Prep 10 min · Cook 10 min · Serves 4
Honey soy salmon is one of those dinners that looks like you tried and takes 25 minutes. The difference here is the honey. Most recipes call for whatever's in the pantry squeeze bottle. We use Kai Ora 510+ MGO Mānuka Honey, and it changes the whole thing — you get caramel, a bit of malt, a proper savoury edge underneath the sweetness. It doesn't just glaze the fish. It seasons it.
Our honey comes from hives in Ahipara, Māngamuka and Te Hāpua — whenua our whānau has looked after for generations. So yes, it's a salmon recipe. It's also the Far North on a plate.
Why mānuka honey works here
Regular honey brings sugar. Mānuka brings sugar and flavour — darker, thicker, slightly bitter at the finish, which is exactly what you want fighting against soy sauce and ginger. It also holds its body under heat, so the glaze goes sticky and lacquered instead of thin and runny.
One tip we'll repeat later because it matters: hold back a teaspoon and drizzle it on raw at the end. Heat mellows mānuka's character. The raw finish puts it straight back.
Ingredients
For the salmon
- 4 salmon fillets, skin on (about 150g each)
- 1 tbsp neutral oil
- Sea salt
For the mānuka honey soy glaze
- 3 tbsp Kai Ora 510+ MGO Mānuka Honey (plus 1 tsp to finish)
- 3 tbsp soy sauce (tamari if you're gluten free)
- 2 cloves garlic, finely grated
- 1 tsp fresh ginger, finely grated
- 1 tbsp rice vinegar
- 1 tsp sesame oil
- ½ tsp chilli flakes (optional)
To serve
- Jasmine rice
- Broccolini, blanched, with garlic
- Toasted sesame seeds
- Spring onion, sliced thin
Method
- Make the glaze. Whisk the honey, soy, garlic, ginger, rice vinegar and sesame oil in a bowl until smooth. If your honey is set, warm the bowl in a sink of hot water for a minute — don't microwave it.
- Marinate. Pat the salmon dry, salt lightly, then spoon over half the glaze. Leave 15–30 minutes at room temperature. Keep the other half aside — that's your finishing sauce, and it hasn't touched raw fish.
- Sear. Heat oil in a pan over medium-high. Salmon in skin-side down, press it flat for the first 20 seconds so it doesn't curl. Cook 4 minutes until the skin is crisp. Flip, cook 2–3 minutes more. Take it out while the middle is still slightly translucent — it keeps cooking on the plate.
- Reduce. Same pan, heat off for 30 seconds so it stops smoking, then pour in the reserved glaze. Back on low. It'll bubble and thicken in about 90 seconds. Watch it — honey goes from glossy to burnt fast.
- Finish. Spoon the glaze over the salmon. Drizzle the last teaspoon of raw mānuka honey over the top. Sesame seeds, spring onion, done.
Serve with jasmine rice and garlic broccolini.
Blanche's tips
- Don't marinate longer than 30 minutes. The vinegar and soy will start curing the fish and the texture goes firm and hammy.
- Dry fish sears, wet fish steams. Paper towel is doing more work than any ingredient here.
- Frozen salmon is fine. Thaw it fully in the fridge overnight and dry it properly.
- Double the glaze. It keeps a week in the fridge and it's excellent on chicken thighs, roast kūmara, or halloumi.
Which MGO should you cook with?
Our range runs from 80+ through to 1200+ MGO, and every batch is lab verified through Analytica (ALS Food & Environmental NZ) and Hill Labs.
For cooking, 250+ to 510+ MGO is the sweet spot — enough character to carry a glaze without overwhelming it. If you're going to spend the higher grades, spend them raw: on toast, in tea once it's cooled a little, off the spoon.
Questions we get asked
Can I use a different honey?
You can, and it'll still be good. It just won't have the same depth — most table honey is sweet and nothing else. Mānuka gives you the malt and the slightly bitter finish that makes the glaze taste finished rather than sugary.
Does cooking ruin mānuka honey?
For flavour purposes, heat softens its character — it becomes rounder and more caramel-like. That's why we finish with a raw drizzle. Best of both.
Can I bake it instead of pan-frying?
Yes. 200°C for 10–12 minutes, then grill for 2 minutes at the end to catch the glaze. You lose the crisp skin but gain your hands back.
Is this recipe gluten free?
Swap the soy sauce for tamari and it is.
What else goes with the glaze?
Chicken thighs, pork belly, roast carrots, tofu. It's a workhorse.
Nō konei — from here. Ahipara, Māngamuka, Te Hāpua.
Shop Kai Ora 510+ MGO Mānuka Honey →
Ngā mihi,
Blanche