No.99 The 100 Most Popular Recipes Ever · October 2026

Salmon Rice Bowl

Made famous by Emily Mariko

Photo: Janine from Mililani, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

From TikTok, 2021.

Leftover salmon, rice, an ice cube and the microwave: a 2021 TikTok watched hundreds of millions of times that showed how a home lunch could go viral.

Ingredients

• 1 cooked salmon fillet (about 4 oz / 115 g), leftover or freshly baked
• 1 cup (about 185 g) cooked white rice, leftover is best
• 1 ice cube
• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tbsp Kewpie or other mayonnaise
• 1 to 2 tsp sriracha
• 1/2 avocado, sliced
• Kimchi, to serve
• 1 package roasted seaweed snacks (about 10 sheets)
• Toasted sesame seeds, optional

Steps

1. If you're cooking the salmon fresh, season it, then bake at 400F (200C) 12 to 15 minutes, until it flakes.
2. Flake the salmon into a microwave-safe bowl with a fork and add the rice.
3. Set an ice cube on top, cover with a piece of parchment (tucked under the ice cube), and microwave 1 to 2 minutes, until hot. The ice steams the rice soft again. Discard what's left of the cube.
4. Add the soy sauce, mayonnaise and sriracha and mix everything together.
5. Top with avocado, kimchi on the side, and sesame seeds if using.
6. Scoop bites into sheets of seaweed and eat with your hands.

Chef's tips

• Day-old rice is ideal; the ice cube brings it back.
• Swap in canned tuna or leftover chicken.

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