This salmon rice bowl features items one might find in a bento box, such as salmon, vegetables and rice, all artfully presented.
Anyone who likes going to Japanese restaurants has probably ordered a bento box — usually a protein, rice and vegetables served in a shallow box with compartments.
If you enjoy that kind of meal but don’t have bento boxes at home, you can serve it in shallow bowls, which is what I did for today’s recipe.
For my protein, I chose salmon fillets, which I grilled after seasoning with curry powder and salt.
The rice was brown sushi rice, which is sold alongside other types of rice at most grocery stores. For the vegetables, I chose a selection of colourful, locally grown ones served raw, including cucumbers, radishes, carrots and green onions.
I then combined soy sauce, rice vinegar, brown sugar, ginger and sesame seeds to make a sweet, sour and salty Asian-style dressing to drizzle on the salmon, rice and vegetables in the bowls.
This salmon rice bowl features items one might find in a bento box, such as salmon, vegetables and rice, all artfully presented.
Preparation time:40 minutes
Cooking time:43 to 47 minutes
Makes:Two servings
For the dressing:
3 Tbsp soy sauce (I used Kikkoman brand)
1 Tbsp brown sugar
2 tsp lemon juice
2 tsp rice vinegar
2 tsp water
1 tsp finely chopped fresh ginger
1 tsp roasted sesame seeds, or to taste (see Note)
1/2 tsp wasabi paste, or to taste
For the rice:
3/4 cup brown sushi (short-grained) rice (see Eric’s options)
1 1/4 cups + 2 Tbsp water
For the fish and bowls:
2 (5-ounce/140-gram) salmon fillets (see Eric’s options)
2 tsp vegetable oil, plus some for the grill
3/4 tsp mild, medium or other curry powder
• salt to taste
8 thin slices English cucumber, each halved
1/3 cup carrots, cut into thin strips or grated
1/2 cup thinly shredded green or other type of cabbage
3 medium radishes, halved and thinly sliced
1 medium green onion, thinly sliced
To make dressing, combine ingredients in a small bowl. Cover and set aside until needed.
To cook rice, place it and the water in a small pot (mine was 5 inches wide), set over high heat and bring to a rapid boil. Cover rice, reduce heat to its lowest setting, and cook, undisturbed, 35 minutes, or until tender. Remove rice from the heat, fluff with a fork, cover again, then set aside until needed.
Preheat your barbecue to medium-high. Combine 2 tsp oil and curry powder in a shallow dish. Add salmon fillets and turn to coat. Season the salmon with salt. Lightly oil the bars of your grill. Set on salmon, skin side up, and grill 3 to 4 minutes, undisturbed. The salmon should easily release itself from the grill when ready to flip. Now cook 2 to 3 minutes on the skin side, or until fish is just cooked through. Turn barbecue off.
Divide rice between two shallow serving bowls. Set a piece of salmon on the rice in each bowl. Now divide and arrange the cucumber, carrot, cabbage and radishes on top of the rice beside the salmon. Sprinkle salmon with green onions. Drizzle dressing over the salmon and vegetables, and then serve.
Note:Rich golden-coloured roasted sesame seeds are sold in the Asian foods aisle of grocery stores. If you want to toast your own sesame seeds, place raw sesame seeds in a non-stick skillet set over medium heat. Cook seeds, swirling pan from time to time, until light golden, about three minutes.
Eric’s options:Instead of brown rice, use white sushi rice in the bowls. If you don’t have a barbecue or indoor grill, you could bake the fish. To do that, once the salmon is coated with the olive oil, curry powder and salt, set it on a parchment paper-lined baking pan and bake in a 400 F oven for 10 to 12 minutes, or until cooked through. Instead of salmon, serve another type of oiled, curry-powder and salt-seasoned, grilled protein in the bowls, such as boneless, skinless chicken thighs, prawns, sliced extra-firm tofu, or small tender beef steaks.
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Eric Akis is the author of eight cookbooks. His columns appear in the Life section Wednesday and Sunday.