It is recommended that we eat fish twice a week, including one serving of oily fish, but a lot of people in the Western world fail to meet that recommendation. Oily fish are a source of protein, but also the Omega-3 fatty acids, which help prevent heart disease. Today, I’m bringing you a recipe for the best miso-marinated salmon with coriander lime rice. It’s simple and quick, though requires a tiny bit of advance planning to let the fish marinade in the fridge.

I’ve never been a huge fan of fish. Growing up, the only type of fish I would eat were fish fingers. In recent years, I’ve become more open to new flavours and started to really like salmon – smoked, and in sushi. But cooking fish myself has been a struggle.

For a long time, the only fish recipe I would cook was a simple tuna pasta bake. I had a few attempts at cooking other types of fish, but they failed miserably.

I don’t know what possessed me lately, but I decided to try to cook salmon. I had no idea how to do it, but I remembered hearing about miso-marinated salmon in the past. I love miso soup and always have a supply of instant miso soup packets. I started Googling for salmon recipes, but most of them called for ingredients I didn’t have, like mirin and fish sauce, and I didn’t fancy buying a few bottles of new condiments for just one recipe. I’m sure everyone with a small kitchen can relate. So, I decided to do what I know best – improvise.

I took inspiration from the recipes I had seen online, but adjusted them to use simple ingredients that most people have.

I also came up with the idea to make coriander and lime rice to serve with the salmon. I’ve seen coriander and lime flavoured microwavable rice packets in supermarkets, and it sounded like a tasty combination.

Overall, this recipe was born out of improvisation, but the final result stunned me. It turned out so, so good! Have I found my new favourite recipe? Maybe! I will certainly be making this miso salmon with coriander and lime rice many times in the future.

ingredients for miso salmon with coriander and lime rice

The below ingredients will make 2 servings.

Marinade for the salmon

• 2 salmon fillets – mine were 120g each
• 1 tablespoon miso paste – mine was a 12g miso soup packet with a mixture of white and red miso paste
• 1 tablespoon white rice vinegar
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon honey

Coriander, lime and green peas rice

• 140g basmati rice
• 300 ml cold water
• 80g frozen peas
• large handful of fresh coriander
• 3 cardamom pods (optional)
• a dash of ground ginger
• a dash of vegetable oil – I used avocado oil
• a dash of salt

How to make miso marinated salmon with coriander and lime rice

Marinating the salmon

In a small bowl, mix miso paste, white rice vinegar, soy sauce and honey. Stir with a teaspoon until combined.

Place the salmon fillets in an oven-proof dish. Coat them evenly with the marinade – remember to cover the sides as well. Cover the dish and place it in the fridge for a few hours to let the flavours infuse the fish. I recommend preparing the fish in the morning if you plan to cook it for lunch. At the very least, aim to let the salmon marinade for 30 minutes.

Baking the fish

Take the fish out of the fridge.

Pre-heat the oven to 180°C with fan (355°F). Alternatively, you can cook the salmon in a large air fryer, which is what I did. In that case, no pre-heating is required.

Place the ovenproof dish with your salmon fillets in the oven or air fryer. Bake the salmon for 15-20 minutes, depending on the size of the fish. My salmon fillets were long and thin, they were cooked in 15 minutes.

Making the coriander, lime and green peas rice

Once you’ve placed the fish in the oven, immediately start to prepare the rice.

First, rinse the rice in cold water. Lots of people online argue about rinsing rice before cooking. I find that it works well for me, but feel free to skip it if that’s your preference.

Place the rice in a small non-stick pot along with 300ml of water. Turn on the heat, setting it to medium-high. Add oil, ginger and a dash of salt, and the cardamom pods if you have them.

When the water starts to boil, turn down the heat. Cover the pot and let it the rice simmer for 10 minutes. Briefly stir with a silicone spatula every 2-3 minutes.

In the meantime, grate the zest from one lime. Finely chop up the coriander leaves (just the leaves, not the stalks).

Cook the green peas from frozen. You can do that on the hob, but I prefer a simpler solution – 1.5 minutes in a microwave does the job.

Once the rice is cooked, stir the coriander, green peas and lime zest into it. Squeeze the juice from half a lime into the rice. Mix well.

Plate the salmon and rice

Divide the rice between 2 plates. Place a salmon fillet on top of the rice. Garnish the plate with a piece of lime and some coriander leaves. Enjoy!

Nutritional value of miso marinated salmon with coriander and lime rice

It’s worth noting that salmon, although high in fat, is considered healthy. It contains healthy Omega-3 fatty acids, which help prevent heart disease. It is recommended that we eat one serving of oily fish every week.

The approximate nutritional value of this recipe is 591 kcal, 19 grams of fat, 61 grams of carbs and 37 grams of protein per serving.

How to store baked salmon with rice

You can store the cooked salmon and rice in the fridge for a couple of days. It’s great for meal prepping! I recommend storing this dish in a sealed container though, if you don’t want your whole fridge to smell like fish. You can reheat this meal in a microwave. I don’t recommend doing it in a workplace – your colleagues may not appreciate the microwave smelling like fish.

What is miso

Miso paste is made of fermented soybeans. It makes the base for rich, aromatic broth, but it’s also commonly used in Japanese cuisine as seasoning in sauces and marinades.

What is coriander

Coriander, known as cilantro in the US, is a herb commonly used in Asian cuisine. It looks similar to parsley, but it packs a completely different flavour profile. Interestingly, a small percentage of people have a gene which makes them perceive the taste of coriander as soapy. Ouch! If coriander tastes like soap to you, perhaps best if you skip it in this recipe.

Bon Appetit!

So there you have it – a simple recipe for miso salmon with coriander and lime rice, which only uses basic, common ingredients. You have to give it a go!

Also see:

• Food
• Savoury