Salmon & Avocado Rice Bowl with Sriracha Mayo

Ingredients

• 2 salmon fillets, skin-on, about 150g each
• 1 x 250g pouch microwave sushi rice
• 0.5 cucumber, thinly sliced
• 2 spring onions, sliced
• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tsp sesame oil
• 1 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 ripe avocado, sliced
• 80 g frozen edamame, defrosted
• 3 tbsp mayonnaise
• 1 tbsp sriracha
• 1 tbsp sesame seeds, toasted
• 1 lime, cut into wedges
• pickled ginger, to serve
• miso soup, to serve
• toasted nori sheets, to serve

Method

1. Mix the soy sauce and sesame oil in a small bowl. Pat the salmon dry with kitchen paper — water means steam, and steam means no crisp skin — then season the flesh side with a pinch of salt and pepper. Brush the soy mixture generously over both sides, working it into the flesh.
2. Heat the vegetable oil in a non-stick frying pan over medium-high until it shimmers. Lay the salmon skin-side down and press gently with a fish slice for the first 10 seconds so the skin stays flat against the pan. Cook undisturbed for 5 minutes — don't crowd the pan, two fillets is the limit — until the skin is deeply crisp and lifts away cleanly with no resistance. Flip and cook for a further 2–3 minutes, until the flesh is just set with a blush of pink at the centre. Lift onto a board to rest.
3. Tip any remaining soy-sesame brush into the hot pan off the heat, add a splash of water, and swirl for 20 seconds until it turns into a glossy, spoonable glaze. Set aside — this gets drizzled at the end so the salmon wears a sauce, not a sticky coat.
4. Meanwhile, ping the sushi rice according to the packet instructions.
5. Stir the sriracha into the mayonnaise until it turns a uniform coral pink. Add a squeeze of lime and taste — the acid sharpens the heat and stops the mayo sitting heavy. Adjust with another small squeeze if it needs lifting.
6. Flake the rested salmon into large, generous pieces. Divide the warm rice between two bowls and arrange the salmon, avocado, cucumber and edamame on top in distinct piles, so each bite can be built to taste. Taste a forkful of rice with a flake of salmon — most of the seasoning comes from the soy glaze and the mayo, but a final pinch of salt over the avocado ties it all together.
7. Spoon the warm soy-sesame glaze over the salmon, then drizzle the sriracha mayo across the bowls in zigzag stripes. Scatter with toasted sesame seeds and spring onions, tuck a lime wedge in beside the salmon, lay a few sheets of toasted nori alongside, and serve with a small bowl of miso soup.