Soy-Butter Salmon Rice Bowl

Name: Soy-Butter Salmon Rice Bowl
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 25 min
Yield: 2
Ingredients: 2 salmon fillets (about 150 g each), skin on; 2 cups cooked short-grain rice (day-old is perfect); 2 tbsp unsalted butter; 2 tbsp soy sauce; 1 tbsp mirin; 2 cloves garlic, finely grated; 3 scallions, sliced — whites and greens separated; Toasted sesame seeds, a big pinch

One pan, one pot of rice, and a glossy five-minute sauce that makes it look like you tried much harder than you did.

July 12, 2026 · 25 min · Serves 2

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Crispy-skinned salmon over rice in a ceramic bowl, topped with scallions and sesame

This is the bowl I make when it’s 6 p.m., everyone is hungry, and the fridge is down to its last act. Two salmon fillets, leftover rice, and a sauce built in the same pan while the fish rests.

I posted this as a reel last spring and it’s still the recipe people message me about — so here it is, written down properly, with the details a 30-second video can’t hold.

Watch me make it

The Recipe

Soy-Butter Salmon Rice Bowl

Prep10 min

Cook15 min

Total25 min

Serves2

Ingredients

2 salmon fillets (about 150 g each), skin on
2 cups cooked short-grain rice (day-old is perfect)
2 tbsp unsalted butter
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp mirin
2 cloves garlic, finely grated
3 scallions, sliced — whites and greens separated
Toasted sesame seeds, a big pinch

Method

Pat the salmon very dry and season with salt. Dry skin is crispy skin.
Start it skin-side down in a cold nonstick pan over medium heat, 5–6 minutes, until the skin releases on its own. Flip, cook 2 minutes more, and rest on a plate.
In the same pan, melt the butter with the garlic and scallion whites — about 30 seconds, until fragrant.
Off the heat, stir in the soy sauce and mirin and swirl until glossy.
Pile rice into bowls, break the salmon over the top, spoon the soy butter over everything, and finish with scallion greens and sesame.

Notes — No mirin? A teaspoon of honey and a splash of water. Tofu works beautifully: press, cube, pan-fry until golden. Day-old rice, splashed with water and re-steamed, has the best texture.

Watch me make this — the original reel on Instagram