🥔 Salmon or Tofu Rice Bowl: A Family Favorite
A Delectable and Nutritious Dish with Wild-Caught Salmon, Fresh Vegetables, and Our Special Yuzu Soy Dipping Sauce
Our Salmon Rice Bowl is a One Potato favorite for its flexibility in ingredients. Combine a bunch of delectable ingredients like perfectly steamed rice, crunchy seasoned carrots, zippy cucumbers, fresh pickled ginger, and wild-caught salmon, and then grab a fork or set of chopsticks, and you’ll understand why this is one of our most requested dishes. Topped with our addictive special One Potato Yuzu Soy Dipping Sauce, this is a healthy dinner you won’t be able to get enough of.
This dish is delicious AND incredibly healthy. The wild-caught salmon provides a rich source of omega-3 fatty acids, essential for heart health and brain function. The variety of fresh vegetables adds a wealth of vitamins, minerals, and fiber, making it a well-rounded, nutritious option. In our spring salad, the Kumato tomatoes - with their dark brown to deep green color - add a richness to the greens, and is a great ‘fancy’ ingredient to introduce to the kiddos. Of course, if Kumato tomatoes are unavailable, a vibrant heirloom tomato is always delicious. We’ve included our One Potato Carrot Ginger Vinaigrette recipe, which allows you to tweak the ingredients and customize the flavors to your family’s taste preferences.
One of the best parts about this recipe is its family-friendly nature. Kids can get involved in the preparation, making it a fun and sensory activity. They can measure the rice, slice the cucumbers, and assemble the bowls, turning mealtime into a hands-on experience. Plus, the sweet and savory yuzu soy ginger sauce is a hit with picky eaters, encouraging them to try and enjoy salmon (and veggies!).
Ready to get started? Let's dive into the recipe!
Got time?
We highly recommend preparing our One Potato Yuzu Soy Dipping Sauce and Carrot Ginger Vinaigrette from scratch for a truly unforgettable meal.
If you make a batch to keep in the fridge or freezer, you can have this dinner ready in less than 30 minutes. (You can always save time by buying a yuzu miso dipping sauce/glaze for the salmon and a carrot ginger dressing off the shelf.) You can also make a big batch of our One Potato Yuzu Soy Dipping Sauce and freeze it for later use and quicker meal prep in the future.
We recommend reading through the full recipe before starting to cook - that way all the steps will go more smoothly. Also helpful is mis en place - measuring everything out before beginning prep and cooking, so everything goes smoothly and you don’t lose time.
Salmon/Tofu Rice Bowl
For 4 Servings
One Potato Kitchen Tools: large pot, chef’s knife, cutting board, baking sheet, pastry brush or spoon, 2 mixing bowls, small serving bowls for toppings
From Your Pantry: salt (kosher or sea), pepper, vegetable or olive oil, apple cider vinegar, sugar
Ingredients:
1.5 cups Lundberg short grain brown rice
1 tbs seasoned rice vinegar
1 lb wild-caught salmon (filet) OR 12 oz extra-firm tofu
2-3 Persian cucumbers (sliced)
¼ red onion (thinly sliced)
¼ cup bracing dressing (this is made by combining ¼ cup apple cider vinegar plus 1 tsp brown sugar)
8 oz spring salad mix
2 Kumato tomatoes (if you love tomatoes, throw in as many as you would like! If kumato variety is unavailable, you can use a flavorful heirloom tomato)
1 large carrot (grated)
1 avocado (cubed - if you love avocados, add more to your bowl)
Pickled white sushi ginger (as much as you would like)
Nori crisps (as much as you would like)
One Potato Yuzu Soy Dipping Sauce (to be used as a glaze and a dipping sauce) or buy from Amazon
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 450˚F.
Prepare the rice: Make brown or white rice according to the directions on the package - let your kids decide which variety. We recommend 1.5 cups uncooked rice for 4 people, but make extra if you like to have leftovers. Cook the rice at a 1:2 ratio: 1.5 cups dry rice with 3 cups water. Fluff with a fork and let rest for five minutes. Place the rice into a bowl, drizzle the seasoned rice vinegar over the top while still hot, and fold into the rice with a spatula until absorbed.
Prepare the Salmon: Lightly season both sides of the salmon with salt. Place the salmon skin-side down on a lightly oiled baking sheet. Brush your Yuzu Soy Dipping Sauce glaze onto the salmon (if you don’t have a brush you can spoon it over) until lightly coated. Place the baking sheet into the oven and bake for 12 minutes to cook through. If you prefer your salmon well done, bake for 15 minutes. (Go to step 5.)
Vegetarian? Use Tofu!: To prepare delicious tofu for this recipe, start by draining the tofu then cutting it into 1” cubes. Place in a Ziploc bag with the Yuzu Soy Dipping Sauce and let marinate while you prepare the cucumbers and sides. After ~15 minutes, place a medium sized sauté pan over medium heat. Once the pan is hot, add a teaspoon of oil and lightly brown your marinated tofu, shaking the pan to turn the tofu over, browning all sides (you can also use tongs). Cook to warm through, about 3-5 minutes. *For crispier tofu, see our Pro Tips below.
Prepare the Cucumbers: Slice the cucumbers and place them in a bowl with the sliced onions and season with salt. Toss, wait five minutes, and then pour the bracing dressing over the top. Set aside until ready to serve. The bracing dressing is meant to lightly pickle the vegetables, so remove the cucumbers and onions from the bracing dressing just before serving.
Prepare the Side Salad & Extras: Place the spring greens into a mixing bowl. Core the tomatoes, cut into wedges and add to the lettuce. Drizzle the carrot ginger vinaigrette on top of the greens and tomatoes and toss to coat evenly. Drain the carrots and place in a small serving bowl. Place the cubed avocado, ginger, and the nori crisps in separate small serving bowls.
Plate & Serve: Spoon ½-1 cup of rice into each serving bowl. Break up or flake pieces of salmon in the center (or place tofu cubes in the center) and garnish outer edges with the carrots, the cucumber salad, and the avocado. Sprinkle with nori crisps and ginger and serve with the side salad and One Potato Yuzu Soy Dipping Sauce on the side. Kids also like decorating the bowls by using vegetables in fun patterns, so let them plate & serve to be more involved. Enjoy!
Substitutions and Dietary Considerations
Gluten-free: Whether preparing the One Potato Yuzu Soy Dipping Sauce yourself, or buying your favorite already-prepared soy glaze, make sure you are using GF soy sauce. When you purchase any seasoned rice vinegar, make sure it is also GF (some seasoned rice vinegars are prepared with grains).
Sugar free: Omit the Yuzu Soy Dipping Sauce or other sauces with sugar. You can use plain soy sauce for a nice added flavor.
*Vegetarian: The Yuzu Soy Dipping Sauce makes a great marinade for tofu. Tofu will absorb more flavor the longer it marinates, so if you have time you can set aside the tofu in the ziploc bag with the Yuzu Soy Dipping Sauce the night before, or a few hours before preparing the rest of the meal.
Getting Kids Involved
Assemble the bowls for a fun DIY meal.
Want to try a science experiment? Get the kids involved by making your own pickled ginger - just four easy steps. This recipe is quick and easy to make and can take less than 20 minutes (but improves with age!) It has the added benefit of changing to pink while pickling. MAGIC for young chefs.
Ingredients:
10 ounces ginger (young ginger preferred) sliced thinly on a mandolin, with a vegetable peeler or with a knife
½ cup rice vinegar
½ cup boiling hot water
¼ cup honey or maple syrup
1 teaspoon kosher salt
Thinly slice the ginger using a mandolin (metal glove link), vegetable peeler or knife.
Add the rice vinegar, water, sugar, and salt to a small saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a boil and cook, stirring, until the sugar and salt dissolve.
Remove the pan from the heat and add the sliced ginger. Stir to ensure that individual slices of ginger are evenly coated in the pickling liquid.
Allow the ginger to cool to room temperature, then transfer the ginger and pickling liquid to an airtight container. Use immediately or store in the fridge for use later. If you are using immediately, the ginger will have a strong bite, but it will mellow over 48 hours in the fridge. Pickled ginger will keep well in the fridge for up to two months.
Pro Tips
Picky Eaters? Our sweet and savory yuzu soy ginger sauce/glaze is a great way to get kids to try salmon. You can give them a taste before glazing the salmon, and reserve a little to pour on top of the salmon after it bakes and/or use as a dipping sauce.
Preparing Crispier Tofu: A watery block of tofu won’t get crispy. To drain it, slice the block and place the slices in a single layer on a paper towel-lined plate. Top tofu with more paper towels and then a heavy object (such as a skillet or cookbooks). Let stand for up to 10 minutes, then proceed to cube and either cook directly or marinate.
Keep your Avocado fresh: If you’re not going to be serving your meal immediately, squeeze a bit of lemon or lime juice on the avocado flesh to make sure it doesn’t brown.
Tips for using our online Shopping List
Remember: In our linked Shopping List, the cart might have multiple brands of the same ingredient listed - in case you want the sugar free or organic version, for example. All you need to do to have the ingredients quickly delivered is
Verify your location
Choose your preferred store and delivery service (Instacart will show you how many items in the list are available at your preferred store; if the item we’ve recommended is not available they should show you an alternative item)
Confirm the items and quantities that you want to purchase - Click the “Add” button next to the ingredient you want to add to your cart
Check out and schedule your delivery
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This is the new home of One Potato, and we’re so glad you’re here! This is a bonus recipe for all subscribers, Free and Paid. We recently relaunched, and this is a sneak-peak of our paid subscription. Free Subscribers will only receive a monthly meal plan outline, one full recipe a month, plus one community newsletter. Our family-favorite special sauces are for Paid Subscribers only. Learn more here.
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