15 minute sweet and spicy salmon bowls
15 minute sweet and sticky salmon bowls
hi friends!
last week felt like a whirlwind in the best, sleepiest, and most chaotic way. i got back from a(nother) trip home to minnesota where i laughed until every etch of my face hurt, grilled some brats, and remembered just how many calf muscles it takes to totter around in heels for 8 hours. it was wild and it was just what I didn’t know i needed. i also commenced a $50 meal plan challenge that has been going suspiciously well. like, SUSPICIOUSLY TOO EASY. i think i’ll even have leftovers and I didn’t even get around to making these muffins, so maybe this whole budgeting thing might actually… work? be sustainable for a frugal but still delicious life? who knew!!! couldn’t have been me, because my skepticism reigned supreme.
part of the plan last week was to make some easy salmon bowls. you know, for a quick, effortless dinner that still felt fancy because we carved out $8.60 for a niceish package of salmon (whoooooa there, big spender!!) I didn’t have a super clear plan for these, except that i bought a 5lb bag of rice, knew i had soy sauce and rice vinegar in the cupboard, and somehow a large cucumber ended up in my cart. so here we are.
thankfully this loose brain child turned out to be ultra easy and ultra tasty, and i’m really loving the simplicity of these bowls. rice + a few pantry ingredients to make the sweet and spicy sauce + salmon + cucumbers. the world is your salmon bowl, so you can really play around with add-ins however you like, but i’ll just be over here happily munching on fluffy rice with crunchy, vinegary cucumbers and caramely spicy salmon, very thrilled with my decision to not overcomplicate things. as always, do as you wish.
a few things before we get started:
- this is truly a 15 minute meal start to finish! bonus points if you prep your rice ahead of time and get to skip another step
- we’re only using a few ingredients for these bowls, but they can definitely be jazzed up with a bigger vegetable moment. broccolini, snap peas, bok chop - go wild, friends
- don’t sleep on the vinegar cucumbers. they provide a really lovely, cooling bite that works so well with the glazey, sticky salmon
- i like to bulk up rice bowls with lots of fresh herbs. there is so much flavor here and a few fresh mint leaves can take this from wow to WOWOWOW
15 minute sweet and sticky salmon bowls
makes: 2-4 servings
prep time: 5 minutes
cook time: 10-15 minutes
for the sweet and spicy salmon:
2-4 salmon filets (I happened to have a package of 3 norwegian salmon filets)
1/4c soy sauce or coconut aminos
2tbsp rice vinegar
2tbsp honey
1tbsp coconut sugar (you can also skip this and just do 3tbsp of honey!)
1tsp garlic powder
1/2tsp chili flake
1c cooked white rice (i did this using the rice cooker setting on my slow cooker and it was ready in 6 minutes. love!)
for the cucumbers:
1/2c very thinly sliced cucumbers
rice wine vinegar
pinch of salt
pinch of chili flake
mint or basil for extra bowl flavor and garnish, optional
preheat the oven to 400.
whisk the soy sauce, rice vinegar, honey, sugar, and spices until combined. place the salmon in dish and pour the marinade over top. let the salmon marinate for about 5 minutes (you can do this for up to 30 minutes if you’d like - don’t go any longer than that, otherwise the fish will start to break down.)
place the sliced cucumbers, salt, and chili in a bowl, and fill with enough rice vinegar to cover the cucumbers. set aside.
after the salmon has marinated (I like to do this while the oven preheats,) place the filets on a foil-lined baking sheet and bake for 10-15 minutes, depending on the thickness of the filets. save all the remaining marinade!
while the salmon is baking, pour the remaining marinade into a sauce pan or skillet, and simmer on medium low for 5-10 minutes until it reduces and becomes thick and sticky. once the salmon is fully cooked, fill the bowls with rice, vinegar cucumbers, and a salmon filet. i like to flake the salmon apart to make each piece more bite-sized. pour the thickened sauce over the salmon, and dig in.