If you love food and you’re on TikTok, you’ve seen gorgeous Emily Mariko whipping up this TikTok Rice Bowl with Salmon that’s been a total viral sensation! Trust me, this one lives up to the hype! And the best part?? There is no real “cooking” involved!
This post may contain affiliate links which means I may earn a small commission when you click on the links and make a purchase. I will never recommend a product that I don’t support 100%. You can read my full disclosure here.
I’ll be honest. I am very skeptical about TikTok food trends…I have tried MANY of them and only SIX have made it onto the blog! One is the “Tortilla Trend” or Easy Tortilla Wrap. I have made that thing so many times I can’t even count. It’s AMAZING!!! The other two that are worthy are Gigi Hadid’s spicy vodka pasta and the Baked by Melissa Green Goddess Salad.
My latest favorite snack is Hailey Bieber’s Pizza Toast! OMGG! SO. GOOD. Want the best sandwich?! Try this Viral Italian Grinder!
Ya’ll know I am obsessed with my air fryer so I *HAD* to try the air fryer pancakes on parchment paper that the charming singing guy made. I mean, he even SAYS don’t try this at home…but I HAD to! Yeah, EPIC FAIL!
The good thing is that I was so obsessed with pancakes in the air fryer that I came up with my own version…and it works perfectly!! You can check out that recipe here: Perfect Air Fryer Pancakes.
When I made this TikTok Salmon Rice Bowl recipe, I knew it was a keeper! I could barely photograph it… I just wanted to eat it!!! So here’s the recipe and all of my tips!! If you just want to recipe, just scroll on down!
⭐️ NEED HELP MEAL PLANNING?? ⭐️
This simple and easy-to-use dinner planner will eliminate dinnertime stress so you’ll never have to wonder what to make for dinner again!
GET THE DINNER PLANNER
WHY YOU’LL LOVE THIS RECIPE
- A viral TikTok recipe that ACTUALLY lives up to the hype!
- Great way to use leftover ingredients for a quick lunch or quick meal!
- There is zero “cooking” involved! Great for using up leftovers!
RECIPE INGREDIENTS
You’ll need the following ingredients to make this delicious Leftover Salmon Rice Bowl:
INGREDIENT NOTES
Salmon: This recipe was originally written to use LEFTOVER salmon, but you can cook up some “fresh” salmon too! My Easy Air Fryer Teriyaki Salmon is perfect in this dish. I always use wild-caught salmon fillets for the best taste.
Rice: Cold, leftover rice straight from the fridge is what Emily uses in her recipe. The ice cube will steam it up nice! Of course, you can cook up some fresh rice in the rice cooker or Instant Pot, too!
Japanese Kewpie Mayonnaise: I am able to find this delicious Japanese mayo at my regular chain grocery store now! But if you can’t find it, regular mayo works just fine. Even better, make the sriracha mayo from my shrimp bowl recipe!
Soy Sauce: Any kind of soy sauce you have in the fridge is just fine! Regular, low sodium, or even Maggi is great! You can also sub in Tamari or coconut aminos.
HOW TO MAKE THIS VIRAL SALMON AND RICE BOWL: STEP BY STEP
Here are some quick visual instructions. Remember that the recipe card below will include full instructions with exact ingredients!
Step 1: Flake leftover salmon into small pieces with a fork.
Step 2: Add rice and an ice cube. Cover with a sheet of parchment paper or a paper plate and microwave for 2 to 2 1/2 minutes until warm.
Step 3: Add a drizzle of soy sauce, mayo, and sriracha; mix well.
Step 4: Top with avocado slices and more sriracha, if you like!
Step 5: Serve on it’s own or in mini wraps using seaweed sheets!
RECIPE TIPS & TRICKS
- Make sure you remove anything left of the ice cube after microwaving the rice/salmon 🙂
- Of course, you can whip up a batch of fresh rice, but dry, leftover rice works so well!
- Make sure you loosely cover the salmon and rice bowl when microwaving it so the ice cube can steam the salmon and rice. In the TikTok video, she covers it with parchment paper, but you can use a paper plate or even just a paper towel. Just make sure it’s loose so the steam can escape.
🌟CONFIDENCE TIP 🌟
I get that kimchi is not everyone’s jam. Crunchy carrots or cucumber are a great swap! Make this recipe your own!
STORAGE & REHEATING
This dish is, for the most part, made up of “leftovers” (salmon and rice), so it doesn’t store and reheat well all that well.
That being said, if you have any leftovers, store the salmon and rice in an airtight container (toss it if you’ve mixed it with the mayo). I have personally nuked some leftover salmon and rice for about 30 seconds, wrapped it in some seaweed, and was in heaven. It’s not unheard of, just not ideal 🙂
ADDITIONS & SUBSTITUTIONS
SUBSTITUTIONS:
Kewpie Mayo: I am able to find this delicious Japanese mayo at my regular chain grocery store now! But if you can’t find it, regular mayo works just fine. Even better, make the sriracha mayo from my shrimp bowl recipe!
Soy Sauce: Coconut aminos, Tamari, or Maggi are just fine to substitute.
Rice: White rice can be subbed for brown rice or cauliflower rice.
Kimchi: I love kimchi for its tang and crunch, but I know it’s not everyone’s thing. Crunchy carrots or cucumber would be a great swap.
Salmon: This simple recipe is so damn good, you can sub pretty much any protein here! We tried chopped rotisserie chicken and random leftover chicken and it was SO GOOD!!
ADDITIONS
Veggies: The more crunch the better! Carrots, cucumber, red pepper, green onion, or any other veggies you want to add would be great!
Rice Vinegar: To give the rice extra flavor and mimic a “sushi bowl” of sorts, drizzle a bit of rice vinegar on top of the rice when it comes out of the microwave.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
This delicious bowl is super easy, uses leftovers and basically requires no cooking. Leftover cooked salmon is flaked and mixed with soy sauce, kewpie mayo, avocado, and sriracha sauce. In the viral video, Emily Mariko enjoys the rice bowl ingredients wrapped in seaweed.
Salmon rice bowls are nothing new, but gorgeous, TikTok’er Emily Mariko whipped one up in a video in 2021 and it’s been all the rage! Some people refer to this recipe as Emily Mariko’s Salmon Rice Bowl–and I love it! Give credit where credit is due!
I think people are fascinated by her calm, cool demeanor in the video along with her putting an ice cube in her rice and salmon before microwaving it! #genuis It captured our attention and it’s around to stay because IT WORKS and IT’S DELISH!!!!
Yes! I can safely say, it’s delish. Of course, salmon rice bowls and “bowls” in general are nothing new. However, this combo of salmon, avocado, mayo, and soy sauce is delish, and new or old, I’m chowing down!
You can just cover your bowl with a paper plate or a paper towel. You just want to loosely lock in the moisture so the rice and the salmon both get nice and steamy.
Kewpie mayo is delish but yes, you can use regular mayo. Mixing mayo with a little sriracha and rice wine vinegar like in my recipe for Shrimp Poke Bowls, is divine! Just spoon it on and mix everything up!
Yep! In fact, this recipe works best with cold, day-old rice. The ice cube totally brings it back to life!
GET MY FREE 7-DAY MEAL PLAN
In a dinner rut? I’ve got a Free Meal Plan with 7 of my most delicious, easy recipes! Sign up for my email list and I’ll send it over now along with weekly dinner recipes!
TOOLS FOR THIS RECIPE
Check out all of my kitchen essentials in my Amazon store!
Instant Pot (optional): My favorite way to cook rice!!
Rate this recipe! I love your feedback!
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
OTHER VIRAL RECIPES YOU’LL LOVE
TikTok Rice Bowl with Salmon (Viral Recipe)
Ingredients
- 1-2 cooked salmon filets (about 4 oz. each)
- 2 cups cooked rice
- 1 ice cube
- 1/2 avocado, diced
- 2 tbsp soy sauce to taste, Tamari or coconut aminos also work
- 1-2 tbsp kewpie mayonnaise to taste, See Note 1
- 2 tsp sriracha, to taste optional
- kimchi, to taste optional, See Note 2
- sesame seeds, to taste optional
- 12 roasted seaweed sheets optional, See Note 3
Instructions
- In a microwave safe bowl, flake your cold salmon until it's broken up into small pieces. Using a fork works best.
- Add your leftover rice right over the salmon, then place one cube cube in the center, nestling it into the rice.
- Cover with parchment paper or a paper plate (just make sure steam can escape) and microwave on high for 2 to 2 1/2 minutes.
- Remove bowl from microwave and discard any remaining ice.
- Add soy sauce, mayonnaise and sriracha (if using) and mix with rice/salmon until combined.
- Top the dish with diced avocado and more mayonnaise, sriracha (optional) soy sauce to taste. Sprinkle with sesame seeds if you like!
- At this point, you can enjoy the rice bowl as-is OR add kimchi and wrap the rice mixture in your seaweed pieces and enjoy as mini-wraps!
Nicole M. says
Yum! Loved the addition of kimchi and cucumbers. This recipe also works with with freshly cooked salmon and rice with no need for the microwave if you’re trying to meal prep for a few days. I live in a fairly large city, and sriracha is still hard to come by with the shortage, so I subbed gochujang sauce which was delicious! While the roasted seaweed sheets are great, I think I prefer to sprinkle dried wakame on top instead. It adds even more extra crunch and flavor. Give it a try. 🙂
dina and bruce miller says
Made. Ate. Repeat. So good!!!
Quynh says
Salmon is one of my favorite fish. Love everything about this dish. So tasty!
Angela says
Love these bowls! So fresh and full of flavor. And the kewpie mayo is my absolute favorite. YUM!
Chenee says
I made this for lunch the other day and it was amazing! The only problem is that my coworkers were disappointed I didn’t bring extra for them 🙂
Kate says
Yum! The kewpie mayo and sriracha sauce makes this so good.
Make Me Geeky says
This salmon bowl appears to be amazing! I’m glad the hype was accurate! I greatly appreciate it. This recipe looks delicious, and I can’t wait to try it!
Shadi says
Thank you so much! The flavors are perfect and I can’t wait to try this recipe!
Katherine says
This salmon bowl looks incredible! Glad it lives up to the hype!
Dana says
This is 100% my jam. I love salmon, and bowl meals are always a treat. Definitely making this beauty again.
GUNJAN says
My family loved every bit of it and wants me to make it again next weekend. Hence, this is on on my weekly menu plan.
Nic says
Okay, hellloooo salmon and rice heaven! This was delicious, great recipe.
Lindsey says
Made your teriyaki salmon as recommended and fresh rice. Also topped it with green onions and it was soooo good. Will see how leftovers reheat with the ice cube but wow – fresh is on another level.
Casey Rooney says
So glad you enjoyed it, Lindsey! xo