Spicy Salmon Tower

Spicy Salmon Tower

Raise your hand if you are a fan of meal prep. Oh, and those of you who want a use for leftover salmon, you can stick around too. Wild salmon comes in a variety of sizes, so I will grab the largest one that came in my box so that we have extra when I want to make this dish later in the week. It involves cooked salmon, but since the Pride of Bristol Bay is sushi quality, you could also use raw salmon like you would in a poke bowl. 

I am a huge fan of bowls - you know, buddha bowls, grain bowls, whatever you want to call them. But sometimes, I switch it up and make the same thing which just looks fancy. Presentation is half the game because we often eat with our eyes before the food hits our palette. Therefore, these towers of layers stacked on top of each other help in that arena. This dish looks so impressive that nobody other than you and I will know that it comes together so fast, and that is why I serve it as a weeknight meal after a busy day. 

This dish stacks layers of salmon, and avocado & cucumber on top of rice. I use ring molds which are large enough that I get a meal out of one, but you can also use an empty tuna can with both ends removed for a smaller stack. A lightly oiled measuring cup or ramekin would also work if you wanted to work backwards and then flip it onto the plate.  

I try to sneak healthy options in where I can, so I always mix my rice for a custom blend of 1 pound brown rice with 3 pounds of short grain white rice. I also rinse it several times before putting it in the rice cooker. Both of these tactics make me feel better about what I eat and what I serve to my family. They are both options which are completely optional and not required for this recipe’s success.

Spicy Salmon Towers

Directions

1. Cook the rice on either the stove or in a rice cooker.  
2. While the rice is cooking, flake the precooked salmon and set aside in the refrigerator.
3. Mash the avocado, peel and dice the cucumber, and combine the two with the lime juice. Set aside until assembly. 
4. Prep the ring molds with a light coating of oil on the interior surface.
5. In a small bow, combine the mayonnaise and Sriracha. When it is blended, add the flaked salmon and set aside. 
6. Place the rice into the ring mold and pat it down lightly. Using wet fingers will help keep the rice from sticking and enable you to pat it down much easier. The amount of rice you put in each will depend on the size of your rings — shoot for roughly ⅓ of the ring height.
7. Add the avocado-cucumber mixture, and pat it down with the back of a spoon.
8. Add the Salmon mixture to the top of the rings.
9. Sprinkle the Furikake across the top.
10. Carefully remove the mold and serve.  

Serves 2 as an entree

AUTHOR PROFILE

Nancy Ingersoll is a recipe developer and food photographer in San Diego, California. Always up for adventure, she learned the art of sauces and soufflés from one of James Beard Award winner Roy’s Yamaguchi’s executive chefs, and her curious spirit has been fed with cooking classes domestically and abroad. Nancy is also known as The Creative Resource and you can find her work on nancyingersoll.com and on instagram as @thecreativeresource.