This Japanese rice bowl recipe reminded me of my college days when I would make sticky rice and wrap it in nori sheets as a quick and tasty appetizer when I had friends over. The inspiration came from Bon Appetit, but I took the liberty to make some adjustments to make the recipe more affordable. The end result? OMG.
Here's what I did differently: I substituted nori sheets and sesame seeds with a Japanese seasoning called Furikake. This seasoning can be found at a regular grocery store for very cheap, and comes in many flavors (I usually just get the regular one, blue label). Nori sheets and sesame seeds can also be found at your regular grocery store if you choose to go that route. I also did not add umeboshi plums, primarily because I had never heard of them, and secondly because I had no idea where to find them. When I google them, the first thing that appears is a link for amazon, so I have a feeling they might not be easy to find... As for the salmon, I went with the cheapest one I could find (make sure you read the weight of the package because cheap usually means you get less for your money). I bought 8 oz for around $8.50 at Trader Joe's.
I tagged this recipe as vegetarian because you can switch out the salmon with a fried egg. This bowl is so versatile, I'd love to see what you came up with in the comments! Side note: you can make a big batch of rice in order to have multiple meals throughout the week!
Ingredients (per serving):
1 cup long grain white rice or Jasmine rice
2-3 slices of smoked salmon or 1 fried egg
1/4 - 1/2 sliced avocado
Furikake, to taste
Soy sauce, to taste
Sriracha (optional)
Directions:
There really aren't any directions except to cook the rice according to the packaged instructions, wait for it to cool, then assemble the bowl with whatever toppings you'd like. My recommendation for lunch/dinner is cold rice, smoked salmon, avocado, furikake, and soysauce. For breakfast I may substitute salmon with a fried egg (with a runny yolk, of course), and add some sriracha.