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Enjoy a delicious, satisfying, and nutrient-dense meal with these Sticky Salmon Rice Bowls made with a homemade sticky sauce and complete with spicy mayo.
Easy and delicious sticky rice and salmon bowls
Nothing packs in flavor, nutrients, and protein quite like a sticky salmon rice bowl. And when it’s filled with so many delicious ingredients (think salmon, cucumber, broccoli, soy sauce, honey, lime juice, garlic…) you can’t help but love it.
This meal is made up of a few different parts, all of which come together to create a flavor-packed and extremely satisfying bowl. The recipe yields 4 servings, making it fantastic for feeding the family, enjoying as dinner and next-day lunch for two, or preparing for the week’s meal prep!
Ingredients in sticky salmon rice bowls
This recipe is made up of four sets of ingredients. We’ll begin with the base where we’ll prep the salmon, rice, and veggies, and then we’ll prepare the cucumbers, sticky sauce, and spicy mayo.
Bowl Base
- Salmon: The bowl base begins with 2 lbs of salmon. Be sure the skin is removed.
- Rice: 2 cups of uncooked rice will be the perfect amount for 4 bowls.
- Cucumber: Next, you’ll need 3 baby cucumbers. We’ll be coating them in a delicious sauce.
- Broccoli: As for the broccoli, use 1 large head, and prepare it by chopping it into small florets.
- Sesame seeds: Sesame seeds will complete the salmon rice bowl base.
Cucumber Sauce
- Sesame oil: First up for the cucumber sauce is 2 tsp of sesame oil.
- Soy sauce: Follow that with 2 tbsp of soy sauce. This is where we’ll get a lot of the flavor.
- Honey: Next, cut the salt a bit by adding 1 tbsp of honey. This will contribute a subtly sweet flavor that tastes delicious alongside the other ingredients!
- Chili crunch: Add a crunch and a bit of heat with 1 tbsp chili crunch. Optionally use red pepper flakes instead.
- Lime juice: Last up for the cucumber sauce is lime juice. Use 1 lime’s worth.
Sticky Sauce
- Soy sauce: The sticky sauce begins with 1/2 cup of soy sauce.
- Rice vinegar: Add a bite by including 1/4 cup of rice vinegar.
- Honey: Like with the cucumber sauce, add some honey to offset the other flavors and add a dash of sweetness. This time, we’ll be using 1/4 cup.
- Sesame oil: Next, use 2 tsp of sesame oil.
- Grated ginger: Then, throw in 2 tbsp of grated ginger.
- Garlic: Gotta have the garlic! Use 2 cloves of minced garlic (or 1/2 tsp of garlic powder).
- Chili crunch: Throw in 1 tsp of chili crunch. Again, you can use red pepper flakes if preferred.
- Arrowroot powder: 1 tsp of arrowroot powder will help thicken up the sauce. This can be substituted with cornstarch.
- Water: Last but not least, add 2 tbsp of water.
Spicy Mayo
- Mayo: For the mayo portion of the spicy mayo, use 1/2 cup.
- Sriracha: A little sriracha goes a long way! You’ll only need about 1 tbsp.
- Water: Finish it off with 2-3 tbsp of water.
Tools needed to make salmon rice bowls
You will need select kitchen tools to create this recipe, beginning with a pot large enough to cook two cups (uncooked) of rice. A steamer will be needed to steam the broccoli, or you can steam it in the microwave.
Additional items include a cutting board and knife, a small mixing bowl, a whisk, a sauce pot, and a stirring utensil.
To measure out ingredients, grab the following measuring cup sizes: 1 tsp, 1 tbsp, 1/4 cup, 1/2 cup, and 1 cup.
How to make sticky salmon rice bowls
These rice bowls have a lot of steps, but it’s nothing you can’t tackle! Prep everything in the order listed below, and I’m sure you’ll find this dish easy to prepare. We’ll begin with the rice!
First, prepare the rice according to the instructions on the package. Then, set aside.
Steam the broccoli until it’s fork-tender.
Next, slice the cucumbers and then whisk together the sesame oil, soy sauce, honey, chili crunch, and lime juice in a small bowl. Add the cucumbers and mix until they’re well-coated. Set aside.
Chop the salmon into bite-sized chunks. Toss them with oil and then sprinkle with salt and pepper. Lay flat in the air fryer and fry for 7 minutes at 400°F. If baking, bake for 10 minutes at 425°F.
Next, begin creating the sticky sauce. Place a sauce pot over medium-high heat and add the soy sauce, rice vinegar, honey, sesame oil, grated ginger, garlic, and chili crunch. In a separate little dish, whisk together the arrowroot and water. Once the sauce starts to bubble, add the arrowroot slurry.
Let the sauce bubble and cook for 2-3 minutes or until it thickens. It will thicken more as it cools.
Prepare the spicy mayo by mixing together all of the mayo ingredients.
Finally, add the rice to a shallow bowl or plate, followed by the cooked broccoli, marinated cucumbers, and cooked salmon. Pour the sticky sauce on top of the salmon, coating well. Top with the spicy mayo and sesame seeds, and enjoy!
Optional ingredient add-ins
Want to add even more flavor to your bowls? Below are some ingredients that you can add for an extra bump in flavor (and healthy nutrients)!
- Avocado
- Shredded carrots
- Shredded purple cabbage
- Edamame
- White or red onion
If you liked this recipe, you’ll want to try these!
Enjoy some more delicious meals this week with these yummy lunch or dinner recipes. From chicken to shrimp pasta, there’s an idea for all cravings. Or, check out all of my dinner recipes!
- Greek Sheet Pan Chicken Thighs
- Chicken Piccata Meatballs
- Lightened Creamy Cajun Shrimp Pasta
- Easy White Chicken Chili Recipe (Stovetop or Crockpot)
Recipe by Erin Morrissey and Photos by The Mindful Hapa
Sticky Salmon Rice Bowls
Enjoy a delicious, satisfying, and nutrient-dense meal with these Sticky Salmon Rice Bowls made with a homemade sticky sauce and complete with spicy mayo.
Ingredients
- 2lbs salmon, skin off
- 2 cups uncooked rice
- 3 baby cucumbers
- 1 large head broccoli, chopped into small florets
- sesame seeds
Cucumbers:
- 2 tsp sesame oil
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tbsp honey
- 1 tsp chili crunch/sprinkle red pepper flake
- Juice of 1 lime
Sticky Sauce:
- 1/2 cup soy sauce
- 1/4 cup rice vinegar
- 1/4 cup honey
- 2 tsp sesame oil
- 2 tbsp grated ginger
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tsp chili crunch/red pepper flake
- 1 tsp arrowroot powder (sub cornstarch)
- 2 tbsp water
Spicy mayo
- 1/2 cup mayo
- 1 tbsp sriracha
- 2–3 tbsp water
Instructions
- Prepare rice according to package. Set aside.
- Steam broccoli until fork tender.
- Slice cucumbers. In a bowl, whisk together sesame oil, soy sauce, honey, chili crunch, and lime juice. Add cucumbers and mix until well coated. Set aside.
- Chop salmon into bite size chunks. Toss with oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Lay flat in the air fryer and fry 7 minutes at 400F. Alternatively bake 10 minutes at 425.
- In a sauce pan, make the sauce. Over medium-high heat, add soy sauce, rice vinegar, honey, sesame oil, grated ginger, garlic, and chili crunch. In a separate little dish, whisk together arrowroot and water. Once sauce starts to bubble, add arrowroot slurry.
- Let sauce bubble and cook for 2-3 minutes or until thickening. It will also thicken more as it cools.
- Make spicy mayo by mixing all ingredients together.
- Add rice to shallow bowl or plate, then add cooked broccoli, marinated cucumbers, and cooked salmon. Pour sticky sauce over top of salmon, coating well. Top with spicy mayo and sesame seeds.
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kaitlin says
Love this recipe! It’s easy an easy meal to repeat once you’ve bought the rice vinegar, sesame oil, and soy sauce (if you didn’t already have them in your pantry). I love that after the initial prep, everything comes together pretty easily without a lot of guesswork. Will definitely make this again.
★★★★★
Erin says
Hi Kaitlin, so happy you loved it and made it your own!!
Chelsea Abraham says
I’ve made this recipe multiple times. I always double the batch so my fiancé and I can have allll the leftovers. One of our absolute favorite dishes.
Erin says
Hi Chelsea, so happy you love them so much! 🙂
Courtney H says
I loveeeee this sauce! This is such a yummy recipe I have made many times.
★★★★★
Erin says
Hi Courtney, so happy you loved them! 🙂
Lauren says
So delicious! It has a lot of ingredients but don’t let that scare you, it is super easy to make! And once you own the staples, very easy to recreate. Will definitely be a regular dinner in our house.
Erin says
Hi Lauren, so glad you enjoyed them! 🙂
Lianna says
10/10 absolutely amazing! The flavors are just so good. My boyfriend and I both agreed this was a knock out and will def be making often. Super easy too!!
★★★★★
Erin says
Hi Lianna, so happy you both loved them!! 🙂
Autumn says
This was amazing and the kids loved it! Does anyone have ideas on how to make this healthier? This is super high calorie, fat, cholesterol and sodium – definitely worth having as a treat like I did tonight. But I love it so much I want to make it even healthier! Any suggestions are welcome!
Erin says
Hi Autumn, so happy you all enjoyed it! Feel free to make any subs you’d like to!
Jill says
Honestly it’s not unhealthy. Healthy fat with the sesame oil and not much of that. Healthy fat in the salmon if you use wild. I didn’t use the cucumber at all (didn’t have any) I steamed broccoli and carrots then broiled some asparagus, that was my veggie. For the sauce I used coconut aminos, much less sodium than soy sauce, was delicious. The sriracha mayo was a drizzle (I used Veganaise) this was soooooo good!!!
Erin says
Hi Jill, so happy you loved them!! 🙂
Rachel says
I would pay $20 for a bowl of this at a restaurant! So delicious. The sticky sauce was so good! Very easy to make 🙂 you need to try this.
★★★★★
Erin says
Hi Rachel, so happy you loved them so much!!
Debbie says
Delicous. I could reduce the spice a little
Erin says
Hi Debbie, so glad you liked it and feel free to modify as needed to your preference! 🙂
jason says
This had unbelievable flavors, table comments were “this is something you’d have at a restaurant” Highly recommend and will make again. (made it with Coconut Rice)
Erin says
Hi Jason, so happy you enjoyed them! 🙂
Fiona says
Love the sound of this recipe! Is it possible to make the sticky sauce (and cook it) ahead of time and keep in the fridge? How long do you think it would stay fresh for?
★★★★★
Erin says
Hi Fiona, thanks and definitely – will last a week! Let me know how yours come out!
Bridget says
Surprisingly very easy! I did have to buy some of the ingredients but besides that, a very low effort meal! Definitely gonna add this in my weekly lineup
★★★★★
Erin says
Hi Bridget, so glad you loved them! 🙂
Catherine says
Made this for dinner the other night and it’s so good!! And my husband approved which is always a win. The cucumbers were specifically so tasty. A nice change up to baked salmon.
★★★★★
Erin says
Hi Catherine, so glad you both loved them!!
Andrea says
Soo delicious! Can’t wait to make these again!
★★★★★
Erin says
Hi Andrea, so glad you loved them! 🙂
Lucy says
So delicious – highly recommend using the air fryer for the salmon – cooks perfectly!
★★★★★
Erin says
Hi Lucy, so happy you loved them!!
Jaymey says
Great recipe Erin, and versatile, I made a version with what I had, and used broccoli and no rice 🙂 and a sugar free teriyaki marinade I had and added chili crunch and reduced per your guidance – thanks!
★★★★★
Erin says
Hi Jaymey, so happy you loved them and made them your own!! 🙂
Alyssa says
SO YUMMY! Loved that you added substitution options because I totally didn’t have the arrowroot and realized at the last minute. Will absolutely make again and again!
★★★★★
Erin says
Hi Alyssa, so happy you enjoyed them!! 🙂
Dana Bower says
Easy-peasy and delicious. As good as getting poke when ordering out. Makes great left-overs too!
★★★★★
Erin says
Hi Dana, so glad you enjoyed them! 🙂
Katherine says
So easy and quick to make! We had leftover spicy mayo from a sushi night so wanted to use that up, but the sticky sauce is so delicious we didn’t even use the mayo. Definitely will be adding to our go to recipes – love it!
★★★★★
Erin says
Hi Katherine, so happy you loved them so much! 🙂
anthea says
I absolutely love this!
I made this today and i was pleasantly surprised by how good it was!
It wasn’t like i was expecting the recipe to be bad, but i was expecting my cooking skills to fail me, but no, it was very easy to make.
It was also surprisingly quick to make, I had leftover salmon from lunch and this was the perfect thing to do with it.
Also for me it’s really important if it doesn’t make a huge mess and this didn’t at all! Literally so easy to cook and to clean up afterwards.
Amazing recipe and definitely will be recomending this and cooking it.
It’s all you’d want in a dish.
★★★★★
Erin says
Hi Anthea, so happy you love it so much!! 🙂
Marcia says
Made this for dinner and it’s really delicious and easy to make. Flavors of the sauces and condiments with the salmon were all so delicious together
★★★★★
Erin says
Hi Marcia, so happy you loved it!! 🙂
Caroline says
Yum! So easy to follow. Great healthy recipe that will go on our regular rotation!
★★★★★
Erin says
Hi Caroline, so happy you loved them!!
Lisa says
This was so good and simple to make. I marinated the salmon in the sticky sauce for 24 hours. I also added sautéed zucchini, did a bed of kale instead of rice and subbed sriracha for spicy Mayo. But will definitely be saving and making again 🙂
★★★★★
Erin says
Hi Lisa, so glad you enjoyed them and made them your own!!