Life Love Mom

Tag: food

  • Viral Salmon Bowl Recipe

    Viral Salmon Bowl Recipe

    There has never been a shortage of viral videos all over the internet, especially about food. They range from odd, to super weird, to everything in between. I’m not typically interested in these videos, but the internet seems to get it right every now and then. This salmon bowl is just amazing since it is the perfect mixture of salty, creamy, and umami. It originated from Emily Mariko, a food and fashion enthusiast on social media. She used it as a way to repurpose leftover salmon (and in doing so, does some pretty freaky things by microwaving it with an ice cube). I choose to use fresh salmon and bake it just for this recipe. I have also substituted rainbow trout, and my family was none the wiser 🙂

    Here are some of the key points of this recipe. The recipe gets its creaminess from the mix of avocado and mayo. You can always add less mayo or use a lower-fat version to cut some of the fat out. You can adjust the heat level by adding less or more hot sauce. Costco carries a great line of dried seaweed. It has been approved by both my kids and my Korean in-laws. If you aren’t familiar with kimchi, it is a fermented cabbage that includes Korean spices and lots of garlic. Rooster is a great brand and is readily available in most Asian grocery stores (I’ve even seen it at my local No Frills!). Pro tip: Once the jar has been opened, put it in a grocery bag (or two) before storing it in your fridge. Otherwise, it will cause your other food to smell.

    Ingredients

    • Salmon or trout (1 piece per person)
    • Cooked white rice
    • Low sodium soy sauce
    • Mayonnaise (the original recipe calls for Japanese mayo but I find regular works perfectly)
    • Sriracha Hot Sauce
    • Avocado
    • Seaweed Squares
    • Kimchi

    Preparation

    1. Prepare the fish. I typically lightly season the fish with salt, pepper, garlic powder and onion powder. But you can season it however you like. Bake it in the oven at 400 degrees for about 12-15 minutes or until it is opaque in colour and flakes with a fork.
    2. Prepare the rice as per box direction, or using a rice cooker
    3. Once everything is prepared, layer rice in your bowl with your salmon. Add approx 1 tbsp of soy sauce and 1/2 tbsp each of mayo and sriracha. Feel free to adjust to your taste.
    4. Use your fork to mash everything together
    5. Use the seaweed to pick up bitd of the salmon/rice mixture. Eat with avocado and kimchi.

    Don’t forget to let me know if you enjoyed this recipe!

    This is life. Love, Mom.

  • DIY Poke Bowls

    DIY Poke Bowls

    Recently, J announced she wanted to follow a pescatarian diet. This meant no meat or chicken, only fish and plant-based protein. This wasn’t a huge change for us, as I rarely cook red meat at home to begin with. But that said, I wanted to find different ways to incorporate fish into her diet. You may notice a theme in all the recipes I share – mix and match. I find these recipes do the best in our house since everyone’s tastes are different. Instead of trying (and failing) to make one dish that satisfies everyone, allowing people to choose their own toppings and mix-ins has been huge. This way I don’t feel like I am running a kitchen, and there is less complaining about the meal. Win-win in my humble opinion.

    If you are not familiar with poke bowls, you are missing out. Truly. These bowls, which originated from Hawaii, are typically prepared with a rice bottom, raw fish, vegetables, and an amazing sauce. I use cooked fish only, as J isn’t a fan of raw. But if I was to make this for Hubby and me, I would definitely add some sushi-grade tuna. I will share below what I put out, and some other suggestions for you to include. Feel free to omit or add anything that appeals to you or you have laying around your fridge.

    A note about the rice. I use Korean short-grain rice because that is what I have in my house. Years ago, my Korean mother-in-law taught me how to make rice with a rice cooker. It involves rinsing the grains to remove some of the starch, and using enough water to come up to your knuckle. Truly though, any type of rice would do. If you don’t have a fantastic mother-in-law proficient in rice making as I do, I would suggest following the instructions on the package you buy.

    An ingredient preview

    Recipe rundown:

    • Cooked rice (approx 1/4 cup per person)
    • Sauce
      • 2 tbsp low sodium soy sauce
      • 1.5 tbsp rice vinegar
      • 1 tbsp sesame oil
      • 1 tbsp lime juice
      • 1 tbsp honey
      • dash of sesame seeds
    • Protein
      • I love using PC salmon burgers in this recipe. I oven bake them or fry in my cast iron skillet and then cut them up
      • Cooked shrimp
      • Immitation Crab
    • Toppings
      • Avocado
      • Edamame (I use the pre-shelled frozen ones!)
      • Shredded carrots
      • Cucumbers (I marinate mine in a bit of rice vinegar and salt)
      • Seaweed Salad
      • Dried seaweed
    • Spicy mayonaise (we use a store bought mayo but you can always mix some regular mayonaise with siracchia to taste)

    In case you are reading this and thinking “there is no way my kids would eat that”… let me tell you – J eats all of it with the exception of the spicy mayonnaise. N, on the other hand, only eats rice, dried seaweed and his weight in edamame. So please don’t feel bad if your bowls don’t look like these. Do what works for YOU! Have any other topping suggestions?? I’d love to hear them!

    This is life. Love, Mom.