This salmon fried rice stretches one salmon fillet into a one-pot dinner for three to four people! It covers all the food groups—starch, vegetable, healthy protein, and aromatics in one very satisfying dish.
Fish Fried Rice?
Using fish in fried rice is not very common in China. If people have a piece of fish, they generally just want to cook it and serve it as its own dish, along with some other dishes on the table, in the Chinese way.
But in our modern lives these days, making a family-style Chinese dinner with multiple dishes can feel like a lot of work—even for us! One pot meals are quicker to make, reduce cleanup, and in the case of this one, don’t involve standing at the stove for very long!
We first saw the idea for a salmon fried rice on the excellent Japanese recipe website Just One Cookbook, which is run by our friend, Namiko Chen. She makes it when she has leftover salmon in the refrigerator. What a great idea!
We found that it’s a good way to make a complete meal with a small piece of fish, which can be somewhat expensive these days. My version uses veggies for a complete meal, and some seaweed for added flavor and umami.
Salmon Fried Rice Recipe Notes
Here are some things to keep in mind when making this recipe:
Consider the type of fish: You can use any type of salmon in this recipe—or even steelhead trout fillets (we get them frozen at Costco), which are a lot like salmon. Farm-raised salmon tends to be fatty, while wild-caught salmon is very lean. This is why we’ve put such a wide range for oil in the recipe. You’ll need less if your salmon is fatty, and more if the salmon is lean.
Use whatever vegetables you want: I used diced broccoli stems in this, which have a nice mild sweetness and crunch. But you could use any vegetables you like or have on hand. Diced zucchini and/or diced carrots would work well. Diced kohlrabi (I have some in the garden now) would be great. In winter, shredded cabbage or frozen peas would also work.
Change up the rice to make it healthier: There are lots of healthy ingredients in this fried rice—salmon, eggs, seaweed, veggies, garlic, and scallions. To make it even more wholesome, try using our Quinoa Rice, Millet Rice, or even black rice as a base!
Know your seaweed: we used dried laver sheets in this recipe, which are unsalted and un-roasted. We roasted it in a dry pan before crushing it into smaller pieces. That said, if you can only get the more familiar, popular roasted seaweed snacks, which are already toasted and seasoned, you can skip this step. Those seaweed snacks are usually salted, so keep that in mind and adjust the salt in the recipe to taste.
Okay, let’s get to the recipe!
Salmon Fried Rice Recipe Instructions
Rinse the salmon fillet and pat it dry with a paper towel. Sprinkle ½ teaspoon of salt on both sides of the fish. Marinate in the refrigerator while you prepare the rest of the ingredients.
In a clean dry wok over medium heat, roast the sheet of dried laver for about 1 minute per side, pressing it down with a spatula, until it turns a darker shade of greenish brown. Remove from the heat, cool, then crush the seaweed into little bits with your fingers. If using roasted, salted seaweed snacks, you do not need to toast it again. Just break it up into smaller pieces.
Beat the eggs in a bowl with a pinch of salt and Shaoxing wine. Heat your wok or a large pan over medium heat. Then add 1 tablespoon of oil, and cook the egg, stirring and breaking it up into smaller pieces. Remove from the wok and set aside.
In the same wok, now over medium-high heat, add 1-2 tablespoons oil (1 tablespoon for fatty farmed salmon, 2 tablespoons if using leaner wild-caught salmon). Add the salmon, and cook for 4-5 minutes on each side, depending on the thickness of the fillet. Remove from heat, then use a fork to flake the salmon into small pieces. If you love salmon skin like we do, break it up into smaller pieces and include it! Set the salmon aside with your cooked eggs.
There should be some oil leftover in the wok from cooking the salmon. If not, add 1 more tablespoon oil, along with the onion and broccoli stems (or other vegetables). Cook over medium-high heat until the onion turns translucent.
Add the cooked rice, along with the remaining ½ teaspoon salt, white pepper, sesame oil and soy sauce. Stir-fry until the rice is heated through.
Now add the toasted seaweed, eggs, and salmon, along with the garlic and scallions.
Stir-fry and mix everything well. Serve!
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Recipe
Salmon Fried Rice
Ingredients
- 10-12 ounce salmon fillet or steelhead trout fillet
- 10 g dried laver or roasted seaweed snacks
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon salt (divided, plus a pinch for the eggs)
- 1 teaspoon Shaoxing wine
- 2-4 tablespoons neutral oil (divided; such as vegetable, canola, or avocado oil)
- 1 medium onion (about 6 oz/170g, finely diced)
- 1 cup peeled, diced broccoli stems (could also use diced carrot, zucchini, peas, or shredded cabbage)
- 4 cups cooked long-grain white rice (preferably jasmine rice, but can substitute other types)
- ½ teaspoon white pepper
- 2 teaspoons sesame oil
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons chopped garlic
- 2 scallions (chopped)
Instructions
- Rinse the salmon fillet and pat it dry with a paper towel. Sprinkle ½ teaspoon of salt on both sides of the fish. Marinate in the refrigerator while you prepare the rest of the ingredients.
- In a clean dry wok over medium heat, roast the sheet of dried laver for about 1 minute per side, pressing it down with a spatula, until it turns a darker shade of greenish brown. Remove from the heat, cool, then crush the seaweed into little bits with your fingers. If using roasted, salted seaweed snacks, you do not need to toast it again. Just break it up into smaller pieces.
- Beat the eggs in a bowl with a pinch of salt and Shaoxing wine. Heat your wok or a large pan over medium heat. Then add 1 tablespoon of oil, and cook the egg, stirring and breaking it up into smaller pieces. Remove from the wok and set aside.
- In the same wok, now over medium-high heat, add 1-2 tablespoons oil (1 tablespoon for fatty farmed salmon, 2 tablespoons if using leaner wild-caught salmon). Add the salmon, and cook for 4-5 minutes on each side, depending on the thickness of the fillet. Remove from heat, then use a fork to flake the salmon into small pieces. If you love salmon skin like we do, break it up into smaller pieces and include it! Set the salmon aside with your cooked eggs.
- There should be some oil leftover in the wok from cooking the salmon. If not, add 1 more tablespoon oil, along with the onion and broccoli stems (or other vegetables). Cook over medium-high heat until the onion turns translucent.
- Add the cooked rice, along with the remaining ½ teaspoon salt, white pepper, sesame oil and soy sauce. Stir-fry until the rice is heated through.
- Now add the toasted seaweed, eggs, and salmon, along with the garlic and scallions. Stir-fry and mix everything well. Serve!
