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.
[…] Salmon Fried Rice […]
[…] Salmon Fried Rice (kids’ favorite!) […]
nami – whats the reason for only cooking the egg at 80%?
“Quickly mix it with spatula and when it’s 80% cooked, take it out and put on a plate”
Hi Jennifer! 1) You don’t want to overcook the eggs, 2) remaining heat will continue to cook, 3) when you add the eggs to the rice later, even the eggs are slightly runny, it will continue to become fluffy. Hope this helps!
[…] came up with this recipe taking reference from Just One Cook Book. People usually say it’s best to use leftover rice to make fried rice so that all the grains […]
I tried this recipe for our dinner today. OMG, the best salmon fried rice I ever had. Thank you Nami.
Hi Julie! Thank you so much for trying this recipe! I’m so happy you enjoyed it. Thank you for your kind feedback, Julie! xo
[…] Salmon Fried Rice 鮭チャーハン • Just One Cookbook […]
[…] as a filling for onigiri, Japanese Rice Balls. Salted salmon is so versatile that I also use it in fried rice, Ochazuke (a simple rice dish in green tea) and rice […]
[…] Salmon (see Salmon Fried Rice) […]
Recipe was easy to follow. The fried rice was simple but delicious.
Thank you so much for your kind feedback Ling! So happy to hear you liked the recipe. 🙂
I made this with my mom for lunch! We didn’t have green onions but we cooked some chopped regular onions, carrot and mushrooms, and of course the eggs and salmon! It was so good! We want to try to make this rice in omurice too ^^
Thank you so much for sharing such delicious recipes!
Hi Anna! I’m so happy to hear you two enjoyed this recipe! Thank you for your kind feedback, Anna. xoxo
I have had a version of Salmon Fried Rice with a mild ginger flavor. I would love the recipe if you are aware of this version.
Hi Jill! Hmm I haven’t but you should try adding grated (fresh) ginger (1/2 tsp or so). 🙂
Hi, Nami san!
When I was making my shiozake I forgot to adjust the amount of salt as the salt we got here in Indonesia is much saltier than that in Japan or US. Normally I would adjust the amount of salt by reducing 20% -25% of any American recipe. The same goes for sugar. It was when my son was eating his shiozake that I realized that I didn’t adjust the salt level so it ended up being too salty. Hence now I got to look for a fried rice recipe to salvage his leftover shiozake. The ones I had earlier before the 2 days in the fridge was perfectly salted and I already removed the rest of them from the fridge to wrap individually for freezing. Somehow a few of the salmon at the bottom of my curing pile got over salted.
It tasted awesome otherwise and exactly like the ones I had in my hotel Japanese breakfast. Since I got my 1st taste of Japanese breakfast, I ended up reserving Japanese hotels w/ breakfast included than those American or European hotel chains. APA hotel & Granvia hotel are my favorite Japanese chains. Thank you for sharing the recipes for both the shiozake and fried rice. I don’t have to wait till my next trip to Japan to enjoy those yummy breakfasts. Do you possibly have okra salad recipe by any chance? Those were great at granvia hotels.
Hi Ima! Good call on using salty salmon for fried rice! As the rice is more bland, it adds nice saltiness to the fried rice… good save!
I’m so happy to hear you enjoyed Japanese breakfast. I would pick Japanese breakfast over western breakfast and after I’m done with Japanese… I usually get good pastry and coffee to end breakfast (yes I’m eating both!).
Okra salad – what was the dressing like? SO many ways to make a salad with okra. 🙂
I love Japanese food and want more
recipes. Thanks
Hi Maria! Thank you, don’t forget to subscribe to my blog for new recipes so you won’t miss them. 🙂
https://www.justonecookbook.com/subscribe
I made this with canned salmon and it was delicious!!!
Hi Carolyn! I’m glad you liked it! Thank you so much for your kind feedback! 🙂
Nami, may I know what size of the stainless steel woks and brand you use in the videos on cooking fried rice, thanks.
Hi John! This one in the picture is by Calphalon, and similar one I find is this one (http://amzn.to/1RZYrhj). I did not like it and always looked for a good wok.
I’m still looking for a good carbon steel wok, but meanwhile I got this All-Clad stainless steel Copper Core wok (http://amzn.to/23DtcAj) and I really like it. Hope this helps. 🙂