Rice bowls are a great way to put a meal together in one dish. Fresh greens, tender starchy rice, a lovely glazed salmon and more so, a dressing that will definitely awaken your senses! Make this rice bowl your lunch or dinner go-to!

Song of the day: Got to Get You Into My Life by The Beatles.

There's something to be said about Asian rice bowls

When I see an Asian rice bowl I am always enthralled. The presentation of fresh and cooked, hot and cold, succulent and starchy, furthermore, a delicious dressing that just spikes the flavor of everything it touches. This Sweet and Sour Salmon Rice Bowl with Wasabi Vinaigrette will sure catch your eye and tantalize your palate!

Gathering the ingredients!

When making my shopping list, I always like to categorize the list in accordance to ingredients. Let's take a look at the list for this lovely rice bowl:

Protein - Atlantic Salmon
Rice - extra fancy premium Kokuho Rose
Veggies - Iceberge lettuce, carrots, avocado, cucumber, green onion
Marinade - soy sauce, sesame oil, mirin, tamari, garlic, maple syrup
Vinaigrette - sesame oil, soy sauce, mirin, tamari, wasabi paste, mayo, rice wine vinegar, brown sugar, sesame seeds
Garnish - pickled ginger

Making a list like this all grouped up, will have your shopping experience stepped up a notch. More so, you will not be going back and forth between isles, everything is grouped according to how you would find it in your local grocery store. A very efficient and enjoyable way to shop, also you may not buy all those things you don't really need, or maybe you will, lol.

The stages of Sweet and Sour Salmon Rice bowl with Wasabi Vinaigrette

I am an organization nut. I always say, if it floats your boat, then do it! For this recipe, organization is key to deliver a wonderful end result! This is what we want to do:

Firstly, we want to get that salmon marinating. Into a bowl go all the ingredients for the marinade. A quick whisk, and splash the salmon is in. A few flips to get the salmon all coated, and into the fridge covered it goes. 1 hour is enough time to marinade, however, if you can afford more time, it is better. Remember, more marinating time means incredible flavor!

Secondly, time to prep the veggies. To me presentation is important, it is what entices you. However, aroma may be the one that draws you in first. So that being said, we need to shred the lettuce, grate the carrots, slice the avocado, cucumber, and green onion.
Thirdly, the rice needs to be cooked. This is how I like to do my rice. I pour a bit of sesame oil in a medium pot. I toss in some chopped green onion. Then in goes the rice to toast a bit, seasoning with salt. Finally, adding the instructed amount of water to rice, bringing it to a bowl, then turning it way down to just simmer, turning the rice with a spoon. At the last stages of cooking I turn the heat right off and keep it covered. This steams the rice and gets it to the perfect consistency! Usually takes about 20 minutes.

Vinaigrette is our last thing to do. Likewise, we put all the ingredients into a bowl, whisk, and sample to get that just right flavor. Not too acidic and not too sweet. We want it to be balanced and really pick up the flavor of each ingredient!

The rest is easy!

This next step prior to eating is really easy. I put the salmon onto a parchment lined sheet and into a preheated 390° F oven for about 10 minutes. I use my trusted friend, the thermometer. It is a great way to get that salmon cooked perfectly. What I want to see is 145° F temperature. This tells me it is going to be moist, flaky, and delicious. One thing I do too is to just put the grill on high for a minute or so to get that lovely caramelization and color on top.

With our rice and salmon done, furthermore, our dressing is blended, we can plate this wonderful dish!

Plating this Sweet and Sour Salmon Rice Bowl with Wasabi Vinaigrette dish!

I start with the rice getting a good amount of the bowl at the bottom covered. Then in goes the lettuce to the side, similar with the avocado and cucumber slices. I put the salmon on and finish with some color from the grated carrots, sliced green onion, and pickled ginger. A nice drizzle of the vinaigrette and we are done. Now let's have a taste. Get your chopsticks!

Sweet & sour salmon and Rice bowl with wasabi vinaigrette-two bowls on bamboo mat

WOW!

This Sweet and Sour Salmon Rice Bowl with Wasabi Vinaigrette, has everything going on. The freshness and crispness of the veggies. Beautiful richness of the avocado pairing so well with that starchy nutty rice. I have to say this salmon is incredible. It is sweet, sour, with a nice subtle garlic flavor. More so, it is moist and flaky. The clincher is the vinaigrette, wow, it packs a wonderful wasabi punch with a subduing sweet, nuttiness.

Let's talk wasabi!

I just wanted to talk a little about wasabi. Don't you find it funny that we love something that almost takes our nose off? I mean in this dish you have all these wonderful flavors hitting your palate. Then, out of nowhere, in comes this tingling in your nose accompanied by a strange feeling of spice but in an aromatic sort of experience. The nice part is it lasts only few seconds, however, funny as it may be, we crave another and another, lol.

I think the wasabi just kicks up our taste buds, like they are on some super steroid. Everything smells better, tastes better, very addictive! The pickled ginger, well that's another story.

Sweet & sour salmon and Rice bowl with wasabi vinaigrette-chopsticks in the salmon

Thank you!

Thank you so much for joining me in the kitchen today! It has been an absolute pleasure sharing this Sweet and Sour Salmon Rice Bowl with Wasabi Vinaigrette with you! Sorry got to go, Nicoletta is calling me to the table, she has already started eating!

Do you like Asian-inspired meals? Try our Asian inspired Brown Rice Vermicelli Noodle Soup; or Halloumi and Vegetable Stir Fry; or Korean-style Short ribs on Rice with Asian Slaw.

Cheers!