RecipeTin’s rice bowls stretch two salmon fillets into a satisfying dinner for four

Name: RecipeTin’s rice bowls stretch two salmon fillets into a satisfying dinner for four
Cook time: 30 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: Japanese
Ingredients: ⅓ cup Japanese soy sauce – see note; ⅓ cup cooking sake – see note; ⅓ cup mirin – see note; 1 tbsp sugar (brown or white)

Delicious, wholesome and satisfying, this simple meal can be thrown together in the time it takes to steam rice.

Nagi Maehashi

May 21, 2024

Salmon rice bowls with DIY teriyaki dressing.Rob Palmer; STYLING: Emma Knowles

This is a typical end-of-week meal for me, often made by scraping together whatever protein and vegetables I have on hand. I love that I can pull it together in the time it takes me to steam a pot of rice, and that it doesn’t matter what you put on top because the syrupy teriyaki sauce will bring anything together into one delicious, satisfying bowl.

The sauce doubles as a glaze for the proteins and a sauce for the rice, and a little goes a long way. I’ve made it here with salmon because I like how two fillets can be stretched out to serve four people without anyone being left feeling dissatisfied.

SOS checklist

Fewer than 12 ingredients (excluding oil, salt, pepper and water) ✔
Less than 30 minutes’ active prep and cook time ✔

Ingredients

TERIYAKI SAUCE

⅓ cup Japanese soy sauce – see note
⅓ cup cooking sake – see note
⅓ cup mirin – see note
1 tbsp sugar (brown or white)

SALMON

400g skinless salmon fillets, cut lengthwise into 1cm slices
1 tbsp canola oil

RICE BOWLS

1½ cups white rice (anything other than jasmine)
560ml (2¼ cups) water
1 cup podded edamame, prepared according to packet directions – see note
1 cucumber, cut into 1cm dice
1 large avocado, cut into 1cm pieces
1 carrot, peeled and finely julienned or grated using a box grater
2 red radishes, finely sliced
4 tbsp crispy fried Asian shallots (store-bought)

Method

Step 1
Place the teriyaki sauce ingredients in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring to a simmer then lower to medium and simmer rapidly for 5-8 minutes or until reduced by half into a thin syrup. Pour into a bowl and allow to cool for 5 minutes.
Step 2
Place the rice and water in a medium saucepan (no need to rinse the rice). Bring to a boil over high heat, then put the lid on and turn the heat down to low. Cook for 13 minutes or until the water is absorbed – no peeking, no stirring! Remove the saucepan from the stove and let the rice rest for 10 minutes with the lid on. Gently fluff using a rice paddle or spatula. (Makes 4½ cups of rice.)
Step 3
While the rice is resting, heat the oil in a large non-stick pan over high heat. Cook the salmon on one side for 1 minute, turn, then cook the other side for 1 minute. Lower the heat to medium-low. Baste each side of the salmon with teriyaki sauce then briefly sear for 10 seconds to caramelise. Transfer onto a plate.
Step 4
To assemble the dishes, divide the rice among 4 bowls. Top with the edamame, cucumber, avocado, carrot and radish. Place the salmon on top and spoon a little teriyaki sauce onto the salmon, then drizzle sparingly over everything else. Sprinkle with crispy shallots. To eat, I break the salmon into flakes, mixing everything into the rice before I dig in with a spoon.

Notes

I use Kikkoman soy sauce from Japan but Chinese light soy sauce is also suitable. Do not use dark soy sauce or sweet soy sauce; they will not work for this recipe.
Both mirin and cooking sake are essential for Japanese cooking. They are both alcoholic cooking wines. Mirin is sweet and syrupy whereas cooking sake is dry. They can be found in the Asian section of supermarkets and Asian grocers. Look for Japanese-made mirin and cooking sake, as they are better quality.
Edamame (soy beans) are widely available in the freezer section.
The teriyaki sauce flavour is quite strong. Sometimes I like to whisk 2 teaspoons of rice wine vinegar into the sauce to add a little tang.