Salmon Brown Rice Bowl

On my quest to be a little more healthy, (and I say this very loosely), I was looking at my fridge and pantry with skepticism in trying to figure out how to make something healthy, yummy and satisfying. Sure, I know the healthiest way to eat is steaming lean proteins and vegetables, but doing so results in taking a trip down bland avenue and straight into flavorless town, and then subsequently me flipping a table from being h-angry.​

I looked at a piece of fresh salmon in the fridge and thought, "Dear Salmon, how should you enter my belly?" How about a salmon rice bowl?

In Japanese, donburi, or more popularly known as "don" is essentially a bowl of rice topped with simmered veggies and or meat. It could be fish, pork, beef, chicken etc. Donburi is one of the easiest things to make as long as you have rice, and then you can top it with virtually anything—you can even use leftovers.

For this simple salmon brown rice bowl, the flavor profile is Asian (surprise!) and can be made in 15 minutes or less, including microwaving the packet of Seeds of Change Quinoa & Brown Rice with Garlic. And here you've got yourself a quick, healthy and yummy meal. I first tried this brand of brown rice and quinoa during a Costco trip, where they were giving out free samples. I'm a sucker for free samples. Or free stuff. Yay~

Anyhow, I was so happy with how it came out! Plus, it's healthy and could be microwaved in 90 seconds, so I'm all for it. A package is two servings, so it was perfect for a dinner between myself and Wilson. It's so easy because this recipe just needs you to chop up the ingredients, mix in the flavors, sauté til cooked, and top off on rice. The sweet soy sauce in the dish makes it similar to salmon teriyaki, while the sweet thai chili sauce gives it a little extra spice and tang that reminds me of Thai fish dishes. Top it off with a poached egg yolk and some tobiko (Japanese word for flying fish roe) and it's ready to go. The texture of the rice and quinoa, along with the little salty tobiko popping in your mouth is fun and tasty, while the smooth egg yolk glosses and coats the salmon with a delicious richness that only eggs can do.

​There's also something simple and comforting in eating rice with a runny egg and sweet soy sauce. My grandmother used to make that for me to eat and the egg yolk would envelope each and every grain of rice, while the sweet soy sauce gave the rice even more addictive, yummy flavor. It was a simple dish that didn't require much money or work, and my grandmother always made it with love.
So without further ado...Here's what you gotta do..

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INGREDIENTS:
• 4-6 oz salmon fillet, cubed
• 1 tbsp chopped parsley
• 1 chopped scallions (about 1 tbsp)
• 1/2 tsp white pepper powder
• 1/2 tsp ginger powder
• 1/2 tbsp mirin
• 2 tbsp sweet soy sauce (I used Yoshida's Gourmet Sauce)
• 1 tbsp sesame oil
• 1 tbsp olive oil for cooking
• 1 tbsp Sweet Thai Chili Sauce
• 1 egg yolk
• tobiko (flying fish roe)
• Seeds of Change Garlic & Brown Rice Quinoa Packet

DIRECTIONS:
1. Cube your salmon into bite sized pieces, about 1/2" cubes. You want nice chunks that are meaty but not too large that it won't fit comfortably in your mouth haha. Also if you cut it too small, it will cook too quickly and dry out, leaving you with cardboard salmon over rice and not tender salmon nuggets.

2. In a bowl, combine the salmon, scallions, parsley, white pepper powder, ginger powder, mirin, sweet soy sauce and sesame oil. Mix well.

3. Heat your pan with some olive oil and pour in your salmon mixture. Sauté until cooked through, or when all sides of the salmon are an opaque pink/orange color.

4. Add the sweet Thai chili sauce and toss to coat. Pour into a separate bowl to stop the cooking process—if you leave it in the hot pan even with the fire turned off, the residual heat can continue to cook the salmon and dry it out.

5. Boil water and poach the egg yolk lightly.

6. Follow the instructions for microwaving the Seeds of Change Brown Rice & Quinoa packet. Open about 2 inches of the packet and microwave it for 90 seconds.

7. Spoon desired amount of rice and quinoa into your bowl and top with the cooked salmon, poached egg, tobiko, and sesame seeds. If you wanna get super fancy, toast your sesame seeds quickly in the pan before topping your salmon rice bowl for an extra bit of nuttiness.

​And that's it! Simple, quick and easy. I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as we did, and that you explore making different donburi dishes on your own! With so many variations, the possibilities of toppings are endless!