Change up your salmon preparation, and make this bulgogi flavored salmon! The marinade is easy to whip up, and the fish cooks very quickly!
I absolutely love salmon! Here’s my favorite way to cook this omega-3 rich fish. I marinate it with a sweet and savory bulgogi marinade, hence the name – salmon bulgogi. The flavorful marinade works wonderfully with the rich, oily fish.
Bulgogi is a marinated meat dish made with thin slices of beef. However, the sweet and savory marinade works well with any meat or seafood. In the past, I posted a variation made with chicken, dak bulgogi. It’s one of the most popular recipes on my blog.
The marinade is easy to whip up, and the fish cooks very quickly, making this dish a perfect weeknight meal or a quick addition to your summer grilling!
I often serve it with plain rice and sesame broccoli. Also see my 15 Korean Vegetable Side Dishes.
I prefer salmon with skin for grilling. The skin helps hold the thin flesh together and keep the salmon from drying out while being cooked. Always make sure the fish you buy is fresh.
Unlike how you’d normally cut your salmon steak, I cut the salmon thinly for quick marinating and cooking. You can, of course, cut it into any size your want. Simply adjust the marinating and cooking time for larger pieces.
How to cook salmon
You can cook these relatively thinly cut salmon any way you want. My favorite way is quick broiling. The high heat cooks the fish very fast while giving a nice char, but be careful not to overcook.
If preferred, you can also bake it in the oven at 425°F for 4 to 5 minutes.
It will also be quick to cook the salmon in your skillet, a minute or two on each side.
More bulgogi recipes
Bulgogi
Flank steak bulgogi
Slow cooker bulgogi
Dak bulgogi
Dweji bulgogi
Watch how to make it
For more Korean cooking inspirations, follow along on YouTube, Pinterest, Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.
Ingredients
- 1 pound salmon fillet preferably with skin
Marinade
- 3 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon rice wine (mirin) or white wine
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1 tablespoon honey (or more sugar)
- 2 teaspoons roughly minced garlic
- 1 teaspoon grated ginger
- black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Pull the bones from the salmon if there are any. Cut the salmon fillet into about 3/4 to 1-inch thick pieces.
- In a medium size bowl, mix the marinade ingredients until the sugar and honey have dissolved. Coat the salmon pieces with the marinade. Marinate for 20 to 30 minutes (longer if you have time).
- Cook the salmon with one of these methods: (The time will vary depending on the thickness of salmon.)Broiling: Set the oven rack 6 inches below the heating element. Preheat the broiler. Place the salmon in a broiling pan lined with parchment paper or aluminum foil. Broil about 3 to 4 minutes until the salmon is cooked and slightly charred. Watch closely so as not to overcook. Baking: Preheat the oven to 450°F. Place the salmon in a baking pan lined with parchment paper or aluminum foil. Bake for 4 to 5 minutes. Pan-frying: In a preheated, lightly oiled non-stick skillet, cook for a minute or two on each side.
This salmon bulgogi recipe was originally posted in March 2015. I’ve updated it here with new photos, more information and minor changes to the recipe.
Pauline says
A quick and simple salmon recipe that I can throw together anytime as the marinating ingredients are ‘must haves’ in my frig and pantry.
Thank you for this great recipe, Hyosun-ssi 😘💗
P.S. Why this doesn’t have a 5-star rating is beyond me 😲
Hyosun says
Aww I’m delighted to hear that! Thank YOU!! xoxo
Cathy says
Hi! I’ve made and love this recipe. I’d like to make it for a camping trip that’s coming up. Do you think it would be ok to marinade the salmon and freeze it and then defrost to pan fry? Or do you think I should not premarinade and just wait until I get to my camp site to marinade? Thanks!
Hyosun says
Oh happy to hear you love this recipe! If you’re taking frozen fish, it may be better to marinate it at the campsite. Not sure how long the fish will be in the icebox, if it’s the same day, you can marinate at home and carry in the icebox w/o freezing? Enjoy the fish and camping!
Donna says
This looks great. Question: toasted sesame oil or regular? I often get confused about which yo use. Thank you!!
Hyosun says
Korean sesame oil is usually from toasted seeds. You can use either.
SK says
Works with trout fillets also. I used the air fryer rather than the broiler and that worked. Just watch the time so it doesn’t dry out.
Hyosun says
Thank you for the info!!
Helen says
I’ve never cut fish fillets this way before, and I’m going to from now on! The skin became so crispy and the fillets were so flavorful. I used a lightly smoked salmon fillet from Aldi’s with this marinade, and it was delicious! Sarang 🙏❤️
Andrew says
Cooked this for my wife this evening with the sesame seed broccoli. It was a big hit! Really enjoyed making the marinade and the smell of cooking was lovely.
Very happy.
Hyosun says
I’m very happy to hear that!! Thank you for letting me know!
afra says
Lovely recipe. So simple and so tasty!! I will certainly make this again. Thank you so much for bringing this into my weeknight dinner routine 🙂 What would you recommend as vegetable side dishes?
Hyosun says
I like some crunch vegetables such as spicy cucumber salad (oi muchim), spicy bok choy salad and sesame broccoli. But, really it can go with any vegetable side dishes. Just type these or vegetable side dishes in my search box above.
Trish says
I never comment on recipes but I had to on this recipe. Wow, the flavor is amazing. I was looking for a new salmon recipe and this one will definitely make it into my normal rotation.
Hyosun says
Aww so happy to hear that! Thank you for trying it out and letting me know. It means a lot to me.
Maja says
Hi,
Which one is closer to Korean soy sauce – Japanese or Chinese?
Many thanks!
Maja
Hyosun says
hmm not sure. I’d think it depends which brand. Each country has so many different brands and types of soy sauce. I find even Korean soy sauce taste quite different depending on brands and types.
DMITRIY TSAY says
Thank you for delicious recipe 🙂
jennifer says
hi, when you say “soy sauce” what type of soy sauce are you referring to? there are many kinds when I goto the Korean grocery. “jip-ganjang” “weh-ganjang”…etc.
Hyosun says
It’s regular soy sauce. If gukganjang or soup soy sauce is needed, it is noted as such. Jip ganjang is gukganjang. Weh-ganjang is just another name for regular soy sauce. Weh means Japanese, so it’s not a name commonly used these days. In Korea, regular type of ganjang as we know here in America, is typically labeled jin-ganjang, yangjo-ganjang, etc. You can use either one, but I’ll do a post one day explaining the differences.
John Mark says
Hello again Hyosun! I’m going to make this for the second time tonight. The first time was beyond amazing. I am having so much fun cooking my way through your website! I’ve made jjapaguri with steak, two different kinds of bulgogi, jjimdak, zucchini pancakes and I’ve got my 2nd and 3rd batches of kimchi in the fridge (kkakdugi and mak kimchi). Thank you so very much for your easy-to-follow and delicious recipes!!!
Hyosun says
Great to hear that! Wow you’re making quite a few different dishes! I’m especially happy to hear you make your own kimchi at home. Thanks for coming by to tell me the good news, and happy Korean cooking!
Elizabeth says
Excellent! My family loved it!
Hyosun says
Oh happy to hear that! Thanks for letting me know!
Victoria Vandyke says
I and my family absolutely love all of your Recipe . And Yes to cookbook ! Would be wonderful to have a copy for sure 🙂 Thank you for Sharing !!!
Hyosun says
Thank you!
Anni says
Wow. This was delicious and so easy to make. And my kids (age 5 and 7) each had a whole salmon filet! I can usually only get them to eat half.
Anne Robinson says
Husband and I really enjoyed this. I marinated maybe 4 hours. Went with lightly seasoned in season sauteed vegetables and it was perfect. Quick, light but filling for a hot summer day. No harder than takeout or a freezer meal to make and miles above in flavor and how we feel afterwards. Thank you.
Holli C says
Completely agree on ease and how much better you feel afterward vs eating a salt laden takeout meal! Sooo good. This is a keeper.
Amy says
Do you have paper cook book? What’s the title of the cook book I f you have? Thanks!
Hyosun says
No I don’t have one. Sorry! It’s a future project.
Elaine says
Is rice wine the same as rice wine vinegar? What kind/brand of rice wine do you use? Thanks!
Hyosun says
no it’s not the same. You can use any cooking wine or white drinking wine. I use Korean Lotte brand or Japanese Kikkoman because they are easily found here in America. Hope this helps.
Claire says
Hello! This sounds so yummy! What if I want to make more? Like a whole slab of salmon that they usually sell in costco. Do I just double the marinade? Also do you have a recipe for the spicy potato stew? Gamjatang? That is my husband’s favorite! 🙂
Hyosun says
Hi Claire – Yes I think doubling the marinade will be sufficient. My family loves gamjatang too! It’s on my to-do list. Stay tuned!
Ashanti says
I’m so happy that I found this blog. I really enjoyed making this recipe. My boyfriend and I gobbled it all up. It was so tasty ^_^ I’ll be trying more recipes from now on. Thanks a lot for making this blog and showing us all this lovely and tasty Korean food. Greeting from Belgium ^_^
Hyosun says
Welcome to Korean Bapsang! That’s great to hear. Hope you find many more recipes you like from this blog. I’ve never been to Belgium, and was so jealous when my friend and her husband stayed there for 6 months for work. Hope to visit the beautiful country one day.
Jennifer says
Can I bake this instead of broiling? If yes, at what temperature and for how long?
Any substitute for lemon juice?
Thanks!
Hyosun says
You can bake at 425°F for about 4 to 5 minutes or until firm to touch. You can omit lemon juice or add a little bit of vinegar. Enjoy!
Lilluz says
My Korean husband declared that he has fallen in love with your salmon bulgogi recipe and begged me to make this often for him!
Hyosun says
Aww that’s awesome! I’m thrilled to hear that. Luckily this is an easy dish to pull together.
maria says
If we’re using the broiler, why do wee need to set the oven rack 6 inches from the heating element? Just curious as I don’t know if you mean we need to bake it first and then afterwards broil for the remaining 4 minutes
Thanh says
Would marinating overnight be ok? Or would the lemon juice breakdown the fish too much? Thank you.
Hyosun says
Should be fine. I’ve grilled leftovers the day after, and they were fine. Thanks!
Thanh says
Thanks! I tried this tonight after marinating overnight and it was so good! Never broiled salmon before. So much less clean up! Ate this with the asparagus with spicy red pepper paste 🙂
Hyosun says
Oh I am so happy to hear that! A great side dish you paired with. Way to go, Thanh!
DeDe B says
I have all these ingredients and I’m making this tonight! This is slightly different from the Bulgogi marinade I normally make, as I use Asian pear in my marinade, it should be just as good! Salmon is my favorite fish. Thanks for the great dinner idea.
Hyosun says
Sounds good! Enjoy!
laura says
would this work with halibut?
Hyosun says
Yes, it would. Enjoy!
Patricia says
I am so going to cook that today! Your blog is a wonder to read, thank you!
Oh, and I’m reading you from Reunion Island, it’s a French overseas island in the Indian Ocean, between Madagascar and Mauritius.
Have a lovely day!
Hyosun says
Wow what a lovely place you live in! Guess what? I’m also making it right now for our Friday dinner. Hope you enjoyed yours. Thanks for coming by!
Patricia says
I absolutely loved salmon bulgogi, thank you so much for your recipe! I followed the recipe but switched some ingredients: I used leetchi honey that we commonly find here instead of regular honey. I also used “voatsiperifery” which is a wild black pepper from Madagascar. It tastes the same as normal pepper but the smell is stronger. Here, in Reunion island we love rice so serving bulgogi salmon with rice was normal to me. I served it what we call here “rougail” which is a condiment similar to fresh relish of fresh salsa. We love our “rougail” in Reunion and make them out of almost every vegetable or fruit. Here, I chose to make a tomato rougail with onions, salt, lime zest and chillies. If you want, you can find my article about salmon bulgogi here http://karibosakafo.canalblog.com/archives/2015/04/20/31920530.html#c65675205 . It’s in french, though. And oh, did I mention that your blog is very popular among my French friends who have cooking blogs. Thought you would like to know 🙂 . Have a nice day and please excuse my mistakes in English 😉
Hyosun says
All that sounds wonderful! Thanks for using my recipe. Oh that’s awesome to know my blog is popular among your French friends. Too bad I don’t know French to be able to read their blogs. Thanks for taking the time to write me! Cheers!
KalynsKitchen says
It really sounds delicious!
Hyosun says
Thank you, Kalyn!
@FreeRangeNan says
When you call for rice wine, is it better to use Japanese sake or Chinese shaoxing? I always have both on hand.
I’ve had Korean rice wine a couple of times and enjoyed it, but don’t see it often.
Hyosun says
Either one should be fine. Or you can use white wine if you can’t find rice wine. Thanks!