Salmon Sushi Bake
This salmon sushi bake is the richer, even more flavor version of our OG sushi bake, all thanks to the addition of cream cheese and Sriracha. It's still incredibly easy to make and perfect for everyday dinner and all get-together occasions! Don't forget to serve it with a side of miso soup if you enjoying it for dinner or some lumpia (Filipino spring rolls) if you're bringing it for potluck!
Ingredients
For the sushi rice:
- 2 cups sushi rice medium or short grain (about 4 cups cooked)
- ¼ cup rice vinegar regular , NOT seasoned rice vinegar
- 1½ tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- Toasted sesame oil just a small amount of greasing the baking dish (optional)
For the salmon and crab mix:
- 8 ounces cooked salmon
- 8 ounces imitation crab meat
- 4 ounces cream cheese softened
- ½ cup Sriracha more or less to your preference
- ¼ cup Kewpie mayo
- 1 stalk green onion sliced (plus more for garnish if desired)
Spicy mayo:
- ¼ cup Kewpie mayo
- 1 tablespoon Sriracha more or less to your preference
Optional unagi sauce:
- 2 tablespoons sake
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon mirin
Optional toppings:
- Avocado sliced
- English cucumber sliced
- Furikake
- seaweed snack
Instructions
Make the sushi rice:
- Wash and rinse the sushi rice 2 to 3 times, or until the water runs clear. Drain well and cook the rice with your preferred method.
- While the rice is cooking, combine the rice vinegar, sugar, and salt in a microwaveable container. Warm up the vinegar mixture by microwaving for about 20 to 30 seconds. Mix until the sugar and salt are dissolved. Set aside until needed.*You could also heat the mixture in a saucepan over the stovetop if preferred.*
- When the rice is done cooking, transfer it to a large mixing bowl. Then, briefly fluff the rice using a rice paddle.
- Drizzle the prepared seasoned rice vinegar into the hot sushi rice and mix the rice using a slicing, fluffing motion, until the vinegar is absorbed and the rice is sticky and no longer wet. Add the vinegar in sessions if needed. Cover the sushi rice with a damp towel and set aside.
Make the salmon and crab mix:
- If using salmon from raw:Arrange the salmon skin side down on a baking tray lined with foil and season lightly with some salt and pepper. Bake at 425°F for about 15 to 20 minutes, until the salmon is just cooked through. The cook time will depend on how thick your salmon is.You can also bake in the air fryer at 400°F for about 10 to 15 minutes.
- Remove the wrappers off of each imitation crab meat. Line the crab sticks and cut them in half to make them shorter. Shred them up and add to a mixing bowl.
- Roughly break up the cooked salmon and add to the crab meat, along with the cream cheese, Kewpie mayo, Sriracha, and green onion. Mix until everything is well combined.
For the spicy mayo:
- Mix together the kewpie mayo and sriracha until well combined. Transfer it to a squeeze bottle, pipping bag, or Ziploc bag if desired. Set aside until needed.
Optional unagi sauce:
- Combine all the ingredients for the unagi sauce into a saucepan and bring it to a summer over mediu high heat, stirring occasionally. Then reduce the heat to medium or medium low and let the sauce simmer for 3 to 5 minutes until it's glossy and kind of syrupy. Remove from heat. Once the sauce has cooled, it will look thicker. Transfer the sauce to a squeeze bottle, pipping bag, or Ziploc bag if desired. Set aside until needed.
Assemble and bake:
- Preheat the oven to 425°F (220°C) and lightly grease a casserole pan with about ½ teaspoon of toasted sesame oil. Both a 9x9 or a 9x13 baking dish is fine.
- Transfer the seasoned sushi rice into the casserole pan and spread it out evenly. Press the rice down gently to flatten it and to help the rice stick together better.
- Optional: Sprinkle on a layer of furikake on top of the rice.
- Top the sushi rice with the salmon and crab mix and spread evenly. Give the mixture a gentle press across to compact and flatten it out.
- Bake the casserole for about 10 to 15 minutes or until thoroughly heated through. Remove the sushi bake and let it cool for a moment.
Serve:
- Drizzle the top of the sushi bake with the prepared spicy mayo and unagi sauce. Garnish with another sprinkle of furikake and some sliced green onion. Enjoy while warm.
- To eat, scoop and wrap with seaweed snack and top with some avocado and/or cucumber.
Notes
Please refer to the post above for step by step photo reference, tips, FAQs, and more!
- Salmon and crab meat - If you prefer, you can use make the sushi bake with just salmon. Simply substitute the same amount of salmon for crab.
- Rice - We recommend making a little drier than normal so that when the seasoned vinegar is added, the rice won't become mushy. Also, if you prefer, you can skip the seasoned vinegar all together and use plain rice, but seasoning the rice will make the sushi bake much more flavorful.
- Rice vinegar - Please note that the rice vinegar used is NOT the seasoned one. If you are using seasoned rice vinegar, omit the extra seasoning (the sugar and salt).
- Unagi sauce - This is an optional sauce that you can make yourself, or you can use a store-bought one.
Nutrition
Serving: 2cups | Calories: 768.7kcal | Carbohydrates: 101.8g | Protein: 26.6g | Fat: 25.5g | Saturated Fat: 4.1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 14.2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 6.2g | Trans Fat: 0.1g | Cholesterol: 52.6mg | Sodium: 2723.4mg | Potassium: 511.2mg | Fiber: 3.5g | Sugar: 15.7g | Vitamin A: 139.7IU | Vitamin C: 25.4mg | Calcium: 127.1mg | Iron: 2.5mg
Keywords: casserole recipe, easy recipe, party appetizer, potluck
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