Salmon is on the list of things to eat more of this year. I like salmon, but often don't think to cook it. So I have a little game I'm playing to try to remind myself to eat more salmon (and fish in general).
I know this recipe says "bowl" but I didn't want (or care for) much of what's on the list to put in said bowl. In fact, as I look at the list, I used none of what's on the list. I had this zucchini to use up so I went ahead and baked it with the salmon. The salad had some carrots in it, so that counts. AND I had cucumbers for lunch.
Ahem.
At any rate, this was a good teriyaki sauce. If you're not a fan of sesame oil, don't use the full teaspoon. It was a little overwhelming for my liking.
Easy Teriyaki Salmon Bowls
Recipe from Averie Cooks
Serves 4
TERIYAKI SAUCE
- ½ cup soy sauce, lite or reduced sodium recommended
- 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
- 2 tablespoons light brown sugar, packed
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil, plus more to taste if desired
- 1 or 2 cloves garlic, finely minced
- 1 teaspoon freshly grated ginger, or 1/2 teaspoon dried ground ginger
- ½ teaspoon salt, or to taste
- ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes, or taste (I prefer more for a bit more spiciness)
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch
- 2 tablespoons water
SALMON
- 1 ½ pounds salmon, skin removed and cut into 1-inch cubes (read blog post FAQs for more salmon info)
BOWL INGREDIENTS
- 2 cups cooked jasmine rice, or your favorite rice
- 1 cup shelled edamame, cooked
- 1 cup English cucumber, sliced (peeled if desired if using regular cucumber)
- 1 cup carrots, julienned (use bagged shredded carrots to save time)
- 1 medium ripe Hass avocado, sliced or cubed
- 1 to 2 tablespoons thinly sliced green onions, for garnishing and to taste
- 1 to 2 teaspoons sesame seeds, for garnishing and to taste
Teriyaki Sauce – Add all the ingredients to a medium bowl, and whisk to combine. Set aside momentarily.
Cube the salmon into 1-inch chunks, place them into a large bowl, and drizzle about 3 to 4 tablespoons of the teriyaki sauce, mix well with a spoon or clean hands, cover, and refrigerate to marinate for at least 30 minutes, or up to 2 hours. Reserve the rest of the teriyaki sauce for simmering.
Preheat your oven to 400F while the salmon marinates (if marinating longer than 30 minutes, you don't need to preheat your oven until you're ready to bake the salmon of course).
Bake the salmon for about 9-12 minutes, or as needed (perhaps up to 15 minutes). Baking Tips – It depends on the exact size of the pieces of salmon, your oven's heat output, and how well done you like your salmon. These are small, bite-sized pieces of fish which cook quickly. It could take longer (even up to 15-ish minutes) but cook until done, whatever that means for you, in your oven. Allow salmon to rest on the baking sheet until it's ready to be placed in the bowls.
Simmer the Reserved Teriyaki Sauce – To a small pan, add the remaining teriyaki sauce. Separately in a small bowl or cup, add the cornstarch + water and stir to dissolve and combine and now add the slurry to the pan with the teriyaki sauce, heat over medium or medium-high, whisking nearly constantly for about 3 minutes, or until the sauce has thickened.
Tips – Sauce will always appear more runny and thin when it's in a hot pan than when it's cooled. So even if it doesn't look particularly thick at 3 minutes, simmer for another couple minutes, and that should be plenty. You can keep the sauce in the pan, off the heat, while the salmon bakes and you get to work on the bowl ingredients.
Bowl Ingredients – Important Tip – While the salmon is marinating and then baking, you must work on preparing these ingredients or things won't finish at the same time.
If you're cooking rice from scratch, do it now. However…Tip – I am a huge fan of precooked rice in packets that require just 90 seconds in the microwave because they save so much time and energy. (see link above). Cook your rice how you like it best, and use whatever type of rice you'd like, of course.
Boil the edamame and drain it. Tip – I put frozen shelled edamame straight from the freezer into a 2-cup Pyrex measuring cup, top with water, cover with plastic wrap, and microwave it for about 5 minutes on high, or until done, then drain or just fish out with a slotted spoon. You can boil it on the stovetop but I find the microwave method much faster and easier.
Bowl Assembly – Evenly divide the cooked rice, cooked and drained edamame, cucumbers, carrots, and avocado between 4 bowls (or meal prep containers).
Evenly divide the cooked salmon to each bowl, evenly garnish with green onions and sesame seeds to taste, and evenly drizzle the simmered teriyaki sauce, and serve.
