Miso Butter Salmon Pasta (Print)

Salmon in miso butter sauce tossed with pasta and bok choy for a rich, flavorful dish.

# What You'll Need:

→ Seafood

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

→ Pasta

02 - 10 oz 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 tbsp unsalted butter
07 - 2 tbsp white miso paste
08 - 2 tbsp soy sauce
09 - 2 tbsp mirin
10 - ⅓ cup heavy cream
11 - 1 tsp sesame oil
12 - ½ tsp freshly ground black pepper

→ Optional Garnishes

13 - 1 tbsp toasted sesame seeds
14 - Lemon wedges

# Directions:

01 - Boil pasta in salted water according to package directions until al dente. Reserve ½ cup pasta water, drain, and set aside.
02 - Heat 1 tbsp 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 skillet and cook gently 2 to 3 minutes per side until just cooked through. Remove and set aside.
04 - Add remaining butter to skillet. Once melted, whisk in miso paste, soy sauce, and mirin until smooth.
05 - Pour in heavy cream and black pepper; stir to combine. Add chopped bok choy and cook 2 to 3 minutes until wilted.
06 - Return salmon to skillet and gently toss to coat evenly in the sauce.
07 - Add drained pasta to skillet and toss everything together, adding reserved pasta water as needed to achieve a silky sauce consistency.
08 - Serve immediately, garnished with sliced scallions, toasted sesame seeds, and lemon wedges if desired.

# Expert Advice:

01 -
  • The miso-butter sauce is luxurious without being fussy—it comes together in under five minutes and tastes like you've been simmering it all day.
  • It feels restaurant-quality but won't stress you out on a Tuesday night when you need dinner on the table in 35 minutes.
  • You get that hit of umami that makes every bite feel intentional, not like you're just throwing ingredients together.
02 -
  • Miso paste will seize and clump if you whisk it into cold cream—that's why you melt the butter first and whisk the miso into that, then add cream slowly while stirring; I learned this the hard way when I had a pan full of grainy sauce and nowhere to go but the trash.
  • Don't skip the pasta water; it's basically liquid gold for adjusting sauce consistency because it has starch that helps everything cling together beautifully.
  • Salmon continues cooking even after you remove it from heat, so pull it when it still looks slightly underdone in the very center—it will be perfectly cooked by the time it hits your bowl.
03 -
  • Always whisk miso into warm butter first, never cold liquid, or you'll get lumps that won't disappear no matter how hard you try.
  • Reserve pasta water before draining—you'll use it, and it's impossible to replicate once it's gone down the sink.
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