Firecracker Salmon
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Perk up your dinner tonight with this Firecracker Salmon. Red pepper flakes and Sriracha sauce provide this salmon with some fiery flavor that give this salmon its name.
Let me cut to the chase here. Because as far as fish goes, this is probably as incredible as you’re going to get. I’m not being biased or anything here, I’m just telling you now you’re going to love this salmon.
I’m beginning to get an unhealthy obsession with anything Sriracha. This is coming from someone who never used to eat spicy anything. And now look at me, I put it on everything.
Back when I worked in IT, we used to follow the KISS principle when it came to developing applications, keep it simple, stupid. I like to follow that same principle in cooking most of the time. So if you can manage to whisk a few ingredients together and pour it over the fish, then you can manage to make this simple recipe.
Firecracker Salmon
Now you may look at this salmon and because of its color and its name you’re going to think that this salmon really is so hot that you won’t be able to touch it. Well, it is a bit spicy but I added some brown sugar into the marinade to balance off the spiciness with a bit of sweetness. Trust me on this, it works, this marinade is the bomb.
How to Make Firecracker Salmon
You will want to marinate your fish for at least a couple hours. I believe I left mine in there for 2.5 hours and the longer you leave it, the tastier it will be. Then simply bake it for about 15 to 20 minutes, this really depends on the thickness of your salmon, it might take a bit more if thicker.
You can also use salmon fillets if you don’t want a big piece of fish like this, especially if you’re serving it to guests. If you want to grill this salmon, I would recommend putting it on a large aluminum foil that you can fold up around the edges, so that the marinade can sit in there, then you can grill it with foil and all.
How to Serve Firecracker Salmon
I would serve this over some plain steamed rice, or with a side of steamed vegetables like broccoli and cauliflower.
Looking for More Salmon Recipes? Try These:
- Teriyaki Salmon Sheet Pan Dinner
- Maple Mustard Glazed Salmon
- Asian Glazed Salmon in Foil
- Honey Garlic Salmon and Veggies Sheet Pan Dinner
- Maple Soy Grilled Salmon Steaks
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Firecracker Salmon
Prep: 5 mins
Cook: 20 mins
Total: 25 mins
Serves: 4
Perk up your dinner tonight with this Firecracker Salmon. Red pepper flakes and Sriracha sauce provide this salmon with some fiery flavor that give this salmon its name.
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 lb salmon fillet no skin
- 2 green onions chopped
For Marinade
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1 tsp fresh ginger minced
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1/4 cup soy sauce low sodium
- 2 tbsp brown sugar
- 1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
- 1 tbsp Sriracha sauce
- 1 tsp ground black pepper
Instructions
- In a small bowl whisk all the marinade ingredients together.
- Place salmon in a baking dish and pour marinade over the salmon. Rub the marinade over both sides making sure the entire salmon is covered. Cover the baking dish with plastic wrap and let it marinate in the fridge for 2 hours up to 24 hours.
- Preheat oven to 375 F degrees.
- Remove the plastic wrap from the baking dish and bake for 15 to 20 minutes. Note that the baking time could vary depending on the thickness of the salmon.
- Garnish with chopped green onions and serve immediately.
Recipe Notes
Feel free to adjust the amount of sriracha and pepper flakes to your preference.
You can use skin-on salmon if that's what's available to you.
Total time does not include time required to marinade the salmon.
Please keep in mind that nutritional information is a rough estimate and can vary greatly based on products used.
Nutrition Information:
Serving: 1gCalories: 394kcal (20%)Carbohydrates: 8.2g (3%)Protein: 34.3g (69%)Fat: 25.8g (40%)Saturated Fat: 3.7g (23%)Cholesterol: 78mg (26%)Sodium: 638mg (28%)Fiber: 0.7g (3%)Sugar: 5.1g (6%)
Kay says
I love the smell of this but I have one question
After I marinaded the salmon for 20 hours it formed a thick yellowish layer
I would assume it’s the olive oil getting hard overnight but is it safe to eat?
Jo Cooks Team says
Yes, don’t worry! That’s just the olive oil. Totally safe to eat and it’ll melt back down into oil very quickly.
Shellie Horn says
I love this recipe. It’s a family favorite. Very simple to make.
Theotimos Foley says
Adjusted this to my personal taste (little less soy and brown sugar, more Sriracha) then cooked on a bed of lemon slices, with another layer of lemon slices on top of the filets for the first 14 minutes of baking. I removed the top lemons, added a sprinkling of panko and more red pepper flakes, then finished by broiling for 4-5ish minutes. Very glad I found this recipe, I’m quite happy with the finished product
jo says
So glad you liked it!
Nancy M says
Really enjoyed this recipe. The salmon was very moist and had great flavour. The sauce went well drizzled over bok choy. Definitely a keeper!
Okchu Jolly says
I have made this salmon recipe many times, it’s so good!!!! I add half of lemon juice and tablespoon of sesame oil.
MICHELLE S. says
This was absolutely delicious. My kids loved it. Will definitely make it again. 👍🏼👍🏼
LISA WHICKER says
My family loves this recipe! I left off the siracha when the lightweights were over (but still snuck in the red pepper flakes) and it was still amazing!
Fati Az says
Looking forward to this but I don’t have low sodium soy. How much of the regular soy sauce should I use?
jo says
You can use the same but if you don’t want so much sodium, I would use half and then just add water the other half.