Recently we enjoyed a little sake tasting courtesy of our friends at Tippsy Sake, which delivers a subscription box of different sakes right to do your front door. Tasting all these delicious sake flavors from Tippsy Sake got us thinking. Wouldn’t sake make a great marinade for fish? And we were right – it does! We came up with this salmon recipe with sake marinade and it is pretty darn delicious.
This Salmon Recipe with Sake Marinade is the best of both worlds – a unique combination of flavors that will satisfy your taste buds while the ingredients are light and healthy. This makes it a delicious guilt-free meal for lunch or dinner. Best of all, the whole thing comes together quickly and easily using one baking sheet, one bowl and pre-measured quantities of ingredients. Just be sure to plan ahead to marinade the salmon in advance.



Salmon Recipe with Sake Marinade
Serves 2
Ingredients for Salmon Recipe with Sake Marinade
1/4 cup Sake (we prefer the slightly sweet Hakkaisan Kijohshu for this recipe)
3 T pure maple syrup
2 large garlic cloves, minced
1/4 cup ponzu sauce
1.5 T fresh lemon juice, divided
1/2 tsp fresh ginger, grated
2 (8 ounce) skin-on salmon filets



One bunch asparagus, trimmed and cut into 1.5 inch pieces
2 tsp olive oil
One bag baby spinach
2 T balsamic vinegar
1/8 tsp kosher salt
1/8 tsp black pepper
Lemon wedges



Directions for preparing Salmon Recipe with Sake Marinade
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
- Whisk together sake, maple syrup, garlic, ponzu, 1 T lemon juice and ginger until smooth. (I like to measure the ponzu sauce into a liquid measuring cup and add the rest of the ingredients to the cup.)
- Put salmon into a large ziplock bag. Pour mixture into bag. Seal and place in refrigerator for 30 minutes.
- Put spinach in a large bowl.
- Toss together asparagus and oil and place on a baking sheet. Spread in a single even layer. Roast in oven until the asparagus is just tender when poked with a fork, about 8 minutes. Remove asparagus from oven and allow to cool slightly. Toss the asparagus with the spinach. The warm asparagus will wilt the spinach.
- Transfer salmon, skin side down, to the baking sheet, reserving 2 T of the marinade. Roast until salmon flakes easily (or your preferred doneness), 12 – 15 minutes, brushing with the marinade halfway through the cooking process. Remove from oven.
- While salmon is cooking, toss the spinach and asparagus again and then once more with the balsamic vinegar, salt, pepper and remaining lemon juice.



Remove salmon skin by gently sliding salmon off of the skin with a spatula and serve salmon on top of a bed of the spinach and asparagus. Garnish with lemon wedges.
Print RecipeWhat is Sake Anyway?
If you don’t know much about sake, don’t feel out of it. We didn’t either. One of the interesting things we’ve learned recently are the nuances of sake – very similar to wines and scotches in that regard. With sakes coming from so many different provenances in Japan, the variations are fascinating.



Plus sake pairs really beautifully with all kinds of food in addition to sushi. We’re perhaps used to drinking sake in a sushi restaurant, but it really is far more versatile than that. For more information, consider hosting a sake tasting party with your friends.



Do You Love Salmon Recipes?
If you love salmon, you should check out our Creole Salmon Filets Recipe!



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