Marinated salmon sashimi or salmon zuke is a Japanese dish that features thinly sliced, marinated salmon served over a bed of rice. The term “zuke” comes from the term “tsukeru” which means to soak or to marinate the salmon. This post is all about the easiest way to make marinated salmon sashimi or salmon zuke.
Marinated salmon sashimi ingredients
- Japanese short grain rice – Japanese short-grain or medium-grain rice is the preferred type for making donburi. It has a sticky texture that pairs so well with the salmon. If you do not like Japanese short-grain rice, you can substitute for any rice you want. Short-grain rice is used for sushi or any Japanese food.
- Sashimi grade salmon – Fresh sashimi-grade salmon is a must, as this recipe does not cook the salmon. The better the salmon quality, the better the dish will taste.
- Mentsuyu – Mentsuyu is a soup base or condiment used in Japanese dishes like udon and soba. It has a sweet, savory soy sauce base with sea kelp and bonito dashi or stock. It is super flavorful, so you only need this one condiment to make this dish.
- Sesame oil – Sesame oil adds extra flavor to this dish. But it is optional if you do not have it.
Optional for sushi rice
- Rice vinegar – Rice vinegar is different from seasoned rice vinegar. Seasoned rice vinegar already includes sugar and salt, so you can use it straight on rice and make sushi rice. Plain rice vinegar has no added sugar or salt, so we need to season it. The good thing about this is you can control the amount of sugar and salt in the vinegar.Β
- Sugar – I use regular table sugar, but feel free to use sweetener of choice
- Salt
Notes and Tips
- Sashimi grade salmon – using high-quality sashimi grade salmon is crucial in this dish. This dish only has a few ingredients, so each ingredient has to be great. The higher the quality of the fish, the better the dish will taste. I recommend going to a local Japanese grocery store if you have one near you.
- Marination time – the longer the fish is marinated in the sauce, the more the flavors will absorb. If you keep it in for too long, you risk the salmon getting too salty. This sauce recipe is only good to marinate salmon for about 1 – 2 hours.
- Sushi rice – making sushi rice is optional. When I don’t feel like making sushi rice, I think the mentsuyu sauce and plain rice are good enough. However, if you want to elevate the dish a bit more, I recommend making sushi rice.Β
Marinated Salmon Bowl (only 2 ingredients)
Marinated salmon sashimi or salmon zuke is a Japanese dish that features thinly sliced, marinated salmon served over a bed of rice. This recipe is all about the easiest way to make marinated salmon sashimi or salmon zuke.
Equipment
- 1 small bowl for marintating salmon
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup Mentsuyu
- 1/3 lb Sashimi grade salmon
- 1 tbsp Sesame oil
- 1 bowl Cooked white rice about 7oz or 2g cooked rice
Sushi rice
- 1 tbsp Rice vinegar
- 1 tsp Sugar
- Pinch of salt
Optional topping
- Sliced onion
- Sliced perilla leaves oba
- Radish shoots
- Egg yolk
- Chopped green onion
Instructions
- Slice sashimi grade salmon
- Place sashimi grade salmon in bowl
- Pour mentsuyu and sesame oil (sauce should cover salmon if not you may want to use more mentsuyu or use a smaller bowl)
- Cover and marinate it in the fridge for 1-2 hours
- In a bowl, place cooked rice
- Pour vinegar, sugar, salt
- Mix rice well until evenly incorporated
- Top rice with marinated salmon
- Add optional toppings of choice
- Serve immediately and enjoy
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