One-Pot Ginger Salmon and Rice

By Ali Slagle

Published April 8, 2023

One-Pot Ginger Salmon and Rice
Joel Goldberg for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Barrett Washburne.
Total Time
50 minutes
Rating
4(845)
Comments
Read comments

This one-pot meal follows in the tradition of takikomi gohan, or Japanese mixed rice: Short-grain rice cooks with meat, seafood or vegetables and seasonings like dashi, hijiki, mushrooms and soy sauce. This recipe’s umami is driven by toasted nori (or gim); the sheets used for sushi or kimbap and the little, boxed seasoned snacks both work. When cooked with the rice, the seaweed loses its crunch, but its nutty, briny flavor infuses each grain. Seaweed goes well with salmon, which is lively with lemon and ginger, and silky from a quick steam on top of the rice. And while you could add any vegetable that steams in 10 minutes, crisp-tender asparagus works especially well.

  • or to save this recipe.

  • Subscriber benefit: Give recipes to anyone

    As a subscriber, you have 10 gift recipes to give each month. Anyone can view them - even nonsubscribers. Learn more.

    Subscribe

  • Share this recipe

  • Print this recipe

Advertisement

Ingredients

Yield:3 to 4 servings
  • 1½cups sushi rice (short-grain white rice, rinsed well
  • About 5 grams toasted nori seaweed, crushed into small pieces (2 sheets or one 0.17-ounce snack pack)
  • 1tablespoon soy sauce, plus more for serving
  • Salt
  • 1pound skinless salmon, cut into 1-inch cubes
  • 1(1-inch) piece of fresh ginger, finely grated (about 1 tablespoon)
  • 1lemon, zested and cut into wedges
  • 1bunch asparagus, trimmed and sliced ½ inch thick
  • Any combination of fresh herbs (such as cilantro, parsley, shiso), sliced scallions, crushed nori and toasted sesame seeds (all optional), for serving
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)

521 calories; 16 grams fat; 4 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 4 grams monounsaturated fat; 5 grams polyunsaturated fat; 63 grams carbohydrates; 2 grams dietary fiber; 2 grams sugars; 30 grams protein; 636 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

Powered by

Preparation

  1. Step 1

    In a medium pot, combine 2½ cups water with the rice, nori, soy sauce and a pinch of salt. Cover and bring mixture to a boil over medium-high. Once mixture comes to a boil, stir, cover, reduce heat to low and simmer until the rice is tender, 18 to 20 minutes.

  2. Step 2

    Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, stir together the salmon, ginger and lemon zest. Season with salt.

  3. Step 3

    Gently fold the asparagus into the rice. If you notice the rice is dry or sticking to the pot, add 2 to 4 tablespoons of water. Add the salmon mixture on top of the rice, cover, and cook on low until the salmon is just cooked through and the asparagus is crisp-tender, 10 to 12 minutes. Turn off heat, and let rest, covered, 10 minutes. Serve with a squeeze of lemon and more soy sauce, plus herbs, scallions, nori and/or sesame seeds as desired.

Private Notes

Leave a Private Comment on this recipe and see it here.

Ratings

4 out of 5
845 user ratings
Your rating

or to rate this recipe.

Have you cooked this?

or to mark this recipe as cooked.

Comments

Niko

Comes out really dry as instructed, and was not a fan of the soggy nori. Added another tbsp soy sauce, 2 tbsp mirin, 2 tbsp rice vinegar and a little sesame oil for flavor, and cooked everything in a rice cooker (placed salmon and asparagus on top of rice, and grated the ginger/lemon zest on top of those). Instead of cooking the nori with the rice, crumbled it over the dish when serving, along with some furikake. The flavor profile is the same as the original recipe, but so much juicier.

Katryn

This recipe is flawed. The rice is already cooked after 18 minutes when you add the salmon and asparagus. So the rice ends up being very mushy and there isn’t enough liquid to soften the asparagus. Pretty much a disaster.

Jen

After reading the notes, I soaked the sushi rice and rinsed thoroughly in advance and decided to do this in a deep-sided 12" skillet vs. a pot to increase surface area for the salmon. I added the asparagus and salmon at minute 12 (instead of 18-20 as written) and, while I had to crank the heat a little at that point to get the steam going again, I did the remainder of the recipe as written and everything turned out cooked as intended! The rice wasn't mushy and the salmon was beautifully tender.

Anna

Very tasty! I replaced the rice with a three-rice mix (brown, black, and white), and the asparagus with frozen green beans. I will definitely make this again.

Karla B

I agree that there needs to be more detailed instruction about what state the rice is in when you add the vegetable/asparagus, and then the salmon. I think I would start with increasing thewater to the rice rather than adding it later. I don’t like adding cold water to hot/warm. I was able to improvise with the recipe because I am an experienced cook and it came out OK. I didn’t love the flavour of the rice, but the salmon was delicious and it was a low effort meal.

Steph B

The salmon was dry as some others mentioned and the asparagus was overcooked, but I will definitely try it again. (All I had in the house was brown rice. I did cook it longer before adding the asparagus and salmon but it still may have had an effect on the final outcome.)

Private comments are only visible to you.

Recipe Tags

or to save this recipe.