Spicy Salmon Sushi…In A Bowl!
My favorite easy way to satisfy a sushi craving at home! ♡
These salmon sushi bowls are quick, colorful, and full of all the vibrant flavors we love: tender bites of sesame-soy salmon, fluffy seasoned sushi rice, crisp cucumbers, creamy avocado, furikake (or seaweed snacks), and a generous drizzle of spicy mayo. Basically, all of the best parts of a spicy salmon roll, served bowl-style so you can pile on as many toppings as you’d like!
I love making these on weeknights because the salmon cooks so quickly in the air fryer and the rest of the bowl is easy to prep while the rice is steaming. (Or you can save a step and heat up packets of frozen pre-cooked rice!) The cucumbers get a quick toss with soy sauce and green onions, the spicy mayo comes together in about a minute, and then everyone can build their own bowl from there.
Feel free to keep things simple with just salmon, rice, cucumbers, and sauce, or have fun raiding your fridge for extra toppings. Pickled ginger, chili crisp, edamame, seaweed snacks, extra sriracha…there are so many ways to enjoy these bowls!
Recipe Tips
Here are a few things I’ve learned from making these bowls many times:
- Don’t skip rinsing the rice. Rinsing off the excess starch is what gives you that fluffy, slightly sticky sushi rice texture instead of a gluey mess. Run it under cold water until it’s mostly clear, and then you’re ready to go.
- Season the rice while it’s still warm. The vinegar mixture absorbs much better into warm rice than cold. Fold it in gently right after cooking and let it sit for a few minutes before assembling your bowls.
- Cut the salmon into uniform pieces. Trying to get them all roughly 1-inch helps them cook evenly in the air fryer. If some pieces are considerably smaller, they’ll overcook before the bigger ones are done.
- Watch your cook time closely. Air fryers vary a lot, so start checking your salmon at the 6-minute mark. You’re looking for the edges to be just lightly golden and the fish to flake easily.
- Make the spicy mayo your own. The recipe calls for 1 to 2 tablespoons of sriracha, but taste as you go. Some jars of sriracha are hotter than others, and some people want that drizzle to set their mouth on fire (hi, that’s me!) while others want just a hint of heat.
- Serve the bowls right away. These are best when the salmon is warm, the rice is fluffy, and the cucumbers still have their fresh crunch. So dive on in!
Variations You Can Try
This recipe is super flexible, so feel free to customize your bowls with whatever sounds good:
- Swap the air fryer salmon for a poke-style raw version. Cube up some sashimi-grade salmon or tuna, toss it in soy sauce, sesame oil, and a little sriracha, and let it marinate for 15 minutes. No cooking required.
- Add mango for a sweet contrast. Diced fresh mango alongside the cucumber gives you this sweet/spicy/salty thing that is really, really good.
- Make it crunchier with shredded carrots, sliced radishes, or crispy fried onions.
- Make it gluten-free by using tamari instead of soy sauce.
- Swap the rice for brown rice if you’d like a heartier whole-grain base, or cauliflower rice to keep it low carb.
- Add edamame for extra protein. Shelled edamame tucked into the bowl alongside the cucumber is a nice addition and makes the whole thing a little more filling.
FAQ
You can prep several components ahead, but I recommend cooking the salmon just before serving. The rice, spicy mayo, chopped cucumbers, and toppings can all be prepped in advance and stored separately.
No prob! To cook the salmon on the stovetop, heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat with a drizzle of oil, then add the salmon cubes in a single layer. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes per side, turning gently, until the salmon is golden on the edges and just cooked through. To bake the salmon, spread the cubes out on a parchment-lined baking sheet and bake at 400°F for 8 to 10 minutes, or until cooked through. For either method, try not to overcrowd the pan so the salmon has a chance to brown instead of steam.
You can use Kewpie mayo for a richer, slightly sweeter flavor, or try Greek yogurt for a tangier, lighter option. The texture and flavor will change a bit, but both can work.
Spicy Salmon Sushi Bowls
Equipment
Ingredients
For the sushi rice:
- 1 cup uncooked short-grain sushi rice
- 1 ¼ cups water
- 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
For the air fryer salmon:
- 1 pound fresh salmon filets
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
For the spicy mayo:
- ⅓ cup mayonnaise
- 1-2 tablespoons sriracha (to taste)
- 1 teaspoon soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon rice vinegar (or lime juice)
- ½ teaspoon sugar
For the bowls:
- 2 Persian cucumbers, halved lengthwise and chopped (or smashed)
- 2 green onions, thinly sliced
- 1-2 teaspoons soy sauce
- Optional toppings:
- 1 avocado, sliced
- furikake seasoning
- chili crisp
- pickled ginger
Instructions
- Cook the rice. Rinse the rice under cold water until it runs mostly clear. Add to a saucepan with the water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover, and cook for 15 minutes. Remove from heat and let sit (covered) for 10 minutes.
- Season the rice. Stir together the rice vinegar, sugar, and salt until dissolved. Gently fold into the warm rice. Let it cool slightly while you prep the rest.
- Prep the salmon. Cut the salmon into 1-inch cubes and transfer to a bowl. Toss with soy sauce, sesame oil, garlic powder, and black pepper until evenly coated.
- Air fry. Arrange the salmon in a single layer in the air fryer basket. Cook at 400°F for 6–8 minutes, shaking halfway through, until lightly crisp on the edges and just cooked through.
- Make the spicy mayo. In a small bowl, whisk together the mayo, sriracha, soy sauce, rice vinegar, and sugar until smooth. Taste and adjust the heat level as needed.
- Toss the veggies. In a small bowl, toss the cucumbers and green onions with 1–2 teaspoons soy sauce until lightly coated.
- Assemble the bowls. Divide the rice between bowls. Top with warm salmon, soy-tossed cucumber mixture, and avocado.
- Finish and serve. Drizzle generously with spicy mayo and sprinkle with furikake. Add any extra toppings you love (chili crisp, pickled ginger, extra sriracha, etc). Serve immediately with soy sauce and enjoy!
Did you make this?Let me know how it turned out in the comments below!
I LOVE this recipe. Making it for the second night in a row. Could not find wild salmon yesterday so I used shrimp. ( had the leftovers for a cold lunch, yum) Tonight is Salmon. I could eat this bowl every day, changing up the proteins. Tomorrow I might try air fried Tofu, with whatever ‘adornents’ are in my veggie drawer. I also cut up a sheet of Nori as an adornment. This one stays in rotation!
This was delicious. Everything was so good. The vinegar in the rice was such a flavor booster. The marinade on the salmon…wonderful. My new favorite bowl.