This is one of those dishes that after making it I know I’m going to be preparing often. This crispy rice with salmon is special, really tasty and the best part is that you can use leftover rice and fish to make it. The result is delicious and you won’t be able to stop eating it.
Crispy rice with salmon
This crispy rice with salmon is made of two components. The first is the crispy rice which we make by frying a thin slice of rice in a skillet with oil. The starch in the rice helps it to stick together and lets us get a round solid shape. If it breaks the first time that you make it, know that it happened to me, too! It takes a bit of practice to get it whole out of the pan but it’s completely worth it. Even if it breaks the dish still works! On top of this rice, we serve a mix of fish with other delicious ingredients. The contrast between the hot and cold and the crispy and creamy is what makes this recipe extra special.
How to make the rice
For this crispy rice with salmon, I used long-grain rice. The idea is that you take advantage of your daily-style rice leftovers from the day before. You can even plan ahead and just make some extra on purpose so you can make this the next day. I prepared it like always following my white rice recipe and then refrigerated it. On the next day, to make it extra sticky I warmed it up and mixed it with hot vinegar and sugar, kind of like when making sushi. This mix, when it cools down, turns stickier and is perfect for pan-frying. To fry it simply heat a non-stick frying pan over medium heat and add vegetable oil and a bit of rice. You will use a spatula to flatten it and stick it in place. When you notice that it’s golden at the bottom, flip it onto the dish where you’ll be serving.
For the fish on top
This crispy rice with salmon can be made using any type of fish that you previously prepared in the oven or even pan-fried. Again, if you’re a meal prepper you might want to cook fish for one day plus some extra for this recipe for the next day. Of course, you can cook the fish at the moment when you’re preparing the recipe and use It straight away. Here are the ingredients that we add to the fish:
- Mayonnaise: Mayo makes the mix creamy.
- Sriracha: This hot sauce makes the mix more interesting. You can swap it for another one you like or skip it if you don’t like hot sauces.
- Lemon juice: Lemon juice will add that bit of acidity that’s always welcome with fish.
- Salt and pepper: Salt and pepper are our basic seasonings and will lift all the other flavours.
- Sesame seeds: I used both toasted white sesame seeds and black sesame seeds but you can opt for just one.
- Chives: Chives add a bit of freshness and a lovely colour to finish our crispy rice with salmon.
Crispy Rice with Salmon
Ingredients
For the rice (replace for 2 cups of cooked rice)
- 1 tbsp oil vegetable or olive
- 1 garlic clove grated or minced
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 cup rice
- 1 ¼ cups water
For the crispy rice
- 1 tbsp rice vinegar
- 1 tsp sugar
- Vegetable oil
For the fish
- 3 portions cooked fish baked or pan-fried, approximately 300g
- 4 tbsp mayonnaise
- 1 tsp Sriracha or other spicy sauce
- 1 tsp lemon juice
- Salt and pepper
- 1 tsp toasted white sesame seeds
- 1 tsp black sesame seeds
- 1 tsp chopped chives
- Sprinkle of togarashi optional
Instructions
For the rice
- Preheat a saucepan over medium heat. Add the oil, the garlic, salt and stir constantly for 1 minute to cook the garlic.
- Add the rice and stir constantly for 1 minute.
- Add the water and stir briefly. Once it comes to a boil, reduce the heat to a minimum and cover with a lid.
- Cook the rice for 15 minutes or until there’s no liquid left at the bottom of the pan. As soon as it’s ready, I like to mix it using a fork to separate the rice and leave it like that for a couple of minutes.
- For this recipe, you want to ideally make the rice the day before.
For the crispy rice
- Reheat your rice from the day before in the microwave. You also want to heat up the mix of vinegar and sugar. Mix both of them together while they’re hot and let them cool down completely.
- Preheat a small skillet (about 16cm/6in wide) over medium heat. Add the oil and enough rice to make a 2-rice thick layer.
- Use a spatula to press down the rice to make it stick to each other.
- After 3-4 minutes, check if the bottom is golden enough and flip it onto the dish where you will be serving.
For the fish
- Use your fingers to flake the fish into medium pieces.
- Add the rest of the ingredients to the fish and mix. Taste it and correct the level of salt if needed.
- Serve the fish cold over the hot crispy rice.