Featured Comment:
“This salad was delicious! Will be making it again. “
– Kristina
How I Re-imagined The Viral Crispy Rice Salad
Just to be clear, there’s no such thing as a dish called “Japanese crispy rice salad.” It all started when I saw a Western take on Southeast Asian crispy rice salad that was all the rage on social media. Then, all of a sudden, I was inspired. What if I gave the concept a Japanese twist? As far as I know, no one has done it yet.
I just couldn’t resist the challenge. Have you ever had a dish idea pop into your head and just knew you had to make it? That’s exactly how I felt! Inspired by Japanese senbei rice crackers, I decided to use Japanese rice for crispy rice and added salmon for a protein boost. The real game-changer? A tangy yuzu dressing.
I have to say, this might be the most addictive salad I’ve ever created. I literally couldn’t stop munching on it, and felt disappointed that I didn’t make more! It’s always so exciting to experiment in the kitchen and come up with something new. If you have tried crispy rice salad (or even if you haven’t), I really hope you’ll try my Japanese edition!
Key Ingredients & Substitution Ideas
- Crispy Rice Base: Mix cooked Japanese short-grain rice with aonori powder (dried green seaweed flakes), soy sauce, and toasted sesame oil. This tasty mix is baked until it’s delightfully crispy, reminiscent of my favorite senbei rice crackers.
- Salmon Fillets: You can bake these alongside the rice for efficiency. I suggest using fresh salmon for its delicate flavor, but feel free to experiment with other fish varieties. The goal is to find something with a similar mild, buttery taste to go well with the other ingredients.
- Cucumber: I used Japanese cucumbers because I currently live in Japan, but if you can’t find these, no problem! Any type of cucumber will work great in this recipe. English or Persian cucumbers are great alternatives!
- Edamame: For convenience, I used frozen edamame.
- Avocado: Choose an avocado that’s ripe and gives a little when you press it. It should feel soft but not mushy.
- Perilla leaves (shiso): These aromatic herbs give the dish a Japanese touch. If you can’t get your hands on fresh shiso leaves, don’t worry – the salad is still great without them.
- Yuzu Dressing: My homemade dressing is a zesty mix of dark soy sauce, rice vinegar, toasted sesame oil, white sesame seeds, ground sesame seeds, a little sugar, and yuzu juice. If you can’t find yuzu, try using lemon or lime juice for a similar citrusy kick.
Visual Walkthrough & Tips
Here are my step-by-step instructions for how to make Crispy Rice Salad with Japanese Twist. For ingredient quantities and simplified instructions, scroll down for the Printable Recipe Card below.
This section aims to provide a comprehensive overview of the cooking steps and techniques with visuals. It also includes more in-depth tips and tricks and explains why I do what I do.
In a bowl that can handle the heat, mix the cooked rice with soy sauce, aonori powder, and toasted sesame oil.
This mixture is the base for your crispy rice. Heat up your oven to 230°C (450°F).
Line a baking tray with parchment paper. Spread the rice mixture evenly across the paper, making sure it’s thin enough to crisp up properly. Next, place slightly oiled and salted salmon fillets, skin-side down, next to the rice.
This setup lets both items cook at the same time, which makes the most of the oven’s efficiency.
While the oven is heating up, mix all the dressing ingredients together until they’re well combined.
Thaw the frozen edamame by soaking it in room temperature water.
Once the oven is up to temperature, put the tray in the upper third of the oven. Bake for 15 minutes.
During the baking time, cut the cucumber into small pieces and dice the avocado. If you’re using edamame in the pods, go ahead and pop them out of their pods now. It’s a good idea to prep these ingredients while the rice and salmon are cooking. That way, everything is ready for assembly at the same time.
After baking, transfer the salmon to a clean work surface. Carefully separate the crispy skin from the flesh. Flake the salmon meat into bite-sized pieces.
The skin will be used as a garnish, adding textural contrast to the salad.
In a salad bowl, mix together the cut vegetables, flaked salmon, and crushed crispy rice. Top with pieces of the crispy salmon skin.
Pour the prepared dressing over the salad ingredients and give them a gentle toss to make sure all the pieces are evenly coated. Serve right away to enjoy the contrasting textures at their best.
FAQ
Here are answers to frequently asked questions I have received across all platforms, including here, YouTube, Instagram, and Pinterest. If you have any questions, feel free to send them to me anytime! It will be a big help for everyone in this community!
While aonori powder and nori sheets are not 100% the same, you can certainly achieve a similar effect by crushing nori sheets in a small blender or food processor.
I hope you enjoy this Crispy Rice Salad recipe! If you try it out, I’d really appreciate it if you could spare a moment to let me know what you thought by giving a review and star rating in the comments below. It’s also helpful to share any adjustments you made to the recipe with our other readers. Thank you!
More Japanese Salad Recipes
- Potato Salad (Izakaya Style)
- Addictive Daikon Salad (Izakaya Style)
- Sesame Spinach Salad (Horenso no Goma-ae)
- Addictive Izakaya Style Salted Cabbage (Yamitsuki Shio Cabbage)
Hungry for more? Explore my salad recipe collection to find your next favorite dishes!
Crispy Rice Salad with Japanese Twist
Ingredients
- 150 g cooked Japanese short-grain rice
- 1 tsp soy sauce
- 1 tsp dried green laver powder (aonori)
- 1 tbsp toasted sesame oil
- 2 small salmon fillets if large, half the amount
- 1 pinch salt
- 2 Japanese or Persian cucumbers half the amount if using English cucumbers
- 1 avocado
- 80 g edamame pods removed
- 2 perilla (shiso) leaves
Dressing
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tbsp yuzu juice or lemon/lime
- 1 tbsp rice vinegar
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1 tsp sesame seeds
- 1 tsp ground sesame seeds
- 1 tbsp sesame oil
Instructions
- Start heating your oven to 230 °C (446 °F). Take a heatproof bowl and add 150 g cooked Japanese short-grain rice. Add 1 tsp soy sauce, 1 tsp dried green laver powder (aonori) and 1 tbsp toasted sesame oil, and mix until well combined.
- Line a baking tray with parchment paper and spread the rice out in a thin even layer, leaving some space for 2 small salmon fillets. Sprinkle 1 pinch salt over the salmon and rub the skin with a small amount of sesame oil, then place them skin side down next to the rice. Once hot, place in the upper part of the oven and bake for 15 minutes.
- While you wait, cut 2 Japanese or Persian cucumbers and 1 avocado into cubes. Remove 80 g edamame from their pods and if using, cut 2 perilla (shiso) leaves into thin strips. Place everything in a large salad bowl.
- Take a jug and add the dressing ingredients (2 tbsp soy sauce, 1 tbsp yuzu juice, 1 tbsp rice vinegar, 1 tsp sugar, 1 tsp sesame seeds, 1 tsp ground sesame seeds, 1 tbsp sesame oil). Whisk until combined.
- After 15 minutes, remove the tray from the oven and remove the skin from the salmon fillets. Break the salmon flesh into flakes and cut the skin into bitesize pieces.
- Add the salmon to the bowl and sprinkle the crispy rice and salmon skin on top.
- Drizzle with the dressing, mix well before eating and enjoy!
Can you process Japanese nori sheet to get aonori for this recipe?
Hi Joy,
Thank you for your question!
While aonori powder and nori sheets are not 100% the same, you can certainly achieve a similar effect by crushing nori sheets in a small blender or food processor!
Yuto
This salad was delicious! Will be making it again.
Thank you Kristina! I’m glad to hear you enjoyed it! 🙂
Yuto