I promised myself that this Summer I would try to set out some time for myself each day. Lately it’s enjoying a perfectly sweet cocktail while watching tangerine painted sunsets; those moments make me want to savor summer forever.
I’ve also discovered that one of my favorite things to do is to get a little crazy cooking in the kitchen. It’s like a competition with myself; how many dishes can I create in one day?
Last Sunday, I pulled five recipes out of my head and made it my mission to finish them all before the night was over. It’s quite possible that I looked like I was on some sort of drug; every inch of kitchen counter space was filled and my pants had about nine different stains on them. Dough flew, marinades were made, and I probably chopped about 23 vegetables; it was so much fun! And no, I’m not being sarcastic.
Sometimes I believe that good things come from chaos. Just take a look at this buttery, sweet, melt-in-your-mouth salmon.
Mmmm I lovvveeeeeee me some fish and the man behind the butcher counter at my local grocery store knows this for a fact. I have been stalking him for weeks asking when he was going to have walleye in (the Minnesota state fish). Apparently the waters have been too warm in Canada so they haven’t been able to net them. Don’t you worry though, I’ll continue to ask. I mean I’m practically there daily anyway.
Instead of walleye, he suggested I bake salmon for a sensational summer meal. Okay… he didn’t actually use the word sensational, but I felt like that’s what he was voicing to me. Anyway in an effort to make the salmon CRAZY GOOD, I marinated the life out of it with an asian inspired sweet teriyaki sauce.
HOLY. WHAT THE… it’s SO, SO GOOD. Even better than…
Well, you know I’m not sure what it’s better than. It’s just really, freaking good. The marinade is simple enough to make yourself and baking salmon is like baking chicken. No really, it is! Don’t be nervous about overcooking it, just at least give it a try for me. Pretty please?! I’ll bake you cookies if you do.
Oh, you’re convinced now? Well that was easy.
For ease, I purchased teriyaki sauce from the grocery store (soy sauce would also work), then whisked in olive oil, garlic, ginger and a little honey and brown sugar for sweetness. I poured it all over the salmon and marinated it until I got hypoglycemic hungry… like to the point of passing out. I wanted to eat my arm. What? Food is so much better when you’re ready to eat everything in sight.
Oh, and don’t you worry about that quinoa, because we’ve already discussed the ease of making it fluffy and delicious in 15 minutes or less. This time it’s cooked in a little bit of garlic salt for that bit of pizzaz. All you really need to do is stir-fry veggies and drink a little sangria… or guzzle it, I mean, whatever works best for you. I choose guzzle.
See? It’s not complicated or time consuming. And now you’ll have extra time to spend time with your honey. Or just in case your single, catch up on reality TV and pin things on Pinterest. For me? Grocery shopping and butcher stalking… totally normal!
Alright time for you to get a little crazy in the kitchen. Sensational salmon is calling your name.
Sesame Ginger Sweet Teriyaki Salmon with Garlic Quinoa Stir-fry

Ingredients
- For the Salmon & marinade:
- 1 cup teriyaki sauce
- 1 teaspoon freshly grated ginger
- 2-4 cloves garlic, minced
- 3 tablespoons dark brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1 pound salmon
- For Quinoa Stir-fry:
- 3/4 cup quinoa, rinsed
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced
- 1 yellow bell pepper, thinly sliced
- 2 clove garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon fresh grated ginger
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 1/2 cups sugar snap peas or snow peas
- Extras
- salt and black pepper to taste
- 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes, if desired
- extra soy or teriyaki sauce
- 1 tablespoon sesame seeds
- 1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
Instructions
-
In a large bowl whisk together the marinade ingredients: teriyaki sauce, olive oil, garlic, ginger, brown sugar, and honey. Place salmon in large ziploc bag and add marinade.
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Place in refrigerator for 1 hour. (I marinated my salmon in a baking pan because I ran out of ziploc bags.)
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Preheat oven to 400 degree F. Spray baking pan with nonstick cooking spray. Remove salmon from ziploc bag and place skin side down. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until salmon easily flakes with fork. I found that 18 minutes was absolutely perfect. **See notes for additional information on cooking times.
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While salmon is cooking, prepare quinoa stir-fry. Bring 1 1/2 cups of water with garlic salt to a boil in a medium saucepan.
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Reduce heat to low, add quinoa and cover; simmer until all liquid is absorbed.
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Remove from heat and let stand another 5-10 minutes. Fluff the quinoa with a fork and set aside.
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While quinoa is cooking, heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in large skillet over medium-high heat. Add minced garlic, ginger, and sliced bell peppers; cook for 1-2 minutes. Add sugar snap peas and cook for 2 minutes more.
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Add quinoa to vegetables, then add salt and pepper to taste and red pepper flakes if desired.
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Spoon quinoa stir-fry evenly into 4 bowls or plates. Immediately place salmon on top. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and cilantro. Glaze with extra teriyaki sauce. DIG IN!
Recipe Notes
Inspired by How Sweet Eat's Toasted Sesame Ginger Salmon
Salmon is very sensitive and can dry out easily if overcooked, so make sure you watch your fish! For every inch of thickness of the salmon, generally it takes about 10 minutes to cook. Usually salmon fillets are about 1 1/2 inches thick.
Preparing quinoa ahead of time makes this dish even easier; simply reheat quinoa and add to stir fried veggies.
49 comments
Ahaha. Wow, this looks super fabuously amazing. D: I`m totally saving this recipe!
Yeah, this looks utterly amazing! Gonna have to go on the menu for one of our meals this week =)
I just made this for dinner and it was amazing 🙂 Thank you for posting!
Monique – I love your blog! You take gorgeous photos, maybe it's because you're gorgeous =). Do you mind me asking what kind of camera and lens you use? I just bought a macro lens and I'm hoping it was a good purchase. These photos you took are awesome!
Thank you! I use a 50mm and have a Canon Rebel T3. I think any DSLR camera is great for food photography; it’s all about the lens you have, proper lighting, and of course a little food styling! Good luck!
I am hitting the print button right now…………this looks amazing!! Congrats on being in the top 9 today!!!
Salmon and Quinoa….doesn't get much better! (^;^)
Absolutely beautiful and healthy too it! LOVE!
This looks and sounds absolutely delicious – look forward to trying it out. Congrats on the Daily Food Buzz Top 9 today!
Oh good golly, that sounds AMAZING. Very good mix of ingredients and very Japanese-esque… my favorite type of food!
Made this tonight and it was a huge hit! Easy, flavorful, beautiful, and healthy! Thank you so much for sharing!
This looks so delicious.
So yummy, made it tonight for dinner and it will be in regular rotation!
Glad you loved!
I made this last week and totally forgot to tell you how wonderful this recipe is! The sauce itself could be used for so many other meats. The salmon turned out perfect and I never thought to sub quinoa as rice. Very healthy and very tasty…usually I can’t find recipes that fit that description. Thank you so much for sharing!
Hi Monike, my name is Maria. This is an amazing recipe. I love all your recipes so much that I tried and added this one to my blog, but giving the link to here, as the original source, as I always do with everything I publish. Thank you very much for your time and kind consideration and for the excellent recipes you bring to us.
Do you put the marinade in the dish the salmon is baking in, or do you boil it separately? Trying this recipe out tonight for dinner!
I found this recipe on facebook and was intrigued enough to try it. So glad I did! We're not big on fish around here, but I try to sneak it in a few times a month. My grown son came by for a visit at dinnertime and even ate 3 helpings (wouldn't touch the quinoa, though), so that says something! It was very easy and very tasty! Thanks for sharing.
Making this for the second time this week 🙂
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Wanted to try this and the banana bread. Unable to. tried a few different ways and no print. You need a Print or Printer friendly buttom. I have quit following several blogs because of this.
I just sent you an email! There is a print button — sorry you missed it!
Thank you very much for the clue to find a print button.
I will make this tonight. I have a feeling it might change my life. Thanks in advance.
Im going to try this..thanks
This was amazing! thanks for the recipe!
Made this for dinner tonight- very very delicious!!!!!!
lovely food, I love stir-fry.
By any chance, do you know the nutritional content? I’m on weight watchers and this looks like a “friendly recipe” 🙂
Salmon is the best ever and because I live right on the pacific ocean it is my fish of choice…especially spring(or if you are an american…King) salmon…especially the winter run…your recipe is going to go into my barbque salmon cook book because it looks rockalicious…thanks so much for sharing your passion with us all.
Hi! Going to try this recipe tonight (can’t wait!). In the ingredients for the quinoa stir fry, there are two different measures of minced garlic listed – 2 and 4 cloves. Is this a mistake? Seems like 4 cloves would be too much for the amount of quinoa.
So good even my picky eaters loved it!!!
I might be one of few guys here. A friend of mine prepared this and I had it, it was the best thing I have eaten in months. It was definitely a change of pace from the stale generic college campus food I always eat. I bought all the ingredients and prepared most of the things tonight. I look forward to cooking the rest and chowing down tomorrow after my workout, Thank You!
That’s amazing! Thanks for your awesome comment. 🙂
Just wanted to say I love your story telling and I can't wait to try out some of your recipes.
I couldn’t print it either. Can’t wait to try this!
Hi can you please tell me what brand and flavor teriyaki sauce you used Monique?
probably the most delicious looking salmon with teriyaki sauce I have ever seen. I'm sure it tastes good too! nom nom
Your photos are Awww…mazing! My mouth waters every time I see one of your recipes on Pinterest!! YUM!
there is no nutrititional info and not print button as it is with your other recipes. could you please add them? thanks so much
When you buy Teriyaki Sauce from the store…doesn’t it already have sugar, ginger, garlic in it? Can you just start with Soy Sauce and add those ingredients?
I believe that there may be an error in the recipe– The “Quinoa Stir-Fry” section gives two different amounts for the minced garlic, so I was not sure if I should have used 2, 4, or 6 cloves. Please correct and/or clarify….. Not sure how all of your other “commenters” (or “tasters”) and editors managed to miss this.
Love good recipes!
We used shrimp instead of salmon and increased the ginger all around. It was amazing. Both (5 &7) loved the stirfry. I knew one didn’t like shrimp but that was their loss my husband and I’s gain. Turned out great!!!
Great idea! Glad (almost) everyone enjoyed 🙂
The quinoa was incredible. Such a simple recipe but so good! I threw some carrots in the quinoa too since I had them on hand. Will definitely make again.
So glad you loved it!
I’m making this tonight and delivering it to my niece because everybody has Covid so I’m making them a dinner I hope it comes out
I hope so, too! And hope everyone gets better ASAP ❤️
One of my favorite recipes! Has anyone calculated the macros for it?