Sesame Soy Salmon Rice Bowls with Spicy Yogurt Sauce
These easy poke-inspired Salmon Rice Bowls are colorful, nutritionally balanced, and full of fresh flavors! With sesame garlic salmon, a cucumber mango salad, and fluffy rice all topped with a spicy yogurt mayo sauce! You can even meal prep everything in advance so it's ready to throw together when dinner rolls around.
Equipment
Ingredients
Salmon Ingredients
- 1 lb salmon
- ¼ cup low sodium soy sauce
- 2 teaspoon sesame oil
- 2 tablespoon honey
- 2 cloves garlic, minced (or ½ teaspoon garlic powder)
- 2 teaspoon rice vinegar
- 1 tablespoon ginger root, grated (about ½ inch of fresh ginger root or ½ teaspoon ground ginger)
Cilantro Rice Ingredients
- 1 cup jasmine white rice, uncooked
- 2 cups water
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- ½ cup cilantro, chopped
- 1 lime juice of (about 2 tablespoon lime juice)
Cucumber Mango Salsa Ingredients
- 1 English cucumber
- 1 cup mango, diced (I use frozen diced mango and cut it into smaller pieces)
- ½ cup red onion, diced
- ¼ cup cilantro, chopped
- 2 tablespoon fresh mint, chopped
- 1 teaspoon white sesame seeds
- 1 tablespoon low sodium soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- 2 tablespoon lime juice
- 1 teaspoon lime zest
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon fresh ginger, grated (optional)
Spicy Yogurt Mayo Sauce Ingredients
- 1 cup Greek yogurt
- 1 tablespoon mayonnaise
- 1-2 tablespoon sriracha sauce (more to taste)
- ½ tablespoon honey
- 1 tablespoon lime juice
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
Optional for Assembling
- romaine lettuce, chopped (optional)
Instructions
- To prep the salmon, cut it into bite-sized pieces with a sharp knife. You can remove the skin or leave it on. In a medium bowl, combine salmon with the marinade ingredients. Set aside to marinade 15-30 minutes.
- Place the cubed salmon in a single layer in the air fryer basket. Air fry at 390℉ (200°C) for 6-8 minutes. There is no need to flip or shake the salmon. You may need to do it in 2 batches depending on the size of your air fryer. You can cook it in a skillet or in the oven instead (See alternative cooking methods section below).
- Rinse the rice under cool water in a fine mesh strainer to get rid of some of the excess starch. Add the rice, water, olive oil, garlic powder, salt, and pepper to a boil. Lower heat to a gentle simmer and cover. Cook 15 minutes or the time according to the package. Remove from heat and let it sit covered 10 minutes. Add the cilantro fresh lime juice. Mix it to combine and add more salt as needed.
- While the rice cooks and salmon marinades, dice the mango, cucumber, and red onion. Chop the fresh herbs and grate the ginger (if using) *I gently scoop out some of the cucumber seeds to get rid of some of the moisture. Add everything to a large bowl.
- Add the dressing ingredients to a small bowl or mason jar. Whisk it or shake it until everything is emulsified. Add the dressing to the salad and give everything a good toss to combine.
- To make the sriracha Greek yogurt mayo sauce, mix together the ingredients in a small bowl.
- Assemble your bowls with the rice, cucumber mango salad, salmon, and romaine lettuce (if using). Top with the spicy yogurt sauce.
- Hint: if you want to meal prep in advance, I suggest making the cucumber mango salad, spicy yogurt sauce, and rice in advance. Then all that's left to do when dinner rolls around is to make the salmon and assemble.
Notes
Alternative Cooking Method for Salmon (Oven or Stove Top)
- Stovetop: heat a nonstick skillet over medium to medium high heat and add a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil. Add marinaded salmon to the hot skillet and cook for 3-4 minutes on one side and then flip and cook for another 2-3 minutes until cooked through, turning down the heat as needed.
- Oven: place the marinaded salmon on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or aluminum foil. Cook in the oven at high-heat of 425°F (220°C) for 10 minutes.
- If you want to get the skin off the salmon, cut it off carefully with a sharp knife
- Don't let the salmon marinade for more than 30 minutes because the vinegar will start to tenderize the fish and it could get mushy when it cooks
- There's no need to preheat your air fryer for this recipe
- Be sure to put the salmon in a single layer with a little space between each salmon bite.
- Rinse the rice under cold water in a mesh strainer before cooking. This helps get rid of some of the starch and will prevent the rice from becoming gummy while it cooks.
- Don't remove the lid from the pot while the rice cooks! It will release some of the steam.
- After the rice is done, remove the pot from the heat and let it stand for 5-10 minutes, covered, before removing the lid.
- For the cucumber mango salad, I like to chop everything into small pieces for this recipe so I get a little bit of everything in each bite.
- Scoop out some of the cucumber seeds before chopping the cucumber to get rid of some of the moisture.
- A small amount of mayo added to the Greek yogurt goes a long way in the dressing for this recipe and cuts the tanginess of the Greek yogurt! It also helps the dressing emulsify a bit better. With that said, you can totally leave the mayo out.
- If you or someone you are serving doesn't like cilantro, replace it with parsley or leave it out. The meal will still have plenty of flavor.
Storage
I suggest storing the individual components of this salmon bowl recipe separately.
- Prep Ahead - meal prep in advance by making the cucumber mango mixture, the rice, and the spicy sriracha mayo yogurt sauce in advance.
- Salmon Storage - store leftover salmon in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to 3-4 days.
- Cucumber Mango Salsa Storage - store leftovers in a sealed container the refrigerator for up to 3-4 days.
- Cilantro Lime Rice Storage - let the rice cool completely and store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3-4 days.
- Spicy Greek Yogurt Sauce Storage - store leftover sauce in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3-4 days.
For more nutrition information and tips, visit mallorythedietitian.com. I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as I do! 😊
Nutrition
Serving: 1bowl (suggested serving of ½ c salmon,¾ c cucumber mango salsa, ¾ c rice, , ¼ c sauce,, ½ c romaine)Calories: 650kcalCarbohydrates: 64gProtein: 39gFat: 26gSaturated Fat: 5gPolyunsaturated Fat: 4gMonounsaturated Fat: 5gCholesterol: 64mgSodium: 1100mgFiber: 2g
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