Miso Butter Salmon Pasta (Printable)

Salmon fillets cooked in creamy miso butter sauce with linguine and fresh bok choy for a flavorful dish.

# What You'll Need:

→ Seafood

01 - 14 ounces skinless salmon fillets, cut into bite-sized pieces

→ Pasta

02 - 10 ounces linguine or spaghetti

→ Vegetables

03 - 2 heads baby bok choy, chopped
04 - 2 cloves garlic, minced
05 - 2 scallions, sliced (for garnish)

→ Sauce

06 - 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
07 - 2 tablespoons white miso paste
08 - 2 tablespoons soy sauce
09 - 2 tablespoons mirin
10 - ⅓ cup heavy cream
11 - 1 teaspoon sesame oil
12 - ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

→ Optional Garnishes

13 - 1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds
14 - Lemon wedges

# How to Make It:

01 - Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook linguine until al dente according to package directions. Reserve ½ cup pasta water, then drain and set aside.
02 - Heat 1 tablespoon unsalted butter and sesame oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add minced garlic and sauté until fragrant, about 1 minute.
03 - Add salmon pieces to the skillet. Cook gently for 2 to 3 minutes per side until just cooked through. Remove and set aside.
04 - Add remaining butter to the same skillet. Once melted, whisk in miso paste, soy sauce, and mirin until smooth.
05 - Pour in heavy cream and black pepper. Stir to combine, then add chopped bok choy. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes until bok choy is wilted.
06 - Return salmon to the skillet and toss gently to coat with the sauce.
07 - Add drained pasta to the skillet and toss to combine. Add reserved pasta water as needed to achieve a silky sauce consistency.
08 - Plate immediately. Garnish with sliced scallions, toasted sesame seeds, and lemon wedges if desired.

# Expert Advice:

01 -
  • The miso-butter sauce is pure umami comfort that tastes like you spent hours building layers of flavor when you actually didn't.
  • Salmon and pasta shouldn't work this well together, but somehow they do, each one making the other taste better.
  • It comes together in 35 minutes, which means you can have restaurant-quality dinner on a random Tuesday.
02 -
  • Miso paste needs to be whisked smoothly into the butter before any cream arrives, or you'll end up with lumpy little pockets that never dissolve no matter how hard you stir.
  • The salmon is done when it looks barely cooked—it will keep cooking from the residual heat and the final toss in the sauce, and overcooked salmon becomes dry and mealy.
  • Reserve pasta water before you drain the pasta, or you'll be stuck adding cold water and it won't have the same silky, starch-rich effect.
03 -
  • Whisking the miso paste into cool butter first, before adding it to the skillet, ensures a completely smooth sauce with no grainy texture.
  • Don't be shy with the sesame oil even though the amount seems small—it's what gives the sauce its signature taste, and that 1 teaspoon is doing all the work.
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