Crispy Rice Salmon

Crispy rice salmon is my new favorite go-to appetizer when I am looking to impress my family and friends. Made with fresh sushi-grade salmon, yuzu kosho, yuzu juice, and seasoned sushi rice this light, zingy, and savory crispy salmon bite will surely satisfy your sushi cravings.

Course Appetizer, Appetizer & Sides, Side Dish, Snack

Cuisine Asian Fusion, Japanese

Keyword crispy rice recipe, crispy rice salmon, crispy rice salmon bites, crispy rice sushi, crispy rice with spicy salmon, crispy salmon bites, nobu crispy rice, salmon crispy rice, spicy salmon crispy rice

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 20

Total Time 30

Servings servings

Calories 238kcal

Author Megan

Equipment

Ingredients

Sushi Rice

1.5 cups dry short grain sushi rice rinsed until water is clear
2 cups water
1 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoon rice vinegar
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil

Salmon

1 pound salmon sushi grade
3 tablespoon Kewpie mayonnaise
1 teaspoon yuzu kosho
1 teaspoon yuzu juice
1 tablespoon soy sauce
2 teaspoon sesame oil

Garnish

2 cucumbers halved and thinly sliced
2 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds
4 stalks Green onion chopped

Instructions

Crispy Rice

Prepare the rice. Thoroughly the rice 4-5 times until the water turns clear. Cook the rice and water in a rice cooker or on the stove.
Season the rice. In a small bowl, mix the salt, rice vinegar, sugar, and sesame oil until the sugar has dissolved. Once the rice is cooked, toss the mixture with the cooked rice in a large bowl and toss until combined.
Shape and refrigerate the rice. Place your flavored rice into a small square baking tray lined with plastic wrap. Press and shape your rice into a 1/2-inch thick square block. Wrap and refrigerate for at least 3 hours or overnight. You want to chill the rice so that it is slightly dried out and easy to cut into cubes.
Shape the rice. Once the rice is chilled, cut the rice into bite-sized rectangles. Pat to dry off any excess water condensation.
Pan-fry the rice. In a medium skillet, heat about 1/4-1/2 cup of vegetable oil (enough to fill a thin layer on your skillet) on medium-high heat until hot for about 30 seconds. Gently, place the rice into the pan leaving about 2 inches in between each piece. Be careful the oil may splatter. Cook on medium-high heat for about 2 minutes or until golden brown and then flip and cook for an additional 2 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from the pan and place on a wire rack placed over a lined baking sheet to drain any excess oil.

Salmon

Mix the ingredients. In a medium mixing bowl, add your chopped salmon, kewpie mayonnaise, yuzu kosho, yuzo juice, soy sauce, and sesame oil. Mix until thoroughly combined.

Assemble

Assemble. Add thinly sliced cucumber pieces on top of the crispy rice. Then place 1-2 tablespoons of spicy salmon on top. Garnish with toasted sesame seeds and chopped green onions.

Notes

Wash your rice! Washing your rice is always a vital step before cooking rice. Washing the rice removes the excess starch, dirt, dust, and debris from the rice grain. If you don’t wash your rice, the excess starch will gelatinize and make the grains become extra sticky and mushy.
Pack the rice. When molding the rice on your baking pan, make sure you gently pack in the rice as closely together without actually mashing the rice grains. You also don’t the rice to be too loose where you have large air bubbles that will make the rice fall apart when you fry it.
Chill the rice. You will need to chill the rice block in the refrigerator for a minimum of 3 hours or preferably overnight. The longer you chill the rice the easier it is to slice into cubes, and it will become slightly drier which will cause less splatter when you fry the crispy rice.
Make sure the oil is hot before adding the rice. Test the readiness of the oil by dropping one grain of rice and if it rapidly sizzles, the oil is ready.
Cool the rice on a wire rack for maximum crispiness. After the crispy rice is golden brown on both sides, place the crispy rice pieces over a wire rack to prevent them from getting soggy.
Food Safety: Consuming raw or undercooked meats, poultry, seafood, shellfish, or eggs may increase your risk of foodborne illness. Check with Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and/or appropriate regulatory agencies regarding food safety recommendations.
Storage: It is best to eat these crispy rice salmon bites fresh. However, you can store any leftover salmon crispy rice pieces in an airtight container in the refrigerator for a maximum of 2 days from when you bought the salmon.

Nutrition