Recipe: Seared Salmon Sushi Bowls

My favorite way to eat salmon is sashimi, but I also love crispy skin. This recipe has the best of both worlds with a crisp, seared exterior and a rare center. I recommend getting sashimi-grade salmon at Bob’s Seafood. They will guide you to the specific salmon that is safe to eat raw. Paired with fresh avocado and cucumber and topped with seaweed seasoning and unagi sauce, this dish is like a dissected sushi roll.

Seared Salmon Sushi Bowls
2 servings

2 tsp. vegetable oil
2 4- to 6-ounce, 1½-inch thick skin-on salmon fillets
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1 cup cooked rice
1 small or medium cucumber, cubed
1 avocado, cubed
2 to 4 Tbsp. furikake*
2 to 4 Tbsp. unagi sauce*
Wasabi paste, to taste

• Place the top rack in the highest position in the oven and preheat the broiler for high heat. Line a baking sheet with foil, then grease the foil with the oil.
• Gently rub both sides of the salmon on the oiled foil and sprinkle both sides with pepper. Place skin side-down on the foil and broil 4 to 6 minutes.
• Flip the salmon and broil until the skin is crisp and sizzles, about 4 minutes. Set aside to let cool slightly.
• Divide the rice evenly between 2 serving bowls and top each with cucumber and avocado. Drizzle 1 to 2 tablespoons each furikake and unagi sauce, then add a dab of wasabi on the corner of each bowl. Place a salmon fillet atop each bowl and serve immediately.

*Furikake and unagi sauce are both available at Seafood City, Olive Supermarket or Global Foods Market.

Amrita Song is a longtime contributor to Sauce Magazine who blogs at A Song In Motion.