Firecracker Salmon Bowls with spicy peanut sauce and a super simple slaw over rice. These nutritious, flavorful bowls come together in just 30 minutes.
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Why You'll Love these Firecracker Salmon Bowls
Find the perfect alchemy of spicy, sweet, and deeply savory flavors in these salmon bowls. (Similarly to my favorite Sesame Crusted Salmon Bowls.)
First, we start with a fluffy foundation of fragrant Jasmine rice. Next comes a perfectly seared salmon fillet, accompanied by a light, simple veg slaw.
And to finish it off, one of the most wildly flavorful peanut sauces in my recipe arsenal.
You truly can't beat this ingredient lineup, and it's one you'll want to come back to on repeat. And did I mention these bowls come together in just 30 minutes?
Meal prep or weeknight dinner couldn't get simpler, or more delicious. For more salmon bowl inspo, check out these Salmon Sushi Bowls.
Recipe Ingredients
- Salmon: You need four 6-oz. salmon fillets for these rice bowls, which can be wild-caught or sustainably farmed. If purchasing wild, I suggest either King (or Chinook) salmon, which has a higher fat content and richer flavor.
- Rice: Jasmine rice is known for its aromatic flavor and soft texture, which makes it one of my favorite rice varieties to cook with. It's a major ingredient in many Thai recipes, which is why it compliments the savory, umami-rich peanut sauce so well.
- Veg Slaw: For a crunchy compliment to the salmon and rice bowls, I like to whip up a simple cabbage slaw. You can either purchase a bag of pre-shredded cabbage (or coleslaw mix), or shred the cabbage yourself. In addition to the slaw, you need some green onion, vinegar, and a dash of salt.
- Firecracker Peanut Sauce: This is where the flavor fiesta really kicks off. You won't believe how easy, yet wildly delicious this sauce is. And luckily, it leans heavily on pantry ingredients that you may already have on hand. You need: peanut butter, soy sauce, sesame oil, chili sauce, rice vinegar, and some zesty aromatics like ginger and garlic.
- Garnishes: Feel free to get as wild as you wish with the toppings, however my go-to's are crushed peanuts and more green onion. A little extra crunch and nutty goodness really round out the bowl with savory depth and richness.
Step-by-Step Instructions
Step 1: Cook rice in a small saucepan until light and fluffy, about 15 minutes.
Allow the pot to sit, undisturbed, for another 10 minutes, or until you're ready to assemble the rice bowls. (The residual heat will steam the rice and absorb any remaining water, leaving your rice moist and pleasantly sticky.)
Step 2: Prepare peanut sauce by combining peanut butter, soy sauce, vinegar, sesame oil, chili sauce, ginger, and garlic. Stir mixture with a whisk until smooth.
Step 3: Sauté salmon in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Let the salmon cook about 3 minutes, until it appears ~75% cooked on the sides. Flip the salmon, turn off the heat, and cook for 1 to 2 more minutes, until cooked through. Remove from heat.
Step 4: Prepare slaw by combining cabbage, green onion, vinegar, sesame seeds, and salt in a medium bowl; toss to combine.
Step 5: Assemble bowls by dividing rice evenly into each of four bowls. Top each bowl with one salmon fillet and a spoonful of slaw. Next, drizzle peanut sauce evenly over all components, and garnish with peanuts and green onion.
FAQs and Expert Tips:
U.S.-grown rice contributes more than 15 vitamins and minerals, including folic acid and other B-vitamins, as well as iron and zinc. It’s comprised of complex carbohydrates, which are more slowly digested and can help keep you full longer. Plus, it’s naturally gluten free and the least allergenic of all grains.
To Make Ahead. Prepare the sauce up to 5 days ahead, and store in a glass jar with a lid in the refrigerator.
To Store. It's best to store the rice and salmon separate from the sauce, slaw, and toppings. This way, the sauce and garnishes don't take on any fishy flavor. This also makes it easier to just reheat just the rice and salmon, and add remaining ingredients after.
To Reheat. Gently reheat the rice and salmon in the microwave until warm. Alternatively, cook both components in a dry skillet over medium heat until hot.
To Freeze. This recipe is best enjoyed fresh, and should NOT be frozen.
The cooking time heavily depends on the thickness of your salmon.
Atlantic salmon, for example, is thicker and fattier than wild Sockeye salmon. It could take up to twice as long to cook through.
It could depends on if you're using center-cut verses the tail end of a fillet. The former is thicker and thus requires longer cooking.
One sign of doneness is when a fork can insert into the thickest part of the fish with little resistance. Also, when the flesh separates easily from the skin, and just begins to flake when you poke into it.
If you have an instant-read thermometer, the salmon should should register at 120-125° F.
How to Use Leftover Peanut Sauce:
If you end up with extra sauce (or just make a double batch from the start), here are some tasty ways to use it up:
- Drizzle over roasted vegetables like sweet potatoes, butternut squash, cauliflower, or broccoli
- Toss with crispy tofu, baked tempeh, or grilled chicken and serve with rice noodles and veggies.
- Spread on a sandwich or wrap, or dress up a black bean burger.
More Salmon Bowl Recipes to Try:
If you give these firecracker salmon bowls a try, snap a pic and tag #dishingouthealth on Instagram so I can see your beautiful creations. Also, follow along on Facebook and Pinterest for the latest recipe updates!
Firecracker Salmon Bowls
Equipment
- Large skillet
- Mixing bowls
Ingredients
- 1 cup dry Jasmine rice
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 2 heaping cups finely shredded cabbage (red, green, napa, or savoy cabbage)
- 3 Tbsp. thinly sliced green onion plus more for garnish
- 1 Tbsp. seasoned rice vinegar
- 1 tsp. toasted sesame seeds
- 2 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
- 4 (6-oz.) skin-on salmon fillets
- ⅓ cup roasted peanuts, roughly chopped (dry roasted or honey roasted)
Firecracker Peanut Sauce
- ¼ cup creamy peanut butter
- 2 Tbsp. lower-sodium soy sauce
- 2 Tbsp. Thai sweet red chili sauce (I use Thai Kitchen brand)
- 1 ½ Tbsp. rice vinegar
- 1 Tbsp. sesame oil (not toasted)
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 1 tsp. freshly grated ginger (sub ½ tsp. ground ginger)
- Optional for spice: ½ tsp. sriracha or chili oil
Instructions
- Combine rice, 2 cups of water, and a dash of salt in a saucepan. Bring mixture to a boil, cover, and reduce heat to low. Simmer rice for 13 to 15 minutes, until most of the water is absorbed.Fluff rice with a fork, replace the lid, and turn off heat. Let sit, covered, until you're ready to assemble the bowls.
- Prepare the Firecracker Peanut Sauce by combining peanut butter, soy sauce, sweet red chili sauce, vinegar, sesame oil, garlic, ginger, and sriracha or chili oil (if using) in medium bowl. Stir mixture with a whisk until smooth.If needed, whisk in 1 Tbsp. water to thin out to desired consistency.
- Combine shredded cabbage, green onion, rice vinegar, sesame seeds, and a pinch of salt in a medium bowl; toss to combine. Set aside.
- Prepare the salmon by seasoning the flesh with salt and pepper. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.Once hot, Place the fish skin-side down in the pan, pressing down firmly with a spatula. Let the salmon cook about 3 minutes, until it appears ~75% cooked on the sides. Flip the salmon, and cook for 1 to 3 more minutes, depending on thickness, until cooked through. Remove from heat.
- Divide rice evenly into four bowls. Top each bowl with one salmon fillet and a spoonful of cabbage slaw. Drizzle peanut sauce evenly over all components, and garnish with chopped peanuts and extra green onion, if desired.
Notes
- Make Ahead. Prepare the sauce up to 5 days ahead, and store in a glass jar with a lid in the refrigerator.
- Store. It's best to store the rice and salmon separate from the sauce and slaw. This way, the sauce and garnishes don't take on any fishy flavor. This also makes it easier to just reheat just the rice and salmon, and add remaining ingredients after.
- Reheat. Gently reheat the rice and salmon in the microwave until warm. Alternatively, cook both components in a dry skillet over medium heat until hot.
Kayla
Wow! This firecracker sauce is so amazing. I left out the sriracha to make it kid friendly and then hubby and I added the sriracha to our individual bowls. Seriously, so incredible 🙌🏻🙌🏻
Kelly
Pretty good! I personally prefer skin-off salmon and will cook it that way next time. We also wanted a little bit more of a kick to the peanut sauce so I used quite a bit more fresh ginger and will add some additional spice in the future.
Harper
Another DOH winner! I modified this recipe to utilize what I had on hand - brown rice, frozen salmon burgers, green beans - but I think it was just as good. The peanut sauce ties it all together beautifully!
Beth Hill
This dish is excellent with great flavor combinations.
Melinda
Beautiful, delicious, and easy!! What more could you want? Maybe a chef, a waiter, and a clean-up crew! Oh. Wait. That’s a restaurant! 😂
Casey
This was criminally easy to make and so good? I had my husband grill the salmon so I would have even less work and it turned out great. Going to make this again for sure
Keira
Always looking for new salmon recipes.
Emmie
Looks amazing and easy. Can you use other vinegars? Apple cider vinegar? That's the only ingredient I don't have.
Jamie Vespa
Hi Emmie - ACV should work fine! Enjoy
Abby
This was so incredibly good and very easy to pull together! I lightly marinated the salmon with some soy sauce, garlic and ginger and it turned out deliciously. The firecracker sauce is out of this world good - saving that as a go to peanut dipping sauce.
Jamie Vespa
Hi Abby - I'm so glad you enjoyed this one! Thank you so much for coming back and leaving a review!