Sockeye Salmon Poke Bowls

I’m often asked if my salmon is safe to eat raw and the answer is absolutely!  These sockeye salmon poke bowls are my new favorite way to eat salmon.  They are great for a dinner party but easy enough to throw together any random weeknight, and chances are you have most of the ingredients already sitting around at home.  The toppings are flexible, really whatever you have to add in for some color and flavor.  I do recommend slow thawing your salmon in the fridge in the morning to really maximize the freshness when eating it raw.  Make sure that you marinade your salmon for at least an hour, though if you can marinade it a few hours in advance it’s even better.  Enjoy!

(Yields 2-4 servings)

INGREDIENTS

POKE:

·      1 lb. sockeye salmon

·      ¼ cup soy sauce

·      2 tablespoons rice vinegar

·      2 tablespoons sesame oil

·      1 teaspoon sugar

·      2 tablespoons sesame seeds

·      A pinch of crushed red pepper

·      1 scallion finely chopped

RICE:

·      1 1/2 cups sushi rice (plain white rice works just fine too)

·      1/8 cup rice vinegar

·      1 tablespoon sugar

·      1 teaspoon kosher salt

TOPPINGS:

·      Spicy mayo (make it yourself with 1/3 cup Kewpie mayo and sriracha)

·      Seaweed salad

·      Edamame (cooked and shelled)

·      Avocado

·      Mango

·      Cucumber (see below for a fast pickle recipe)

·      Shredded cabbage

·      Carrots sliced thin

·      Scallions

·      Radishes

·      Pickled ginger

·      Furikake

·      Sesame seeds

 PICKLED CUCUMBERS

·      2 medium cucumbers

·      ½ cup rice vinegar

·      ½ cup water

·      1/4 cup honey

·      1 teaspoon kosher salt

·      ½ teaspoon chili flakes

DIRECTIONS 

Step 1

Prepare the salmon: deskin and cut into bite size cubes.  In a medium bowl combine salmon with the marinade ingredients: soy sauce, vinegar, sesame oil, sugar, sesame seeds red pepper and scallion.  Place in the fridge at least one hour before serving and stir every so often to coat all the salmon in the marinade.

Step 2

Cook the rice.  Combine water, sugar, salt and vinegar until dissolved, then combine with rinsed rice and cook as you would normally on the stove top or in a rice cooker.

Step 3

Make your pickled cucumbers.  Stir vinegar, water, honey, salt and chili flakes until the honey and salt are dissolved.  Peel and slice your cucumbers thin and place in a container with the brine.  I like to use a Tupperware so I can shake and recoat the cucumbers every so often.  Place in the fridge.

Step 4

Gather and chop up your toppings and mix your spicy mayo.  I like to make a poke bar and let everyone assemble their bowls as they wish.