Asian Baked Salmon with Smashed Cucumber Sesame Salad

This Asian Baked Salmon with smashed cucumber sesame salad is an easy weeknight dinner perfect for those busy weeknights. The whole family will enjoy these salmon rice bowls, and they're pretty simple to whip up too. The marinade and the salad dressing are one and the same, which makes it quite a simple recipe, but one with so much flavor.

This easy baked salmon recipe is perfect for those busy weeknights because it is a healthy meal with healthy fatty acids from the salmon, vegetables and protein.

A salmon tray bake is one of my favorite ways to cook salmon, because it is in the oven and done, and doesn't smell as much as pan frying. While this one is filled with fresh Asian flavours, if you feel like a slightly different easy baked salmon recipe, this Salmon in the Oven Recipe with Potato Wedges and Pea Salad is another easy sheet pan dinner.

Ingredients you'll need to make this Asian Baked Salmon

Salmon

• 4 salmon fillets (skin off) - fresh salmon. You can also use skin-on salmon filet if you prefer crispy skin.

Salmon Marinade ingredients

• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tablespoon fresh ginger, grated
• 3 tablespoon vegetable oil
• ¼ bunch green onions (scallion), finely sliced
• 2 tablespoon sesame seeds
• ½ teaspoon chilli flakes (optional)

Coconut Rice

• 1 ⅓ cups raw jasmine rice
• 1 cup water
• 270 ml coconut milk
• ½ teaspoon white sugar

Smashed Cucumber Salad

• 3 Lebanese cucumbers
• 3 tablespoon light soy sauce
• 2 tablespoon rice vinegar
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon white sugar (or brown sugar)
• 2 teaspoon sesame oil
• 2 tablespoon crispy chilli oil (optional) - or you can use sriracha sauce or red pepper flakes.

See variations for quantity on the recipe card.

Substitutions and Add-ins

Coconut rice - If you don't feel like making coconut rice you can substitute it for plain regular white rice or brown rice.

Dressing - you can add other Asian sauces to the salmon marinade, like hoisin sauce, oyster sauce, sweet chili sauce or even lime juice or lemon juice.

Option to use maple syrup instead of white sugar.

How to make Asian Baked Salmon

1. Preheat your oven to 200°C (400°F) fan-forced. Line a baking tray (baking sheet) with parchment paper (baking paper) or aluminum foil and place salmon filets on the tray.
2. Rinse the jasmine rice, then add it to a saucepan along with water, coconut milk, and white sugar. Bring to a boil with the lid off, then reduce the heat to medium, cover, and cook for 15 minutes. Let it rest with the lid on until it's time to serve.
3. In a heat-proof bowl, mince the garlic and grate the ginger. Heat vegetable oil in a saucepan on high heat. Finely slice most of the green onion and add it to the bowl with sesame seeds and chilli flakes (if using). Pour the hot oil into the bowl and mix to combine.
4. To the same bowl, combine soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, salt, white sugar for a hint of sweetness, and sesame oil. Mix everything together.
5. Spread half of the sesame dressing mixture over the top of the salmon fillets and bake for approximately 12 minutes, adjusting the time to your preferred level of doneness. If you have a food thermometer, make sure the internal temperature reaches 63 C or 145 F.
6. Slice the ends from the Lebanese cucumbers. Using the flat side of your knife, smash the cucumbers until they split, then slice them into bite-size chunks on the diagonal.
7. Add the smashed cucumbers to the rest of the marinade and toss them together. Optionally, you can add crispy chilli oil for some extra flavor.
8. Serve the cooked salmon with coconut rice and the smashed cucumber salad. Top it all off with the remaining green onions.

Kid-Friendly Variations

• For an easy and kid-friendly version, simply slice up the cucumber into spears and serve plain for kids with plain salmon and coconut rice.

How to Store Asian Baked Salmon

Store leftovers in an airtight container and eat the next day. Heat up in the microwave, the second time you eat it. You can also add leftover salmon to salads or sandwiches the next day.

Equipment

You will need an oven, baking tray, stovetop and lidded saucepan and a frying pan.

More Salmon Recipes

If you like this recipe, here are some more salmon bakes that I think you'll love, like this Oven Baked Salmon with Corn and Salad for a really easy, family friendly dinner, or my Viral Tiktok Salmon en Papillote or this delightful Easy Salmon Tray Bake Recipe with feta and potatoes - it is such a good combination!

Recipe