Soy Salmon Bowls

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These toe the line between a light and healthy dish and a warm comfort food, depending on what you add. So easy to customize and double (or even triple) if you’re cooking for a bigger group!

This past summer, while on a family vacation, I was able to make 12+ meals out of this recipe and keep it a relatively low-stress situation. It’s also pretty enough to impress the family you haven’t met yet! My one friend has a family group chat dedicated to cheffing it up. She was sweet enough to send this pic in, and her dad ended up asking for the recipe! He had nothing but good things to say about them.

The easiest way to go about it is to create the marinade first, cube and get that salmon in there, and let it rest in the fridge while you chop up all the toppings. 

My favorite trick for the salmon is something I found on TikTok (surprise, surprise). I’m sure if you prefer skin-on salmon, you can skip this step, and it’ll be fine. Personally, I’m not a fan. If you put a tiny bit of water in a pan - not even enough to fully cover it - then bring the water to a boil and put the salmon skin-side down for a couple of seconds, the skin will peel right off. This has saved SO much time and frustration. After that, continue to cube the salmon and add it to the marinade. 

When marinating, I feel like a bag works better than a bowl. You’re able to squeeze more air out to make sure the marinade is covering all the salmon pieces. It makes it easier to rotate with something delicate like salmon. If it were in a bowl, tossing it could cause the salmon cubes to fall apart. With the bag, you can flip it over if you really feel the need. Also, in a situation where fridge space is a luxury, the bag is the way to go every time. 

The broccoli I prefer to roast at 415 - 425 until it looks crispy. This adds a layer of warmth besides the rice and salmon, and is a nice crunchy part. I drizzle with oil and season with salt, pepper, garlic, and onion powder before massaging it into the broccoli.  I bake it for around 30 minutes total and toss halfway through. Once it’s nice and crispy and maybe a little burnt, it’s ready to come out. 

The carrots and edamame come basically ready. The only other two toppings that need preparing are the cucumber and mango. For the cucumber, I cut it into quarter moons. The mango, I cube. If you’ve never cut a mango, it’s much easier to watch a video than read about it. This is the one I found helpful. It’s simple but feels like it’s complicated. Most grocery store mangos will not be as ripe as they can be. I like to buy them a day or two before I plan on making this, so they have some more time to soften.

Once it’s time to cook the salmon, it’s best to do so in batches. An oil with a higher heat will be better for this recipe. If I have avocado oil around, I’ll use that, but if not, I go towards veggie oil. Heat oil in the pan on medium-high to high. Add salmon cubes one by one once the oil is hot. Space them out enough that they don’t end up steaming.  

The sugar in the honey makes them brown quickly. You can tell how they’re doing by looking at the sides. If the pan-side-down is turning lighter around halfway, it’s time to flip. If it’s not there yet, it could use some more time. Once they’ve been flipped, you can use the same trick on the other side. If you’re still not sure if they’re done cooking, but it looks less pink, try lightly pushing down on a corner. If it starts to flake, it’s definitely done. If they do end up a little over, they taste great with some char to them. It’s some people’s favorite part.

When you’re done with one batch, add it to a plate and start on the next batch. In the past, when cooking for a large group of people, I had two pans going at the same time and would add them to a baking sheet with tin foil.  

I like to start the rice just before the salmon, that way it’s normally done once the salmon is. I make the sauces while the salmon is cooking since they’re pretty simple. The first sauce is just the marinade thickened in a saucepan. If you feel like having fewer dishes, you can do this in the same pan that you cooked the salmon, but I would definitely suggest pouring out some, if not all, of the cooking oil. Cook on a high heat and stir when bubbling until it’s reached your preferred thickness. The second sauce can be replaced with a sriracha map. I like making it myself and adding a splash of rice wine vinegar since I’m never able to find Kewpie mayo. 

And that’s all! Serve together over rice and maybe with a sprinkle of sesame seeds. It seems like a good amount of work, but it is deceivingly easy since all the steps are so beginner-friendly. 

Full recipe right below!

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Ingredients:

• 1 lb salmon

• Marinade: 2 parts soy sauce, 1 part honey, 1 part sesame oil

Toppings:

• 2 mangos, cubed

• 1 head of broccoli, roasted

• edamame

• shredded carrots

• 1 cucumber, chopped

• sauce: mayo, sriracha, splash of rice wine vinegar

Directions:

1. Mix marinade.

2. Cut salmon into 1-inch cubes and add to the marinade. Marinate for anywhere between 30 minutes and 2 hours.

3. Add oil to the pan on medium-high heat. Add salmon in batches,

4. Cook for a couple of minutes on each side until crispy and brown, then flip. You'll know it's cooked through if it flakes.

5. Add extra marinade to a saucepan and put on high heat until thickened

   • It will bubble a good amount because of the honey​

   • This can be used as a sauce and is great with the rice

6. Mix the other sauce​

7. Serve over rice with toppings