Ingredients
For the Salmon:
- 1 – 1 ¼ lbs skin-on or skinless salmon fillets
- ¼ cup coconut aminos*
- 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
- 1 tablespoon pure honey
- 3 garlic cloves, finely minced (or 1½ teaspoons garlic powder)
- 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
- 1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger (or ½ teaspoon dried ginger)
- ½ teaspoon Sriracha (may sub gochujang or another hot sauce)
- ¼ teaspoon fine salt, more to taste
- ⅛ teaspoon black pepper
- Olive oil spray or avocado oil spray
(Optional) To Make Salmon Rice Bowls:
- 3 cups cooked jasmine rice or cooked cauliflower rice
- ½ cup thinly sliced fresh cucumbers or Quick-Pickled Cucumbers (see recipe in Notes below)
- Creamy Honey-Sriracha Sauce (see recipe in Notes below) or Yum Yum Sauce
- Optional garnishes: diced avocado, edamame beans, crushed red pepper flakes, sesame seeds, and/or sliced green onions
Instructions
- Slice the salmon into 1-inch cubes, ensuring the pieces are all about the same size so they will cook evenly.
- In a large shallow bowl or pie plate, combine the coconut aminos, vinegar, honey, garlic, sesame oil, ginger, Sriracha, salt, and pepper; whisk to combine.
- Add the salmon pieces to the marinade, turning each piece a few times to coat well. Set aside to marinate for at least 15 minutes or as long as 4 hours.**
- Preheat the air fryer to 400ºF, which will take about 5 minutes.
- When hot, mist the basket of the air fryer generously with cooking spray. Place the salmon chunks in the basket, skin side down, making sure they are not touching. NOTE: If the air fryer basket is small, it may be necessary to cook the salmon in two batches.
- Air fry until the salmon flakes easily, 5 to 7 minutes.
- If serving the salmon bowl style, the Quick Pickled Cucumbers can be prepared while the salmon marinates. And the Creamy Honey-Sriracha sauce can be combined while the salmon cooks. See Note section below for ingredients and directions.
- To assemble the bowls, divide the cooked rice among serving bowls and top each with some of the pickled cucumbers and the air fried salmon. If desired, garnish with avocado, edamame, sesame seeds, red pepper flakes, sliced green onions, and a drizzle of the creamy Sriracha sauce.
Notes
* May use tamari or soy sauce in place of the coconut aminos. To replace ¼ cup coconut aminos, use 2 tablespoons tamari or soy sauce mixed with 2 tablespoons water.
** The salmon should marinate for a minimum of 15 minutes, but can be marinated for up to 4 hours. If marinating it longer than 30 minutes, omit the vinegar from the marinade so the acid won’t “cook” the salmon or cause it to become too tough.
No air fryer? The salmon can be cooked in the oven instead. To do so, line a rimmed sheet pan with parchment paper. Spread out the marinated salmon cubes in a single layer. Bake at 400ºF until the salmon pieces are cooked through, about 10 minutes.
Quick Pickled Cucumbers: To a medium bowl, combine ⅓ cup rice vinegar, ⅓ cup warm water, 1-2 teaspoons cane sugar, and ½ teaspoon fine salt. Stir well to dissolve the sugar and salt. Slice 1 small (or ½ of a large) English cucumber into very very thin slices (a mandolin works well for this). Add the sliced cucumber to the vinegar mixture and set aside to marinate for 15 minutes. These can also be made up to 2 days ahead and marinated in the refrigerator. Drain well before serving.
Creamy Honey-Sriracha Sauce: In a small bowl, whisk together ¼ cup mayonnaise, 2 teaspoons honey, and 1-2 teaspoons Sriracha. Whisk in ½ teaspoon rice vinegar until the sauce reaches a drizzling consistency (adding up to an additional ½ teaspoon rice vinegar, as needed.)
Nutrition Information
- Serving Size: 4 oz cooked salmon bites only
- Calories: 177
- Fat: 6 g
- (Sat Fat: 1 g)
- Sodium: 391 mg
- Carbohydrate: 6 g
- (Fiber: 0 g
- Sugar: 5 g)
- Protein: 24 g
- Cholesterol: 52 mg