Spicy Salmon Rice
This viral tiktok recipe was fire! Like most millennials, I love my sushi and poke bowls but it’s not something I could/should have every week. So earlier this month, when I was craving poke as usual, I stumbled up on Emily Mariko’s video and I was sold! Of course, I went ahead and added my own little tweaks. Here is the “spicy” version of the salmon rice bowl by yours truly!
Video Tutorial
So what changes did I make?
Tempura Sauce | The original recipe calls for soy sauce but I subbed it out for tempura. Why? Because more flavor! Tempura is made with dashi, soy sauce, mirin, and sugar so a whole lot of umami.
Furikake | You have definitely seen it on a poke bowl, it’s a Japanese crunchy salty seasoning, thanks to bonito flakes and seaweed nori. It also has a yummy nutty flavor from the sesame seeds mixed in. Of course I would add this!
Gochugaru | That secret spice I mentioned on Instagram — Korean crushed red chili flakes! I mean it’s really not a secret because I talk about it all the time. It’s one of my favorite spices, and I can assure you I am not the only one. Gochugaru is made from Cheongyang chili pepper native to South Korea which is finer and hotter than regular crushed red pepper.
I mentioned this before but I personally think the closest substitute to gochugaru is aleppo pepper and if you are Middle-Eastern it’s probably a staple at home for you. That being said, a decent substitute would be crushed red chili flakes but I recommend giving it one whirl through a spice grinder or a coffee grinder, so it is more flaky and coaese in texture like the gochugaru.
Edamame | Who doesn’t love edamame? Why do I need to convince you?
Kewpie Mayo | I am pretty sure this was used in the original recipe by Mariko but I have seen variations that used regular mayo. Stop! Please use Kewpie Mayo. Please buy it and make it a staple ingredient at home. Once you have had this baby, you will not turn back. Trust me!
Why is it better? Well because, it the best mayonnaise in the world, because it has MSG. It’s also made with only egg yolks, not whole eggs like the American mayo. Then there rice vinegar or apple vinegar (more flavor) and no added salt or sugar, aside from the MSG.
ps. If you are gonna talk smack about MSG, please allow me to educate you on the decade old war against this wonderful ingredient stemming from racism and blatant xenophobia against the AAPI community. There is LITERALLY nothing wrong with MSG. Learn more about it here, here and here.
Recommended Pantry Ingredients
Recipe — Spicy Salmon Rice
I am foregoing measurements for this recipe because it’s up to you, and how many servings of it you want to make. And I am sure you know what your go to serving size of a salmon fillet is. Okay fine, I will help you out a little — standard serving of rice is about a cup and standard serving size of salmon is 4-6 oz, per person. Pretty easy to eyeball how much tempura, sriracha, mayo and gochugaru you want to consume. It depends on your taste.
Ingredients + Directions
Rice
Cooked Rice
Cook rice the way you normally do, you can use fresh rice or day old rice, up to you. For this recipe, I personally like to use short grain rice or jasmine rice.
In the Tiktok video, Emily used day old rice from the fridge and used ice to reheat it. I know everyone is wow-ed by it but it is an age old trick. I personally do not like using ice because most of the time ice from the fridge has a funky odor/freezer-smell. Unless you are cleaning and maintaining your freezer on a monthly basis, kudos to you!
Here is my #LifeProTip, which is also another tried and tested trick across the culinary/food blogger community, is to cover the rice with damp paper towel while microwaving. The moisture from the paper towel will reheat and rehydrate the rice evenly. Of course, if you are using fresh cooked rice, skip this ice-paper-towel steps.
Salmon
Cooked Salmon Fillet
Cook the salmon the way you like. According to the survey I did on Instagram, it seems like most people prefer to pan-fry salmon, which is great!
Again, I personally love air-frying salmon — it’s slightly healthier (lol at least it feels like it). But really I love that the house doesn’t end up smelling fishy. That’s probably the main reason why I love air-frying any type of fish and bacon or any other smelly ingredients for daily use. Also, air-frying this way makes the salmon tender and flaky on the inside, but nice and crispy on the outside. It’s perfect for this recipe!
How to air-fry salmon
Standard portion size for salmon fillet is about 4-6 oz. Sprinkle each fillet with a dash of oil, pinch of salt, pepper and paprika, then rub them in gently. Place a square parchment paper (enough to hold the salmon fillets) on the air-fryer, so the salmon doesn’t stick to the little removable rack. Then air-fry it in 400°F for 7-10 minutes, depending of the thickness and the quantity of the salmon. If after 10 minutes, it still seems like it needs a little more, turn the fillet over and fry it for another 1-2 minutes. But make sure not to overcook your salmon!
Bringing it Together
Tempura Sauce
Sriracha
Kewpie Mayo
Edamame
Furikake
Gochugaru
In a bowl or plate, add the warm rice and then add the cooked salmon fillet. Use a fork to gently mash the salmon into flakes. Top it off with a drizzle of tempura sauce, followed by sriracha, kewpie mayo, edamame, furikake and gochugaru. Mix everything well.
Garnish
Avocado Slices
Roasted Seaweed
More Furikake + Gochugaru
Enjoy it with roasted seaweed and avocado slices. I wanted to be all fancy-shmancy so I turned them into little nori bites with spicy salmon rice and tiny avocado slices on top. Oh and yes, I sprinkled each bite with a ton of furikake and gochugaru on top!
Afterthought
I thoroughly enjoyed this dish and I think the addition of ingredients like tempura sauce, furikake, gochugaru and edamame just enhanced it so much more! Not even kidding, just put in an order of salmon half an hour ago because I definitely plan on making it again this week! This maketh the 4th time in 3 weeks. Lol bon appétit!
Ps. the comment section is now open, so if you guys have any questions or thoughts, post them below! And we will get back to you with our answers.
If you do recreate our recipe, be sure to
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