Asian Salmon Salad with Ginger Soy Dressing
Asian Salmon Salad is the proof to this world that low-carb meals ARE NOT BORING. Sticky honey soy glazed salmon on a bed of lettuce tossed in our homemade Asian-inspired salad dressing. So much freshness, flavor, texture in every. single. bite. SO MUCH YUM.
If you love salmon with Asian flavors, don’t forget to also check out my Teriyaki Salmon, Miso Soy Glazed Salmon and Orange Ginger Salmon and Noodles recipe.
All the love for Asian Salmon Salad
The love runs deep I tell you.
I don’t remember exactly where I had Asian Salmon Salad for the first time. I have a feeling I was traveling, because if I lived near the place I had it I totally would have gone back…like 200 times.
The ingredients inside of the Asian Salmon Salad was also a bit hard to recall, except that I remember the dressing being light, and possibly soy and vinegar based. Side note if you didn’t already notice: I don’t have the best memory. Of anything.
But I do remember this. I remember taking a bite and thinking it was JUST AH-MA-ZING.
The salmon was perfectly marinated in some glorious sticky Asian inspired sweet and savory sauce. It was crusty on the outside, perfectly cooked and juicy on the inside.
The lovely piece of salmon laid on a bed of lettuce that had just the right amount of dressing. When I bit into the salmon, it MELTED into my mouth.
I was ready to have it again. I squeezed out every ounce of details I can from my vague memory of that Asian Salmon Salad, and created this recipe.
And DANG. I am beaming with pride. Because it tasted just as good as I remember, and gave me ALL THE FEELS I remember having.
I have been quite obsessed with my very own take on Asian Salmon Salad since. And I have this feeling that you will be too.
Tips for making Asian Salmon Salad
This Asian Salmon Salad recipe is so simple to put together. There are basically two parts to it:
- Salmon
- Salad and dressing
The recipe card at the end of the post have lots of instructions but here are some additional tips to get you on the way to the BEST Asian Salmon Salad ever.
- Buy fresh salmon! There are good quality frozen salmon out there, but in my experience fresh (not-frozen) fish will always taste the best.
- For the best results, marinate the salmon for 30-60 minutes. We want to try to get the flavor into the salmon as much as possible. Try not to skip this step!
- Do not overcook salmon. Overcooked salmon will be dry and no longer juicy. Most seafood have a small window to be cooked perfectly. It’s hard to say exactly how long to cook it because it can be different depending on appliances used or thickness of the salmon. Don’t be afraid of the trial and error, and also don’t shy away from cutting into it while salmon is still cooking to see if it is ready.
Pan-frying Salmon
Pay-frying salmon is super easy and also very quick! That’s one of the nice thing about salmon – it cooks quickly!
Always, always heat up the skillet with vegetable oil or olive oil before pan frying the salmon. I like to pan fry it skin side up first, let it sear and create a nice crusty top, then flip salmon over.
I do this using a non-stick skillet (makes it easier for cleanup) under medium heat, and then adjust the heat up and down as needed.
Ginger Soy salad dressing
Can’t have Asian Salmon Salad without a solid dressing.
Oh there are so many reasons why I love this Ginger Soy salad dressing.
No food processor needed. No chopping of anything. No frills. BUT ALL THE YUM.
Just combine the following ingredients and mix it up – soy sauce, sesame oil, rice vinegar, sugar, ground ginger, and olive oil.
Drizzle as generously if you are a dressing heavy kinda person…just lightly if you are not. We created enough dressing for all you team dressing heavy out there. 🙂
Flavor. Check. Texture. Check. Healthy. Check. Simple. Check.
Delicious. CHECK CHECK.
This Asian Salmon Salad is perfection.
I’m ready to make it all over again.
Other Salmon recipes!
Some of my other favorites!
- Baked Salmon Sushi Bowl
- Panko Crusted Salmon
- Garlic Butter Dill Salmon
- Smoked Salmon Spinach Salad with Lemon Dijon Vinaigrette (by my blogger friend, Kim from Give it Some Thyme!)
Asian Salmon Salad with Ginger Soy Dressing
Equipment
Ingredients
Salmon
- 1 lbs fresh salmon
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- 2 tbsp honey
- 2 tbsp sugar
- 2 tbsp olive oil plus more for cooking
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp ground ginger
- 1/2 tsp salt
- sesame seeds garnish (optional)
Salad
- 6-9 cups Lettuce of choice
- 1 1/2 cups canned mandarin oranges drain
- ~1 cups shredded carrots
- 2-3 tbsp green onions
Ginger Soy Dressing
- 3 tbsp soy sauce
- 3 tbsp rice vinegar
- 3 tbsp sugar
- 1 tbsp sesame oil
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1/2 tsp ground ginger
Instructions
Salmon
- Make sure salmon is completely defrost if it is frozen. Then cut into three pieces for three servings.
- Combine soy sauce, honey, sugar, olive oil, garlic powder, ginger powder, and salt in a small bowl. Pour over salmon and make sure to get the sauce on both sides. Marinate for 30 minutes or more.
- Heat skillet with olive oil under medium heat. Shake off access marinate from fish and pan fry salmon skin side up. If salmon touches hot oil with a lot of sauce, it will splatter, so be careful! Cook for a few minutes or until one side is cooked, then flip and cook the other side.
- Brush leftover marinate to the non-skin side of salmon to get more flavor into the salmon. Salmon cooks pretty quickly so do not overcook! Tip – increase and decrease heat as necessary as the salmon cooks.
- Remove skillet and salmon from heat.
Salad and Ginger Soy Dressing
- Cut up and prep vegetables for salad and divide them into bowls. This recipe should make ~3 bowls of salad.
- Combine Ginger Soy Dressing in a mason jar and shake it up. Or add them to a bowl and use a spoon to stir and mix well.
- Add dressing to salad (see Note 1) and place salmon on top of lettuce. Optional: garnish salmon with sesame seeds.
- Serve and enjoy!
Can i bake the salmon instead of pan frying it? I plan to make it for a large crowd.
Sure I think that works great too!
I’ve cooked this so many times, and every single time the marinade burns with the salmon (I never have this problem when cooking salmon otherwise). I have to cook this on low just to get the small fillets to cook through. Any tips?
Definitely try cooking and low. Another tip is to cover it so that it cooks faster on low without searing the outsides as much. Hope that helps!
I thought this was a really good recipe. I added crushed garlic to the salad dressing and used a little grated ginger instead of ground ginger. I also used castor sugar instead of sugar. I added mini tomatoes to the salad and fresh orange segments instead of tinned mandarins. You do have to be careful that the salmon doesn’t burn when frying it, but the result is really delicious. Everyone in the family loved it. Thank you!
Yum! Thanks for sharing your adds – it sounds delish!