. Thank you Gaby!!
Love this recipe. So many wonderful flavors!