Salmon Sushi Bowls

We recently discovered that the salmon we buy from the local fish market is sushi grade. Ahhhh! Such a game changer. We've gone a bit overboard since then, buying huge slabs of salmon so we can grill some on a cedar plank and cut up the rest for sashimi. One time Steve bought a whole side of salmon. That was $$$ but so damn good.



These sushi bowls were everything I wanted them to be and more. I can't wait to make them again but next time I'll also buy some tuna so we can enjoy both types of fish.

Salmon Sushi Bowls
Inspired by Fox and Briar

1 pound sushi-grade salmon
1 avocado, cut into cubes
1 cucumber, peeled, seeded and cut into cubes
3 scallions, sliced on an angle
4 sheets nori, cut into strips
sesame seeds, for garnish
cooked edamame, optional
pickled ginger, optional
wasabi, optional

For the Sushi Rice
1 cup short grain white sushi rice
1 1/2 cups water
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
1/2 tablespoon sugar
3/4 teaspoon salt

For Soy Ginger Dressing
1/4 cup low sodium soy sauce
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
1 tablespoon fresh grated ginger root
2 garlic cloves, minced

For the Spicy Mayo
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1 tablespoon sriracha (or more, to desired spiciness)
1/2 teaspoon fresh lime juice
1/2 teaspoon sesame oil

Remove the skin from the salmon and cut into bite-size chunks.

Rinse the rice until the water runs clear, then add to a pot with the 1 1/2 cups of water and let sit for 30 minutes. Turn on the heat and bring to a boil. Cover and reduce heat to low. Cook for 20 minutes. While the rice is cooking, mix the rice vinegar, sugar and salt in a small bowl. Heat in the microwave for about 30 seconds, then stir until sugar and salt are dissolved. Once the rice is cooked, cool for a few minutes and then pour the vinegar mixture over the rice and stir until combined.

Mix the soy ginger dressing ingredients together in a small bowl, then do the same for the spicy mayo.

To assemble the bowls, add sushi rice to a bowl and top with a portion of salmon, avocado, cucumber, scallion and a few pieces of nori. Drizzle with the soy ginger dressing and some of the spicy mayo. Garnish with sesame seeds. You can also add cooked edamame, pickled ginger and/or wasabi.

Sushi Feast

My stepdad and I recently went out for sushi. We both ate sparingly all day in preparation for a sushi feast. We ordered, from left to right, the X'mas roll, Incredible roll, spicy rock roll, Godzilla roll, Love roll and spiny tuna roll:


The X'mas roll has salmon, crab, cucumber, avocado, caviar and mayo. The Incredible roll has spicy lobster on the inside and tuna and tobiko on the outside. The spicy rock roll is one of the specials so it isn't on their regular menu, but I know it has tuna, salmon and avocado on the inside (among other things) and it's wrapped in soy paper. Our favorite is the Godzilla roll, which is tuna, salmon, white tuna, avocado, masago and scallion that's fried and topped with a spicy sauce.


The Love roll, which is salmon, tuna, asparagus and masago in a soybean wrap with nuta sauce looked pretty but was our least favorite roll and one we won't order again. And the perennial favorite, spicy tuna. Not only is there spicy tuna inside the roll, they top the pieces with even more spicy tuna. Delicious.

If sushi wasn't so expensive I'd eat it at least once a week.

Sushi, sushi and more sushi!

My father came for a visit in late April. SP had just gotten a new job so we decided to celebrate with a boatload of sushi. I'm not kidding - look at this massive platter of sushi:


And yes, we were gluttons and ate all of it between the three of us. Yum! I'm not sure what all the different rolls are but I'll tell you the ones I do know.

This is one of our favorites, the Godzilla Roll:


At our sushi place that means a roll filled with tuna, avocado and probably a few other things and then DEEP FRIED. Heaven. We got two of those.

This is the spicy tuna roll, a generous roll not only filled with spicy tuna but topped with a mountain of tuna:


A simple, yet delicious, tuna and avocado roll:


I think this is called the Rainbow Roll:


Just looking at this post is making me crave sushi in the worst way!

Postpartum Sushi

During the first week we were home with Baby Girl my dad and stepmom came to visit. I had been craving sushi throughout my pregnancy and they were nice enough to indulge my craving once I was able to have it again.


My dad and I split this order of spicy tuna, spicy rock roll, tuna and avocado, Godzilla roll and SP got an eel and avocado roll.

Aikou

Last Saturday we went to see our friend's son in a play. We met up with C & T and H & T and H's son C for dinner at Aikou, an Asian restaurant near where they all live. T had a spicy tuna avocado salad to start:


I snagged a bite of the tuna and avocado and it was spicy, creamy and delicious. I started with a Godzilla roll (spicy crunchy tuna topped with avocado and red tobiko):


One of my new favorite dishes is crispy jumbo shrimp with honey, walnuts and lemon cream sauce. We got two orders to share between me, SP, T & C since we all love it so much.


SP got two sushi rolls, eel and avocado (on the right) and spicy tuna (on the left):


C loves their Thai basil fried rice with shrimp so we all split an order of that as well:


So much good food, so little stomach space. I wish this place was closer to us, but it's probably a good thing that it isn't or we'd be there once a week (and very poor because of it).

Sushi

We're coming to the end of a difficult week and SP thought we should treat ourselves to a scrumptious dinner. What better then sushi for pure indulgence? I'll admit, we totally pigged out. This is way more food then two people need, but man was it good!

We got two orders of the Godzilla roll:


I can't quite remember what's in it (I think salmon, probably some kind of tuna, veggies, rice, etc.) but what makes it amazing is that they deep-fry it. After it's sliced the roll is topped with spicy mayo and those yummy, crispy flakes. So amazingly good, with the cool fish and veggies and the hot, crispy roll.


We also got two spicy tuna rolls, a tuna and avocado roll, a salmon and cucumber roll and an eel roll:


I've waxed rhapsodic about the spicy tuna roll many times before, with it's generous portion of chopped tuna and spicy mayo topped with chopped scallions:


I absolutely adore the tuna and avocado roll:


The avocado is always so buttery and luscious. How do they always manage to get such great avocados? And the tuna...impeccable. SP wanted to try something new so we got a salmon and cucumber roll:


I liked it, but I definitely prefer tuna. The salmon was good and I liked the crunch of the cucumber, but the other rolls were better. SP is a huge fan of eel so this eel roll was all for him:

Sushi

SP had to go out of town on Tuesday for a work event so I decided to treat myself to sushi.


I got two rolls, the spicy tuna roll:


... which we love because not only do they stuff the roll with the spicy tuna, they pile more of the mixture on top of the roll, and a tuna and avocado roll:


... which is always a favorite with the creamy, buttery avocado and the luscious tuna.