You’re having an onigiri craving emergency but there is no Asian supermarket nearby, and you can’t wait for an Amazon delivery (I know, we’ve all been there ;p). Please don’t worry! If you don’t have store-bought salmon flakes, you can also make them at home. It is quite easy and simple.
Salmon Flakes Recipe (using raw salmon fillets)
Time: 50 mins (including resting time)
Difficulty: Easy
Ingredients
•200g salmon fillets
•1 tsp salt
•1 tbsp cooking sake (Japanese rice wine, can be substituted with dry sherry or dry white wine)
•1 tbsp cooking sake
•1 tbsp mirin
•1/2 tbsp toasted white sesame seeds (optional)
Instructions
*photos show half portion
- Sprinkle salt over salmon fillets and let sit for 30 minutes to allow the salt to penetrate. Wipe off any excess moisture that comes out of the salmon with a paper towel.
- Place the salmon and cooking sake in a frying pan, cover with a lid, and steam-fry over medium heat for 3–4 minutes until cooked through. Remove the salmon from the pan and let it cool slightly.
- Remove the skin and bones, and flake the flesh. Be careful not to flake the flesh too finely. The salmon will break down further when you dry-fry it in the pan later, so it’s best to keep the chunks fairly large at this stage.
- Wipe the pan from step 2 and put the flaked salmon back into the pan. Add sake (it adds umami and removes odors) and mirin, and over medium-low heat, dry-fry slightly to remove excess moisture.
- Finally, sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds and taste the salmon. Add a little salt if needed. If the salmon flavor is too strong, adding a pinch of pepper or a small amount of sesame oil will help balance the flavors.
Adding toasted white sesame seeds is also delicious.
Salmon flakes aren’t just for rice balls—you can also use them in Japanese rolled omelette (Tamagoyaki) for Bento, fried rice, pasta, Japanese-style potato salad etc.
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