These baked yellowtail fillets are marinated in an easy homemade teriyaki sauce, baked until tender, and finished with a teriyaki glaze.
Ready for another foray into the world of slightly less common seafood?
I thought so!
Here at Champagne Tastes, we love exploring seafood beyond the typical grocery store offerings. We've had fun with recipes for salmon steaks, lingcod, sablefish, and more.
Next up on the list: yellowtail!
Yellowtail is one of those varieties of fish that pairs perfectly with a teriyaki glaze. In fact, if you want to use the teriyaki glaze with salmon, black cod, or salmon steaks, it will be delicious with any of them!
The yellowtail will be marinated before being baked and brushed with the teriyaki sauce. It's ready in about 30 minutes!
What Kind of Fish is Yellowtail?
There's more than one type of fish referred to as yellowtail, which can make things a little confusing when you're looking for a recipe!
The fish we're cooking here is the yellowtail amberjack, a type of kingfish, also referred to as Australian yellowtail or great yellowtail. In Japanese cuisine, this same fish is referred to as Hiramasa and Buri.
You might also see yellowtail snapper at your local fish market. If you're looking for a snapper recipe, check out our recipe for pan-seared snapper instead.
What Does Yellowtail Taste Like?
Yellowtail is rich and meaty, with a flavor profile similar to tuna or swordfish.
It's also often eaten raw in sushi, and would make a fabulous swap for tuna in these spicy tuna poke bowls.
In this recipe, however, we're skipping the raw preparation and instead baking the yellowtail.
Where Can I Buy Yellowtail?
Yellowtail can be a little difficult to find.
I ordered mine online, but you could also check the freezer section at your most well-stocked grocery store.
If you're interested in getting fish delivered, read up on how to buy seafood online and the benefits of joining a community supported fishery.
How to Make Baked Yellowtail with Teriyaki Sauce
Start by making the teriyaki marinade.
Whisk together the vinegar, soy sauce, ginger, garlic, wasabi (or horseradish), and sugar.
Then place the marinade and the fish in a shallow dish, skin-side up.
Refrigerate for 15 to 30 minutes.
Next, preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
Take the fish out of the refrigerator. Brush off any excess marinade from the fillets, and place them in an oiled, oven-safe pan.
I like to use this Lodge 12" carbon steel skillet.
Save the rest of the marinade for making sauce in a few minutes!
Slide the pan with the fish into the oven, and bake for 8 minutes per 1-inch of thickness.
Note that the bake time is a little shorter than most of my baked fish recipes, because it's better to slightly undercook than overcook this fish. Also, yellowtail seems to cook through quickly!
When done, the fish will be opaque and easy to pierce with a fork.
While the fish is cooking, bring the rest of the marinade to a boil over medium heat in a small pot.
Then simmer the sauce for two or three minutes. You may need to lower the heat slightly.
Remove the pot from the heat and cover to keep warm.
When the yellowtail comes out of the oven, brush the teriyaki sauce over top of it, and serve immediately!
Extra sauce can be served on the side, or drizzled over side dishes like jasmine rice or roasted baby potatoes!
Baked Yellowtail with Teriyaki Sauce
Ingredients
- 8 ounces yellowtail (2 fillets)
- ⅛ cup rice vinegar, plus more to taste See Recipe Note: "Types of Vinegar"
- ¼ cup soy sauce or tamari Use gluten-free certified if needed
- 1 tablespoon shaved ginger (or ginger paste)
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 teaspoon wasabi OR horseradish
- 2 teaspoons sugar (white or brown)
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
Instructions
- Whisk or blend together ⅛ cup rice vinegar, soy sauce, ginger, garlic, wasabi (or horseradish), and sugar. Marinate fish in sauce for 15-30 minutes. (Refrigerate while marinating.)
- Preheat oven to 400°F.Brush oil in an oven-safe pan or casserole dish.Use your fingers to brush the marinade off of the fish and move it to the prepared pan. Reserve marinade.Slide the pan into the oven.Cook fish for 8 minutes per 1" thickness, or until the fish is opaque and easily pierced with a fork. (Thinner fish will be done cooking in less time, so pay attention to the thickness of your fillets.)Do not flip the fish halfway through cooking.
- While the fish cooks, pour the marinade into a small pot.Heat over medium heat until it comes to a boil, and then simmer for 2-3 minutes, lowering heat if necessary. Remove from heat and cover the pan to keep the sauce warm.Taste marinade. If desired, add an additional splash of rice vinegar.
- When the yellowtail is done cooking, remove it from the oven and brush the teriyaki sauce over the fish. Divide the remaining sauce and serve it on the side or drizzled over side dishes (like rice or vegetables.)Serve the fish immediately.
Notes
- Please note that this recipe calls for rice vinegar, which is considerably less acidic than apple or wine vinegars.
- If you need to substitute an apple or wine vinegar, we recommend using half (or less) the amount called for.
- Distilled white vinegar should not be used.
Jeff & Diane D says
Hi,
Looks delicious!
A friend of ours (hubby is a fisherman in SoCal) gave us some fresh frozen at sea Yellowfin Tuna.
Will this marinade work for this dish?
Thanks!
Jeff & Diane
Alisha Trenalone says
Hi! That sounds delicious!
We used yellowtail amberjack (a different type of fish than yellowtail tuna), but it should work with tuna too. I like to undercook tuna- I’d probably cut the cook time a bit.
We also have some seared tuna recipes that would work well if you prefer a rarer tuna.
Hope it turns out amazing!
-Alisha at Champagne Tastes
Jeff & Diane D says
Hi,
Thanks for the suggestion, we will try it tonight and let you know.
Best,
Diane & Jeff
Toccarra Wilson says
Baking my yellowtail now with red onion zucchini squash and tomato’s. Ideally I’m going to pair it with a bed of pasta seasoned to taste. With a nice Shiraz.
Alisha Trenalone says
Sounds delicious!! Let us know how it goes 😊
-Alisha at Champagne Tastes
Spyra says
Hello! This can’t be reheated then? I know the fish may get tough but my hubs wanted to take leftovers for lunch tomorrow. I think he just wants to show off his catch at work (we live in Iowa but in early July my hubs and his dad went on a boat out of San Diego and caught Yellowtail and Dorado/Mahi-mahi).
Alisha Trenalone says
Hi Spyra, sorry for the late reply! Yes, it can be reheated, it's just that the fish tastes best right after cooking. But there should be no problem with eating it a day later.
-Alisha at Champagne Tastes
Sulani says
Absolutely delicious. Didn't have rice vinegar or Wasabi so substituted with white wine vinegar (just 1/8 instead of 1/4) and added Japanese 7 spice instead of Wasabi. Yummy!
Edward Trgovac says
Hi Sarah,
I’m a little confused on the teriyaki yellowtail recipe. It says teriyaki but in the ingredients sections it says soy sauce. Do you marinate in soy sauce then brush on teriyaki or marinate in teriyaki all the way. Thanks for your help.
Alisha Trenalone says
Hi Edward, soy sauce is the main ingredient in teriyaki sauce, so this recipe involves a homemade teriyaki (that's where the soy sauce and a few other ingredients come in). If you want to use a pre-made teriyaki sauce, you'd use that instead of all the ingredients listed for the sauce in step 1. The flavor of the pre-made sauce will affect the finished dish though, so make sure it's a sauce you like.
-Alisha at Champagne Tastes
Brian says
This calls for way too much vinegar. The marinade is far too tart and the sauce and fish end up the same way.
Sarah Trenalone says
Hi Brian,
Thanks for the feedback. We've adjusted the recipe based on feedback so it now calls for 1/8 cup vinegar (half the original amount), and then an optional extra splash of vinegar in the final sauce if desired.
Dan J says
As one other reviewer stated way too much vinegar, completely blew out the flavor of the fish. Terrible Recipe.
Sarah Trenalone says
Hi Dan,
Sorry it was too strong! We modified to the recipe based on feedback, so it now calls for 1/8 a cup vinegar (half the original amount), plus an additional splash of vinegar in the final sauce for those who prefer a tarter flavor.
Make sure to use rice vinegar, which is milder than apple or wine vinegar. Also make sure to not use distilled white vinegar, which generally shouldn't be used for cooking.