Inspired by the spicy tuna crispy rice I had at Chotto Matte London back in December, I’ve decided to try my hand and create my own take of the dish. This Spicy Salmon Crispy Rice recipe is easy to prep and make, and makes a terrific dish for date night at home. It features tangy and sweet sushi rice that’s fried to golden crispiness, topped with a lip-smacking homemade spicy chipotle mayo and mildly smoky seared salmon. My plating and food styling may not be as neat and professional as Chotto Matte’s, but the dish has been a total winner. Not to mention it saves you a lot of money too!
The concept of crispy rice is essentially a simple twist on Japanese sushi. Similarly to rice burgers (typically found in East Asia), you basically shape the rice and fry it till a golden crispy crust forms. You have to use Japanese rice for this as it is stickier in nature to help you shape the rice. Sushi rice seasoning not only helps to flavour the rice but also to help keep the grains sticking together as well – you definitely don’t want your crispy rice crumbling down from cooking.
The crispy rice I had at Chotto Matte’s is topped with spicy tuna sashimi. Whilst that’s nice, I personally enjoy seared salmon more. With a little touch of smoky bbq seasoning, the flavours popped out really nicely. I went with Chipotle mayo here as my choice of sauce, but feel free to play around with different sauces to tailor to what you like! A great alternative could be truffle mayo, which adds a lovely luxurious umami touch to the dish.
How to make Spicy Salmon Crispy Rice
Ingredients:
For the Crispy Rice:
- Japanese Sushi Rice – short-grain Japanese rice, non-substitutable
- Rice Vinegar, White Sugar – for flavouring the rice and also make it stickier. If you don’t have rice vinegar, you can substitute with white vinegar
- Cooking Oil
For the Chipotle Mayo:
- Kewpie Mayo – regular may works too but Japanese Kewpie Mayo is seriously better (read more in recipe notes)
- Chipotle Paste
- Salt, Black Pepper, Paprika, Red Chilli Powder – to season the Chipotle mayo
For the Smoky Seared Salmon:
- Fresh Salmon Fillets
- Salt, Black Pepper, Smoky BBQ Seasoning – to season the salmon
- Olive Oil
Recipe notes
- I pretty much always use Kewpie Mayo over regular mayo. Kewpie Mayo is creamier in texture and got a little healthy dose of MSG for extra flavour.
- Short-grain Japanese rice, also known as sushi rice, is a non-substitutable ingredient for making crispy rice. This is because short-grain Japanese rice is stickier in nature, which is key for the likes of sushi, nigiri, and crispy rice.
- Vinegar and sugar are the standard seasonings for sushi rice. When seasoning the rice, make sure you are adding the vinegar-sugar mixture when the rice is still hot and freshly cooked. This also helps the rice to stick to together and hold its shape.
- The trick to getting the perfect rectangular blocks for the crispy rice is to press the rice into a rectangular dish/box and leave it to cool down or chill overnight. The rice should form into a firm block and comes out easily when you flip the dish/box upside down. Then simply use a sharp knife to slice the block into equal rectangles.
- When frying the rice blocks, make sure the pan and oil are really hot so that it sears nicely to form a golden crispy crust and not get too oily. Also, do not overcrowd your pan and leave a little bit of gap between each block as the rice may stick to one another.
Spicy Salmon Crispy Rice
Ingredients
For the Salmon
- 240 g Salmon
- 1 tsp Smoked BBQ Seasoning
- ½ tsp Salt
- ½ tsp Black Pepper
- 1 tbsp Olive Oil
For the Crispy Rice
- 1 cup Sushi Rice cook according to package instructions
- 2-3 tbsp Rice Vinegar or White Vinegar
- 2 tbsp White Sugar
- 2 tbsp Cooking Oil
For the Chipotle Mayo
- ½ cup Kewpie Mayo
- 1 heaped tsp Chipotle Paste
- ½ tsp Salt
- ½ tsp Black Pepper
- ½ tsp Paprika
- ½ tsp Chilli Powder
Garnish (optional)
- Chopped Scallions
Instructions
Making the crispy rice
- Mix together white vinegar and white sugar. Pour the mixture into the freshly cooked sushi rice. Mix to combine.2-3 tbsp Rice Vinegar or White Vinegar, 2 tbsp White Sugar, 1 cup Sushi Rice
- Transfer the seasoned rice into a rectangle dish or box. Firmly press the rice down to get an even surface. Set aside to cool down or chill overnight.
- Flip the rectangular dish/box upside down and the rice should come out as a block. Using a sharp knife, divide the rice block into 8 equal rectangles.
- Heat cooking oil in a pan over medium-high heat.2 tbsp Cooking Oil
- Once the oil is smoking hot, add the rice blocks into the pan, leaving gaps in between each block, and fry for 3-5 minutes on each side until golden. Set aside.
Making the seared salmon
- Slice the salmon into 8 equal portions. Season with salt, black pepper, smoked bbq seasoning, and olive oil. Set aside to marinate for about 10-15 minutes.240 g Salmon, 1 tsp Smoked BBQ Seasoning, ½ tsp Salt, ½ tsp Black Pepper, 1 tbsp Olive Oil
- Heat grill pan over high heat. Sear salmon on each side for about 1-2 minutes until lightly charred. Cook longer if you prefer the salmon more cooked. Set aside.
Preparing the chipotle mayo
- In a small bowl, mix together all the chipotle mayo ingredients until combined.½ cup Kewpie Mayo, 1 heaped tsp Chipotle Paste, ½ tsp Salt, ½ tsp Black Pepper, ½ tsp Paprika, ½ tsp Chilli Powder
Assembling everything together
- Spread chipotle mayo over the top of each crispy fried rice block then top with a piece of seared salmon for each. Garnish with chopped scallions if you like and serve immediately!Chopped Scallions
Notes
- Short-grain Japanese rice is not substitutable because it is stickier in nature and allows the rice grains to gel with one another and stay in whatever shape you try to create.
- When seasoning the rice, make sure you are adding the vinegar-sugar mixture when the rice is still hot and freshly cooked. Do not wait till it’s cooled down.
- When frying the rice blocks, make sure the pan and oil are really hot so that it sears nicely to form a golden crispy crust and not get too oily. Also, do not overcrowd your pan and leave a little bit of gap between each block as the rice may stick to one another.
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