Sesame Crusted Salmon Bowl
Sesame Crusted Salmon Bowl has rich grains, crisp veggies, and a vibrant Orange Ginger Miso Dressing. This healthy, flavour-packed salmon bowl recipe has tons of protein, healthy fats, and fresh ingredients to help you feel your best!
This recipe is super flexible and allows you to customize your bowl with your preferred ingredients. Don’t like quinoa? Make rice! Don’t like jammy eggs? Leave them out! You put on it what you like. The options are endless.
How long does Sesame Crusted Salmon Bowl take to make?
You can have these healthy bowls ready to go in about an hour. The dressing takes minutes to whisk together.
Cutting the salmon into cubes and coating with the sesame seeds takes about 10-15 minutes, depending on how carefully you go over the salmon pieces to remove bones, etc.
Cooking the quinoa takes about 15 minutes with a 5 minute rest, and while the quinoa is cooking you can be working on the salmon and cooking it, too.
The bowl tastes best when the salmon and quinoa are allowed to cool slightly, so that they are just warm.
Let’s talk about the ingredients for Sesame Crusted Salmon Bowl
Salmon – Fresh is best! Look for thicker pieces so you can cut them into cubes. Allow for ¼ lb (125g) of salmon per person. Tip: Ask the fish seller to cut off the skin for you, saving you time. For my recipe, I used wild Sockeye salmon, which had been previously frozen.
Sesame seeds — A blend of white and black sesame seeds makes a beautiful, flavourful crust on the salmon cubes.
Quinoa — I love quinoa! I love that it goes with anything. I like to substitute water with stock when I cook it to give it a flavour boost. For this recipe, I used a vegetable stock.
Orange Ginger Miso Dressing – This dressing is so rich and vibrant, with freshly squeezed orange juice, orange zest, ginger, and white miso paste. The miso adds a briny saltiness to the dressing which complements the salmon perfectly. The zingy orange and ginger flavours provide balance to the richness of the salmon, as well as any other healthy fat add-ins such as avocado or jammy egg.
Oranges — For the dressing and orange segments for this recipe, I recommend navel oranges. This time I used Cara Cara oranges, which are a pinky red fleshed orange that have a tinge of grapefruit flavour, so they are less sweet. They were delicious!
“Jammy” Egg — Simply a soft-boiled egg, usually cooked for 6.5 minutes. I did a test of 3 times: 6.5 minutes, 7 and 7.5 minutes, and found that I prefer the 7.5 minute egg. As I always like to say, use the one you prefer and feel free to leave it out! Here’s how to make one.
Other add-ins: I like a bit of crunch from baby romaine lettuce leaves and sliced cucumbers. Shelled edamame beans add to the variety of textures, as do avocado slices and fresh orange segments.
Can I Make Substitutions?
Salmon – Use whatever salmon you have access to. You can also try a thick cut of any cold water fish, such as trout, steelhead, halibut, ahi tuna, or try something new like lingcod or sablefish. It’s always best to use what is available to you, in your area!
Quinoa — If you don’t have or don’t like quinoa, substitute any grain you like. Try rice, brown rice, bulgur, spelt, etc. There are a lot of options out there, simply choose the one that makes you happy.
Oranges – I used Cara Cara oranges, which are only available in my area at limited times of year. Navel oranges work, or a sweeter lemon like a Meyer lemon. I haven’t tried limes, but you might like that, too! No fresh oranges? Purchased orange juice and drained mandarin orange segments will work in a pinch.
Miso paste – White miso adds salty umami flavour. If you don’t have it, try tahini instead!
Can Sesame Crusted Salmon Bowl be Dairy-Free or Gluten-Free?
Yes! Following the recipe, this salmon bowl is dairy-free and gluten-free if you substitute tamari for the soy sauce in the dressing.
The Sesame Crusted Salmon Bowl Method
First, make the dressing and refrigerate until needed and to allow the flavours to combine.
Next, prepare the quinoa. While the quinoa is cooking, cut the salmon into chunks and coat with the sesame seeds. You may also have time to start slicing up your add-ins, and cooking your jammy egg.
When the quinoa is finished cooking, allow it to rest off heat, covered, for at least 5 minutes or until you’re ready to assemble your bowls.
Cook the salmon cubes, allowing each side to sear.
When the salmon is done, assemble each bowl with a scoop of quinoa, and top with sesame crusted salmon, all your optional add-ins, and drizzle everything with that delicious dressing.
Garnish with chopped green onion and more sesame seeds.
Try these other bowl recipes
Sesame Crusted Salmon Bowl
Equipment
- Large non-stick skillet
- Large pot with lid
- Mixing bowl
- Whisk
- Tongs
- 3 Plates for coating the salmon
- 4 Shallow bowls for serving
Ingredients
Sesame Crusted Salmon
- 1 lb salmon fillets cut into 1” cubes (500g–see note*)
- 2 Tbsp olive oil
- 1 Tbsp sesame oil
- 2 Tbsp toasted sesame seeds
- 2 Tbsp black sesame seeds
Orange Ginger Miso Dressing
- ½ cup freshly squeezed orange juice 125ml
- Zest from one orange
- 4 Tbsp white miso paste
- 2 in fresh ginger grated
- 2 cloves garlic grated
- 1 Tbsp sesame oil
- 2 tsp rice vinegar
- 2 tsp soy sauce
- ¼ tsp chili flakes
Quinoa
- 1.5 cups dry quinoa
- 3 cups stock of your choosing
Optional add-ins, according to your preference
- Baby romaine lettuce leaves
- Sliced avocado
- Edamame beans shelled & prepared according to package directions
- Soft boiled eggs shelled & cut in half
- Sliced mini cucumbers
- Orange segments
- Green onion for garnish
Instructions
- Prepare dressing by combining all ingredients in a bowl and whisking until combined. Refrigerate until needed to allow the flavours to combine. Can be prepared a day in advance.
- Prepare quinoa, according to package directions, substituting the water with stock of your choice. When done, cover and set aside until needed.
- While the quinoa is cooking, prepare salmon by cutting off the skin and removing any pin bones, if necessary. Cut into 1” cubes.
- In a shallow bowl or plate, combine sesame seeds.
- In a second shallow bowl or plate, combine 1 tablespoon of the olive oil with the sesame oil.
- Using one hand, crust each cube of salmon by rolling it in the oil to coat all sides, and then pressing it into the sesame seeds with the other hand. When all sides are coated in sesame seeds, set on a plate. Repeat with remaining cubes of salmon.
- To cook the salmon, heat the remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large, non-stick skillet over medium-high heat.
- Using tongs, add salmon cubes to skillet. Allow to sit undisturbed to form a crust for about a minute, then turn all pieces to the next side. Repeat until all sides have been seared and salmon is just barely cooked through. Remove from heat.
- To assemble the bowl, add ½ cup cooked quinoa each to 4 shallow bowls. Divide salmon among the 4 bowls. Add optional add-ins, and then drizzle dressing over each bowl.
- Garnish with chopped green onion and more sesame seeds.