Featured Comment:
“This recipe is so easy to follow and quick! I used it to make a salmon and ikura rice bowl and it was perfect. My family loved it!”
– Erin
What Are Salmon Flakes?
Salmon flakes (鮭フレーク) are a versatile topping made from salmon, which is sold in convenient jars at Japanese supermarkets.
It has a fluffy texture and slightly salty flavor that makes it perfect for use as a rice topping and can be used for all kinds of purposes. For example, it can be used as a filling for rice balls, served over white rice, or as a topping for ochazuke (rice with green tea), hiyayakko, fried rice, and other dishes.
How I Developed This Recipe
To be honest with you, the salmon flakes available at supermarkets in Japan are pretty tasty. However, I must say that homemade salmon flakes are even better.
In my recipe, I’ve achieved a perfect balance by incorporating mirin for a hint of sweetness, a combination of butter and soy sauce for depth, and a sprinkle of sesame seeds as a final touch.
These salmon flakes are ideal when served in onigiri or with white rice. I highly recommend trying it out at home. Enjoy!
Ingredients & Substitution Ideas
- Salmon Fillets: Since this recipe does not use skin, skinless salmon fillets are fine. Use deboned fillets for convenience.
- Sake: I prefer unsalted drinking sake for its pure, unaltered flavor. However, cooking sake is a suitable alternative if you adjust the salt levels in the rest of the dish. My ‘Sake 101’ article can be very helpful for more detailed information on sake types and alternatives.
- Mirin: Hon Mirin is the best choice for an authentic Japanese flavor. Check out my mirin guide to learn about the differences between hon mirin and other types, as well as my recommended brands.
- Soy Sauce: For a deeper understanding of which soy sauce to choose for Japanese dishes, my comprehensive soy sauce guide can offer valuable insights.
- Unsalted Butter: It’s important to use unsalted butter to control the overall saltiness of the dish. If you only have salted butter, just reduce the amount of other salty ingredients in the recipe.
- Sesame Seeds (Optional): Sprinkling sesame seeds on top before serving adds a nice touch to the dish.
Visual Walkthrough & Tips
Here are my step-by-step instructions for how to make Homemade Salmon Flakes at home. For ingredient quantities and simplified instructions, scroll down for the Printable Recipe Card below.
First off, let’s get our salmon fillets ready. Gently pat them with kitchen paper to soak up any extra moisture.
Sprinkle a little salt over them and let them sit for about 5 minutes. After that, give them another quick pat with the kitchen paper.
Next, fill a pot with enough water to cover the salmon fillets and bring it to a boil. Once it’s boiling, turn down the heat to low to medium-low so it’s just simmering.
Place the salmon in the water and let it simmer gently for 5 minutes.
After 5 minutes, take the salmon out of the water and put them in a dish or bowl.
Peel off the skin if necessary and break up the flesh. If you find any bones here, use tweezers to pull them out.
Don’t worry if the salmon isn’t completely cooked in the center. It’s going to cook more later on.
I simply sprinkled salt and pepper, pan-fried them, and ate them as a little snack until the salmon flakes were ready.
Time to cook the salmon flakes.
Put a frying pan on low to medium heat and melt some butter. When the butter’s melted, mix in the salmon flakes, a splash of sake, a bit of mirin, soy sauce, and salt.
Slowly cook it until the liquid is almost gone. When most of the moisture is gone, remove from heat and stir in the sesame seeds.
Place the salmon flakes in a clean container and once cooled, cover and refrigerate.
Enjoy with a bowl or rice or use as a rice ball filling!
Jump to Full Recipe Measurements
How to Store
Homemade salmon flakes should last about 5 days in the refrigerator in a storage container with a lid, or about a month if frozen.
I hope you enjoy this Homemade Salmon Flakes 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 Salmon Recipes
Japanese Seasoned Salmon Flakes
Ingredients
Instructions
- Pat the surface of 2 salmon fillets dry with kitchen paper. Rub ½ tsp salt salt on both sides and rest for 5 minutes. While you wait, start boiling a pot of water.
- After 5 minutes, the salt will have drawn out the excess moisture, so pat dry once more.
- Once the water is boiling, turn the heat down to a simmer and add the salmon. Simmer for 5 minutes.
- Take the salmon out of the pan and gently shake off the excess water. Transfer it to a container and carefully pull off the skin (you can fry this and eat it as a snack, or discard). Use a spatula to break it up and remove any bones with tweezers.
- Heat a frying pan on low to medium-low and add 1 tsp unsalted butter. Once melted, add the salmon flakes along with ½ tbsp sake, ½ tbsp mirin and ⅛ tsp salt. Mix well and continue to heat until the liquid has almost gone.
- Turn off the heat, and mix in ¼ tsp soy sauce and 1 tsp white sesame seeds.
- Use straight away or transfer to a clean container and leave to cool. Once cool to the touch, cover and store in the fridge for up to 5 days.
- Enjoy with rice!
This recipe is so easy to follow and quick! I used it to make a salmon and ikura rice bowl and it was perfect. My family loved it!
Hi Erin,
Thank you for your comment! Salmon flakes and ikura sound so good! I’m glad you and your family enjoyed it! 🙂
Yuto