Gochujang Salmon (Pan-Fried vs Broiled)

A plate of gochujang salmon with kimchi and white rice.

5 from 8 votes

Gochujang Salmon (Pan-Fried vs Broiled)

This Gochujang Salmon is deliciously savory. And, it takes less than 10 minutes to cook, perfect for weeknight dinners! (I've tested both the pan fried and broiled versions, and offer directions for both, as well as advice on which is "better"! Basically do pan friend for crispy skin and broiled for nice charred bits.)

Prep Time5

Cook Time10

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Fusion, korean

Servings: people

Calories: 178kcal

Author: Zen

Equipment

Pan and spatula OR broiler
Whisk and large bowl
Paper towels

Ingredients

3 Salmon Fillet Leave the Skin on. Use wild caught for health reasons if you can afford it but note the flesh will be a little firmer and drier.
2 Tablespoons Korean Gochujang Paste See here for gochujang substitutes but as Gochujang is the main ingredient of this dish, I don't recommend replacing it!
1 Tablespoon Sesame Oil
1 Tablespoon Honey
1 Tablespoon rice vinegar
1 Tablespoon light Soy Sauce
Fresh ginger ½ inch thick, minced or grated

Instructions

For Crispy Skin Salmon

Whisk the ingredients for the sauce (everything but the salmon, oil for coating and garnishes) till well-mixed.
Use paper towels to make the skin of the salmon very dry but be careful not to tear it. You need dry skin to get it nice and crisp!
Place the salmon flesh side down in the sauce, being careful not to get the sauce onto the skin.
Place in the fridge for 1 hour to further dry out the skin. Don't leave it too long or the flesh will turn mushy.
Rub olive oil over the dry skin of the salmon. (⅕ teaspoon per fillet should do the trick.)
Heat up some oil in a pan on medium high till shimmering then press the salmon skin down and turn the heat down to medium.
Note: You will need to use a spatula to apply force as the fish may buckle up (or press down with your hand but be careful there will be some oil splatter.) Press for 10 seconds.
Leave the salmon to cook undisturbed for 7 minutes approximately- this will depend on the thickness of the cut. It should have turned opaque till ¾ of the way up.
Flip the salmon so the skin now faces up and cook for another 1½minutes or till cooked through.
Serve skin side up and enjoy! You may want to garnish with sesame seeds etc and more of the (cooked) marinade as a sauce!

Broiled Salmon

If you want those nice charred bits on your salmon, skip the pan and broil instead.
Note: broiling works well if you want to serve a larger whole fillet that can be divided up at the dining table.
Place a rack in the upper third of oven (about 5-7 inches from there top); preheat the broiler on high.
Line a baking sheet with foil and coat with oil or cooking spray. (Do NOT use parchment paper or too much. oil as it may catch fire!)
Place the salmon skin down on the foil and coat the flesh with the gochujang marinade.Broil till cooked: the time depends on the thickness of the fillet, but is usually 5-8 minutes.
Note: During the last few minutes, check in on the salmon as the sugars in the glaze burn super quickly.Let it rest for a few minutes before cutting into it!

Notes

How to tell when the salmon is cooked

The flesh would have changed color to an opaque pink-peach tone. To be more exact, you can use a food thermometer (I don't)

For medium salmon, the internal temperature should be 130-140F;

For medium rare, 120F (wild salmon)/125F (farmed salmon)

For well done, 145F for well done.

Optional garnishes: sliced spring onions, toasted sesame seeds, sliced chillies etc.

Note: the method for getting crispy skin is adapted from RecipeTinEats. The original recipe has a last step of cooking with the skin side down on medium high for 60 seconds for super crispy skin but I find that because I have marinated in gochujang, flipping the skin a 2nd time actually makes it soggy!

Note: the nutritional information is an estimate only and should not be treated as 100% accurate.

Nutrition