A juicy and moist tender salmon ready in just 15 minutes in an instant pot. Flaky salmon baked in a brown homemade Teriyaki Sauce is mouthwatering and goes really well with white rice!
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Teriyaki Salmon is a great dish to make when you need food ready in 15 minutes. Just make the sauce, cook the fish, serve. You don’t have to spend time stir-frying ingredients in a big wok or using lots of oil. Nope, that’s Chinese food. Teriyaki Salmon is a Japanese dish. One taste of the sweet and salty Teriyaki sauce and that salmon will be finished in no time.
Why is it called Teriyaki Salmon?
Because I’ve made it with a homemade version of Teriyaki Sauce – a mixture of soy sauce, ginger, brown sugar, and water. Traditional Teriyaki Sauce contains sake or mirin, but we’ve replaced that with plain water to make it alcohol-free.
What is Teriyaki? What is Teriyaki sauce?
Teriyaki is a cooking technique in Japan where the food, usually fish, is grilled or broiled with a sauce made of soy, mirin, sake, and sugar. The sugar in the cooked sauce makes the fish glossy and hence the name teriyaki.
Ingredients
The most tender and juicy instant pot salmon can be prepared with these ingredients.
- Salmon Filets
- Soy Sauce
- Water
- Brown Sugar
- Olive Oil
- Minced Garlic
- Ginger Paste
- Cornstarch
- Black Pepper
- Sesame Seeds
- Green Onions
How to Make Instant Pot Teriyaki Salmon
Step 1: Make the Sauce
In a medium-size bowl mix together the soy sauce, water, brown sugar, oil, garlic, and ginger for the homemade Teriyaki Sauce.
Step 2: Seal in Foil
Place the salmon on a sheet of aluminum foil and fold up the sides in the shape of a bowl. Pour a third of the homemade teriyaki soy sauce liquid over the salmon, and cover it with another sheet of aluminum foil. Pinch the sides of the foil to seal the sauce liquid in.
Step 3: Cook the Salmon
Pour one and a half cups of water into the instant pot, place the trivet inside, and place the aluminum packet containing the salmon on the trivet. Cook at high pressure for four minutes. Once done, allow it to naturally release for 10 minutes before doing a manual release.
Remove the salmon packet from the pot and set aside. Throw out the water and switch the pot to saute mode.
Step 4: Thicken the Sauce
In a small bowl, mix together the corn starch and water. Once the instant pot reaches sauté mode, add in the cornstarch mixture along with the remaining soy sauce liquid. Mix well and allow to reduce and thicken till it reaches a consistency you like.
Plate the salmon and pour the thickened sauce over the salmon. Garnish with sesame seeds and chopped green onions. Enjoy!
Optional Serving Suggestions and Tips
- Don’t overcook the salmon or it will turn tough and rubbery.
- If you like sake or mirin, add about a tablespoon or two to the soy sauce mixture.
- If cooking the salmon with the skin, cook it with the skin side down.
- This Instant Pot Teriyaki Salmon goes really well with instant pot white rice.
- For a salad to go with this instant pot salmon Teriyaki, make this Japanese zucchini noodle salad.
- If you want an appetizer to serve with you fish, try this Air Fryer Bacon Wrapped Asparagus.
- You can use this same recipe to make an instant pot Cod Teriyaki.
FAQs ABOUT INSTANT POT TERIYAKI SALMON
Most salmon fillets already have the pin bones removed. If they aren’t removed, run your fingers along the fish to feel the tips of the bones, and pull them out with a pair of fish tweezers. More details here.
Yes, you can, but if cooking the salmon from frozen please cook for 6 minutes instead of 4 minutes in the instant pot.
Yaki is the Japanese method of cooking or broiling food, while teri is the shine that the food gets because of the sugar in the dipping sauce. In our case, it sort of means a shiny broiled fish.
Teriyaki sauce has a sweet, salty and tangy taste to it.
Yes, although Japanese culture mostly uses the Teriyaki method for fish, Western culture uses it for chicken and meat too. Here is a good recipe for a chicken Teriyaki casserole.
Other Recipes You May Enjoy
- Baked Teriyaki Glazed Salmon
- Easy Teriyaki Chicken Casserole
- Teriyaki Veggie Stir Fry
- Instant Pot Chicken Fried Rice
- Air Fryer Sesame Chicken
You can print off the complete ingredients and instructions for this Instant Pot Teriyaki Salmon Recipe via the recipe card below.
If you love this recipe please leave a 5-star rating!
📋 Recipe
Instant Pot Teriyaki Salmon
Ingredients
- ½ cup soy sauce
- ½ cup water
- 2 tablespoon brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- 1 tablespoon garlic minced
- 1 tablespoon ginger paste
- 16 oz salmon cut into 4 fillets
- 2 teaspoon cornstarch
- black pepper to taste
- 1 tablespoon sesame seeds optional garnish
- 4 green onions optional garnish
Instructions
- Mix together in a medium-size bowl your soy sauce, water, Brown sugar, oil, garlic, and ginger.
- Place your salmon on a sheet of aluminum foil. Fold up the sides to create a bowl shape. Pour 1/3 of your soy sauce liquid moisture over the salmon. Set aside.
- Take another piece of aluminum foil and cover the top of the salmon and pinch together the aluminum foil to seal in all of the sides.
- Add one and a half cups of water to the bottom of your instant pot. Place the trivet inside and place your salmon on the trivet.
- Close the lid on the Instant Pot and close your ceiling valve.
- Set your instant pot to high-pressure for four minutes. Once it is done cooking, allow it to naturally release for 10 minutes. Once the 10 minutes is over, do a manual release by opening the sealing valve.
- Remove the salmon and your trivet from your instant pot. Pour out the water that is in the pot and place your pot back into the instant pot. Choose to cancel, and then sauté mode.
- Mix together your corn starch and water in a small bowl.
- Once your instant pot heats up on sauté mode, add in your cornstarch mixture, as well as the remaining soy sauce liquid. Mix well and reduce your sauce until it reaches your desired consistency.
- Pour the sauce over your cooked salmon. Add additional optional garnishes Such as sesame seeds, and green onions. Enjoy!
I am fond of doing Teriyaki Chicken. But I want a different take on Teriyaki so I’m trying this Salmon recipe!
It’s always good to vary what you eat. I hope you enjoy it. Thanks for commenting.
Wow!
Can yo do this with frozen fish? What time would you set the instant pot for? Thanks!
According to the time line I found, it gave an example of cooking fresh fish for 2-3 minutes and frozen 3-4. Since that’s adding one minute to the recipe, and this recipe says to cook for four minutes, it seems like you should cook it for five minutes if you’re using frozen fish instead.