Furikake Salmon

Furikake Salmon is a tender, flavorful salmon recipe made with Kewpie mayo, soy sauce, garlic powder, and furikake. This umami-packed salmon dish is ready in less than 15 minutes with minimal cleanup. Serve furikake salmon with Japanese rice and a vegetable for a well-rounded weeknight meal.

Baked furikake salmon with Kewpie mayo is a delicious, succulent salmon recipe bursting with Japanese flavors, like umami-infused Kewpie mayo and soy sauce, or shoyu. The dish is an excellent weeknight meal. It's nutritious, flavorful, and takes 20 minutes to make with prep and baking.

This dish pairs especially well with a scoop of Japanese rice or Miso Mashed Potatoes and a vegetable, like Furikake and Lemon Shishito Peppers or Roasted Asparagus with Parmesan.

About Furikake Salmon with Mayo

• Taste - This baked salmon tastes rich and mild. The layer of umami-packed sauce and furikake offers a sweet and savory flavor in each bite.
• Texture - Furikake Salmon has a flaky, tender texture. When baked per the instructions, the salmon will be moist and succulent. The shoyu mayo mixture adds even more moisture and flavor.
• Effort - This Furikake Salmon is effortless! All you have to do is pat the salmon dry, apply the shoyu mayo sauce, and let the salmon filets bake in the oven. Plus, there's minimal cleanup since the baking sheet is lined with aluminum foil.
• Time - This is one of the quickest weeknight meals you can make. Furikake Salmon only takes a few minutes to prep and less than 15 minutes to cook in the oven.

Jump to:

• About Furikake Salmon with Mayo
• Ingredients
• Instructions
• Substitutions
• Variations
• Equipment
• Storage
• What to Serve with Furikake Salmon
• Top tips
• Furikake Salmon
• STORAGE
• TOP TIPS
• Food safety

Ingredients

• Salmon filets - Salmon is one of the most nutritious types of fish to eat and has lots of health benefits. It is rich in omega-3 fatty acids and vitamin B12. It is naturally buttery with a mild fish taste.
• Kewpie mayo - Unlike American mayonnaise, Kewpie mayo is made with only egg yolks instead of whole eggs and with either apple cider vinegar or rice vinegar with no added sugar or salt. Its texture is both richer and creamier than regular mayonnaise and it can be used as a standalone condiment just for its flavor.
• Soy sauce (shoyu) - Soy sauce, or shoyu in Japanese, is an essential condiment in Japanese cooking.
• Garlic powder - Garlic powder blends evenly into the Kewpie mayo and soy sauce spread. It adds a hint of garlicky flavor and dimension to the dish.
• Black pepper - Freshly cracked black pepper adds a peppery element to the salmon.
• Furikake - Furikake is a Japanese seaweed seasoning. The most common furikake is made of dried nori, or seaweed, sesame seeds, and salt. There are other types of furikake, which have bonito flakes, rice puffs, shrimp, and other bits of umami-packed ingredients. 

See recipe card for quantities.

Instructions

1. Prepare salmon and oven - Remove the salmon from the refrigerator and let it sit on the kitchen counter to temper, about 10 minutes. Heat the oven to 400° Fahrenheit. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or aluminum foil, or grease the baking sheet with vegetable oil, and set aside.
2. Make Kewpie shoyu sauce - In a small bowl, add Kewpie mayo, soy sauce, and garlic powder. Use a spoon or chopsticks to mix the sauce until homogeneous and smooth. Set aside.
3. Prepare salmon - Use a sharp knife to slice the salmon across the grain into 2-4 servings. Pat the top of the salmon with a paper towel and place the servings on the prepared baking sheet with at least an inch between each piece.
4. Add the shoyu mayo and furikake - Use a spoon to scoop and spread the Kewpie mayo-soy sauce mixture onto the top of each salmon piece. Sprinkle furikake on top of each piece, covering the entire top of each salmon serving. Add freshly cracked black pepper to taste.
5. Bake the salmon - Place the tray of salmon in the oven and cook for 10-12 minutes depending on the thickness of the salmon. Remove from the oven and serve immediately.

Hint: use a fish spatula to serve the fish (pictured above). A fish spatula is long and narrow, making it easy to pick up a piece of fish without it breaking. It's an excellent spatula for all use cases.

Substitutions

• Tamari - Use tamari, or wheat-free soy sauce, to make the dish gluten-free. Most soy sauces contain wheat. Tamari has the same flavor without the wheat.
• Arctic char or trout - Use Arctic char or trout for a less fishy flavor.
• Regular mayonnaise - Kewpie mayo is the best mayonnaise to use for this recipe. If unavailable, use regular mayonnaise with a half teaspoon of mirin for a similar result.
• Salmon collar - Substitute salmon filet for salmon collar and follow our Broiled Salmon Collars (Sake Kama) instructions.

Variations

• Spicy - To make the dish spicy, add a tea spoon of sriracha or togarashi to the Kewpie mayo-soy sauce mixture. To make it extra pungent, add a quarter teaspoon of wasabi to the mixture. Try the sauce in our Spicy Ahi Poke recipe.
• Gluten-free - To make this dish completely gluten-free, use tamari instead of soy sauce.
• Air-fried - Instead of baking, use an air frier for a crispier texture. Heat the air frier to 400 degrees and place the salmon in the basket. Cook for 7-10 minutes and remove from the basket. Note that the time will vary depending on how thick the fish is and the brand of air frier.
• Salmon and rice bowl - To make the famous salmon and rice bowl, take leftover salmon, use a fork or chopsticks to break it into pieces. Scoop rice on top of the salmon and mix the rice and salmon together. Drizzle Kewpie mayo, sriracha, and soy sauce on top, and mix again. Serve with nori.

Try this Broiled Salmon Collars (Sake Kama) recipe too!

Equipment

Furikake Salmon calls for a few common kitchen essentials, including a measuring spoon, small mixing bowl, a sheet pan, a knife, and a cutting board. Use these popular kitchen essentials in other recipes too.

Storage

Store leftovers in an air-tight container or wrap in foil and refrigerate for up to two days. To reheat, heat the oven to 350 F, remove the salmon filets from the refrigerator, and allow the filets to reach room temperature (about 15 minutes). Place the salmon on a baking sheet and heat for 7-10 minutes.

What to Serve with Furikake Salmon

We typically enjoy this juicy salmon with Japanese white rice and a yummy side. Here are our favorite salmon sides:

• Furikake and Lemon Shishito Peppers
• Elotes Style Corn with Furikake
• Pan Fried Potatoes with Herbs

If you want a more comprehensive list of our favorite salmon sides, check out 15 Best Salmon Side Dishes.

Top tips

• For tender salmon, don't overcook the salmon! Cook only until just cooked and use a fork to check the doneness. Overcooking the salmon can result in very dry, tough fish.
• For easy cleanup, line the baking sheet or baking dish with aluminum foil or parchment paper.
• For a lower sodium sauce, use low-sodium Japanese soy sauce. This soy sauce typically has a green cap and label.

Food safety

• Do not use the same utensils on cooked food, that previously touched raw meat
• Wash hands after touching raw meat
• Don't leave food sitting out at room temperature for extended periods
• Never leave cooking food unattended
• Always have good ventilation when using a gas stove

See more guidelines at USDA.gov.