With just a handful of ingredients—leftover rice, Japanese salted salmon, eggs, and scallions—you can cook up this delicious Salmon Fried Rice recipe. It‘s a quick and easy one-pan meal with tons of flavor that’s ready in about half an hour.
Typically when we have a “Japanese” dinner at home, one of the dishes is usually a baked or grilled fish. My children love all kinds of fish, from Hamachi Kama (yellowtail collar) to Miso Cod. One of their favorite baked fish is Salted Salmon (Shiojake/Shiozake). Sometimes when we have leftovers, I would use them to make Salmon Fried Rice the next day. It is one of the most convenient and satisfying ways to cook a one-pan meal for the family.
Use Salted Salmon for Fried Rice
The prep work for the Japanese Salted Salmon recipe is very simple. All you need is salmon, sake, and salt. You rub salt over the salmon and let it sit in the refrigerator for 2 days.
What if you want to make Salmon Fried Rice now and don’t want to wait for 2 days? Well, you can make a quick version of salted salmon by sprinkling salt on the fresh salmon and baking it before making the fried rice.
Fried Rice Cooking Tips
Since salted salmon is the star of the show for this fried rice, we keep the rest of the ingredients simple with just a light touch of seasonings.
To prevent the fried rice from turning mushy, you want to use day-old rice when cooking. It is also best cooked in a wok with small servings, preferably one to two portions at a time. This is to make sure every grain of the rice is evenly fried yet retains its fluffiness. Heat the wok until it is smoking hot and then swirl in a good amount of oil before adding in the rest of the ingredients. This way the eggs and the rice will not stick to the bottom of the wok.
Minimal prep work, quick to pull together, and deeply satisfying, this salmon fried rice meets all the requirements for a fast weeknight meal that you will enjoy.
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Salmon Fried Rice
Ingredients
For the Salted Salmon
- 1 skin-on salmon fillet (4 oz, 120 g; I use salmon from a Japanese grocery store, so it‘s a thinner cut; leftover salted salmon (shiojake) works well)
- ¼ tsp Diamond Crystal kosher salt
For the Fried Rice
- 1 green onion/scallion
- 1–2 large eggs (50 g each w/o shell)
- 2 Tbsp neutral oil
- 1 Tbsp toasted sesame oil
- 2 servings cooked Japanese short-grain rice (typically 150 g per serving; cooled or preferably day-old; frozen cooked rice works well)
- 1 tsp soy sauce
- ¼ tsp Diamond Crystal kosher salt (to taste)
- ⅛ tsp white pepper powder (to taste)
- ⅛ tsp freshly ground black pepper (to taste)
Instructions
- Before You Start: Gather all the ingredients. I recommend cooking only 2 servings at a time, especially if you‘re new to making fried rice. The ingredients need space to move around in the wok, and the wok gets heavy to lift and shake if you cook more than 2 servings. For the cooked rice, please note that ¾ cup (150 g, 1 rice cooker cup) of uncooked Japanese short-grain rice yields 2¼ US cups (330 g) of cooked white rice. See how to cook short-grain rice with a rice cooker, pot over the stove, Instant Pot, or donabe.
To Make the Salted Salmon
- If you don‘t have the leftover salted salmon, we‘ll make a simplified version today. Preheat the oven or toaster oven to 400ºF (200ºC) and line a baking sheet with aluminum foil. Quickly rinse 1 skin-on salmon fillet under running water and pat dry with a paper towel. Sprinkle ¼ tsp Diamond Crystal kosher salt on both sides of the salmon fillet and bake at 400ºF (200ºC) for 15–20 minutes (cooking time may vary based on the fillet‘s thickness).
- Discard the skin and break the salmon into small pieces.
To Prepare the Ingredients
- Chop 1 green onion/scallion into small pieces. Beat 1–2 large eggs (50 g each w/o shell) in a bowl.
- For your cooked rice, make sure it‘s at room temperature or slightly warmer. If you‘re using frozen cooked rice, defrost it in the microwave. Tip: If your cooked rice is still hot, transfer it to a large bowl or baking sheet (for more surface area). Spread it out and set aside for 60 minutes, uncovered, to remove the moisture.
To Cook the Fried Rice
- Heat the wok over medium-high heat. When it’s hot, add 2 Tbsp neutral oil. When you see white smoke rising from the wok, add the beaten egg. The egg will not stick to the pan as long as you added enough oil.
- Quickly mix it with a spatula. When it’s 80% cooked, transfer it to a plate.
- Keep the wok on medium-high heat and add 1 Tbsp toasted sesame oil.
- Add the green onions and stir-fry until nicely coated with oil.
- Add 2 servings cooked Japanese short-grain rice and break up any the chunks of rice with the spatula. Toss the rice in the wok so the grains will fry and mix well with the oil.
- When the rice is coated with oil, add the shredded salmon and toss the ingredients again.
- Add the egg back into the wok and break it into small pieces with the spatula.
- When all the ingredients are well mixed, add 1 tsp soy sauce, ¼ tsp Diamond Crystal kosher salt, ⅛ tsp white pepper powder, and ⅛ tsp freshly ground black pepper.
- Toss the ingredients in the wok again and mix it all together.
To Serve
- Fill a rice bowl with the fried rice and invert it onto a plate. Serve immediately.
To Store
- You can keep the leftovers in an airtight container and store in the refrigerator for 3 days or in the freezer for a month.
I’ve been searching for the perfect egg fried rice recipe and this is it! It tastes exactly how I like it, and isn’t nearly as much hassle as I thought a good recipe would be.
Hi Cassie! So happy to hear you liked this recipe! Thanks so much for your kind feedback!
Oh I had a feeling Miyata was chinese hehe 🙂 One last question: this is the only reasonable japanese online shop in Switzerland: http://www.nishishop.ch/product/%E9%86%A4%E6%B2%B9sojasauce/
Could you please tell me which soy sauce I should buy? Cause there is this dark and light… so I really don’t know 🙂
Hi Alina! I took a look, and I think for general use, you should get this generic one:
http://www.nishishop.ch/product/%E9%86%A4%E6%B2%B9sojasauce/
But if you are not going to use a lot of soy sauce in your dishes, you can just buy a small bottle of this.
http://www.nishishop.ch/product/%E9%86%A4%E6%B2%B9%EF%BE%83%EF%BE%9E%EF%BD%A8%EF%BD%BD%EF%BE%8D%EF%BE%9F%EF%BE%9D%EF%BD%BB%EF%BD%B0tisch-sojasauce/
I use organic soy sauce, because I use it a lot in my cooking. Although soy sauce will last like one year, if you don’t use that often, you can just get a small one to start. If you use it often – like for marinade etc, buy a bigger bottle. 🙂
Hope this helps!
Thank you SO VERY MUCH!! You are my life-saver 🙂
No problem, anytime!
Dear Nami,
I think I will cook this rice on the weekend. Quick question: have u ever tried to mix soy sauce with mirin and sake instead of just soy sauce? I could imagine it would be more interesting that way (maybe not authentic, but still ;)), plus I still have leftover salted salmon and with just soy sauce it will probably be way too salty 🙂
HI Alina! I definitely recommend you to taste your fried rice before adding additional salt in this recipe (I use 1/4 tsp). Depends on how salty your salmon is, you will need to adjust.
Soy sauce is only a drip, and it’s not really for making it salty, but to add the fragrance and umami. Even a tiny drip, you can taste it. You don’t want to taste soy sauce AT ALL, it’s just a hint, and this is kind of important. 🙂
We never put sake or mirin in fried rice, for the purpose of seasoning it. Sake might be used for chicken or seafood like shrimp to remove the odor, but not for taste. so as mirin. Fried rice has no sweet flavor like sugar or mirin. 🙂
BUT it’s preference… if you think you will like it, please try! 🙂 My recipe is just a guidance and how Japanese food is usually cooked. You should make one that you enjoy!
Thank you!! Good thing I asked! Othersise I would have definitely added mirin to the rice 🙂
I also wanted to ask you about soy sauce… Do you know the one from the brand “Miyata”? Do you know if it’s the right one or if it tastes good? I’m pretty new to Japanese soy sauce and as far as I understood it’s pretty different from the Chinese one….
Hi Alina! I’m not familiar with “Miyata” brand… I just checked and it’s from China (although “Miyata” is a common Japanese surname… haha).
I like this brand, but it might be hard to find as it’s imported from Japan:
https://www.justonecookbook.com/pantry_items/soy-sauce/
Can this be made the same way in a iron skellet?
Hi Sharon! I’d say it’s possible with a small amount of rice ( like for one person). The reason is that you need to lift the skillet and shake it to move the rice constantly and if you put the rice, it’ll be too heavy and hard to “fluff” the rice. I think frying pan is actually a better choice so you can shake the pan, fluffing the rice and heat goes through the rice. Otherwise, the rice will stuck in the skillet and gets mushy without heat/air going through. Hope this makes sense? I make fried rice with a frying pan and it works great. Just make sure it’s not heavy for you to lift and move around. 🙂
salmon and rice!! I have to try this one out!
Hope you enjoy this recipe, Dalce! 🙂
Hi Nami!
I’m sorry if this is a stupid question but in the list of ingredients you write “1 fresh salmon or leftover Salted Salmon (shiojake)”. I don’t usually have left over salmon so I want to cook the amount I need for this dish.
How many grams of salmon will I need for this recipe? I just want to make sure it’s not too much or too little.
Thanks!
No, it’s not a stupid question at all, and indeed it was my typo, missing “fillet”. This recipe is for 2 persons so 1-2 fillet (depends on the size) would be good amount. For this recipe, I use 1 fillet (it’s Japanese size, so smaller than American fillet). Please feel free to adjust.
Hi, I know this is an old post but I had to comment. I just made this for dinner and it was good. Especially the salted salmon. Mmmm.
I did add sweet peas and garlic to the fried rice. The sweetness of the peas really balanced out the saltiness of the salmon. Yummy!
Now I need to go make more salmon to have with congee.
Hi Diana! Thank you so much for taking your time to write your feedback. I’m so happy to hear you enjoy my recipe! This is a very simple recipe but we love it too! Glad to hear you enjoy the salted salmon. It’s very convenient to keep in the freezer. 🙂 Thanks again!
hi. i just tried this recipe with some modifications:
no salmon: tofu + some seaweed instead
a little over a cup of rice instead of two
it turned out perfect. very delicious and easy to make.
will do it again. thanks for the recipe!
Hi David! I’m happy to hear you enjoyed this recipe! Thanks so much for the kind feedback. 🙂
Hi, Nami, I made your Salmon fried rice receipt and it was Fantastic
Hi John! Yay! I’m so glad you enjoyed this recipe! Thanks so much for letting me know! 🙂
I am going to make this tomorrow night!
btw, what kind of cutting board are you using? or recommend one?
Hi Mike! Hope you enjoy this recipe! 🙂
This particular one is from BOOS. It requires maintenance (monthly oiling) and if you prefer low maintenance, I highly recommend teak cutting boards. I got one from CuttingBoard.com and I love this! Very nice (you can see it in my recent recipes). Hope that helps! 🙂
Love it! Was the perfect leftover recipe for me today! どもありがとう、おいしかった!
Hi Michiko! So glad you liked this recipe! 作ってくれてどうもありがとう!嬉しかったです。 🙂
MMMMM…just made this and it is sooo yummy. Just like Din Tai Fung’s fried rice but with salmon!
Hi KatC! So happy to hear you liked it and what a sweet compliment! I love food from DTF too! Thank you!! xo
I to like salmon, have you ever tried this method:
Take a whole salmon, cleaned, lay out enough heavy duty foil, lay the salmon on top of the foil, add any combination of flavouring you wish, wrap up the salmon making sure it is sealed very well. Now take the salmon and place it on the top rack of your dish washer, yes that is correct, dish washer, run a hot wash (60degrees), (no washing liquid of course), at the end of the cycle take out the salmon and you will find it beautifuly cooked through, quite a surprise though!
Very interesting! I’d rather put the good quality food in oven than dish washer though. LOL. 😉
Nami-san, I followed this same basic recipe yesterday when I was cleaning out the refrigerator. The only difference is that I used leftover smoked catfish! My boyfriend kept asking questions about what it was and almost missed out because his dad was eating it all so fast. They are both true southern men, so at first they could not believe I’d put catfish in rice. Of course, they got over that quickly, and asked when I was going to make it again. ummm… When we have some leftover rice and catfish in the refrigerator at the same time, I suppose.
Hi Tracey! Sorry about my late response. I’m so happy to hear you enjoyed the fried rice with catfish! I have to give that a try one day too! 🙂
Any tips on the tossing part? I always tossed my rice out of the wok! haha
Hi Willy! Haha, it happens to me too. 😀 When you don’t put too much rice in the wok (by the way, wok helps toss fried rice nicely), it’s a lot easier to control and you don’t have to try lifting it… 🙂