Name: Baked Arctic Char With Honey Soy Marinade
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 55 min
Ingredients: 6 tablespoons soy sauce (use regular, gluten free or low sodium (whatever you prefer)); 4 tablespoons honey; 1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger; 4 teaspoons sesame oil; 2 teaspoons sriracha; 4 cloves garlic (minced); 1.5 pounds arctic char fillet (whole side) (skin on and bones removed); Sesame seeds; Green onion (sliced); Cilantro (chopped); Microgreens; Chili pepper (sliced); Lime wedges/juice

Jump to Recipe Save Recipe

This baked arctic char fillet with honey soy marinade makes for one easy (and scrumptious) seafood dinner that’s sure to be a family favourite!

Fillet of cooked arctic char on a sheet pan topped with chili pepper, sesame seeds & green onion.

Hi friends!

Today I’m sharing a delicious and easy seafood dinner of baked arctic char with a crazy good honey soy marinade.

I love using Newfoundland & Labrador (or Canadian) ingredients (like in this moose stew recipe) whenever I can. So, when I got my little hands on some arctic char, I was elated!

This fish fillet is locally (wild) caught in Labrador. How cool is that? My parents often go snowmobiling in Labrador and they picked up a fillet for me at a local fish supply store that’s known for its arctic char.

A whole fillet is baked on a sheet pan and, when it’s all done, it’s garnished with colourful (and flavourful) ingredients, like chili pepper, sesame seeds and green onion. Sounds good, right?

What Does Arctic Char Taste Like?

Arctic char fish (or “arctic charr”) tastes like a cross between freshwater trout and salmon (more closer to salmon, specifically Atlantic salmon, if you ask me). If you enjoy salmon (like I do) you’ll likely enjoy arctic char as well!

It’s interior flesh can range in colour from a pale pink (like what was used in this recipe) to more of a brighter deep red hue.

Large, uncooked artic char fillet in a glass baking dish.

Honey Soy Marinade and Sauce

This honey soy marinade/sauce is unbelievably easy to whip up and so freaking good! The marinade/sauce ingredients for this baked arctic char recipe are:

Soy sauce
Honey
Hot sauce
Garlic
Ginger
Sesame oil

With those flavourful ingredients, you know it’s going to be tasty! Half of the ingredients are used for the marinade to infuse tons of delicious flavour into the arctic char. The other half of the ingredients are reduced in a mini saucepan until thickened and heated through, then drizzled over the baked arctic char. So yummy!

How To Cook Arctic Char

You cook arctic char much like you would salmon. Even if your fish is labeled “boneless,” I always recommend checking for bones before preparing.

Note: Detailed instructions on how to cook arctic char are in the recipe card below, but here are the basics:

In a dish (I like to use a large measuring cup), add the marinade/sauce ingredients and whisk to combine. Remove half of it and place it in another dish. The reason we do this is that half of it will be used as a marinade for the fish and the other half will be reduced and used as a sauce once the fish is cooked.
Check the fish fillet for bones and remove/discard (if any). Then pat dry of any excess moisture with paper towels.
Place the fillet into a baking dish and pour marinade over top. Flip the fillet over to ensure everything is well coated. Let it marinate for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, remove the fish from the marinade and scrape off most of the garlic and ginger.
Place the fillet onto a parchment paper-lined sheet pan and bake. Once the arctic char is cooked through, opaque and flakes easily with a fork, carefully remove it from the oven.
Place the remaining half of the reserved soy sauce mixture into a small saucepan and cook over low heat so it reduces/thickens and heats through (you can do this while the arctic char is cooking if you like).
Brush or drizzle the thickened sauce over the baked arctic char, then garnish with chili pepper, sesame seeds, green onion and a squeeze of fresh lime juice.

Collage of steps to make baked arctic char with marinade.

How Long To Cook Arctic Char

The fillet that was used in this recipe was about 1-inch thick (at the thickest part). With the oven set at 400 degrees Fahrenheit, I like to cook the arctic char between 12 to 15 minutes (it’s usually good for me at the 12-minute mark).

Note: Cook time can vary, depending on the temperature of your seafood before cooking and its thickness. Heat until it’s cooked through, is opaque and flakes easily with a fork when prodded.

Can I Eat the Skin?

Indeed you can. However, because this arctic char is baked (and not, say, pan-fried), the skin doesn’t get crispy so I don’t eat it when it’s prepared this way.

If you like, you can remove the skin and crisp it up. Serve it on the side or crumble it over your cooked fish.

Cooked arctic char fish with a fork stuck into the fish taking some up.

Can I Make This Recipe With Another Type of Fish?

Absolutely! I realize that not everyone may be able to obtain arctic char fillet.

Still want to try this marinated seafood recipe? Use salmon fillet instead!

Close-up of a cooked fillet of arctic char fish with a fork stuck into it taking some up.

Tips and Variations

You can often find “smoked” arctic char or simply a “natural” fillet arctic char. The straight-up natural arctic char fillet is used in this recipe.
For presentation purposes, I don’t fold under the tail of the fillet. As that is the thinnest part of the fish, it cooks more quickly than the centre portion does. You can fold the tail end underneath (as to not overcook) if you wish.
For this recipe, the fillet was left whole (but you can cut it into smaller portions).

Sides To Serve With Fish

The star of this fish dinner is the arctic char, in my opinion, but if you are looking for some sides to make it more of a meal, it’s delicious with any of these:

Roasted veggies, like cauliflower or broccoli
Grilled asparagus
Mixed green salad
Roasted garlic mashed potatoes
Celeriac puree
Cauliflower rice
Fried rice or just a simple side of white rice
Quinoa

More Easy Seafood Recipes

If you make this baked arctic char recipe, be sure to leave a comment below!