Grain-Free Salmon Tataki Bowl
Craving poke? This grain-free, quick-fry salmon bowl hits the spot for sushi cravings at a fraction of the cost, and with none of the carbs! Stacked with cauliflower rice, edamame, avocado, and your choice of pickled sides and fresh vegetables available in your refrigerator. This bowl is a great healthful fridge “`clean-out” meal, and it tastes amazing.
This bowl looks fancy and complicated, but it is SO quick and easy! I am a huge fan of “mix-in-match-er” meals, where you can really use whatever is in your fridge, or needs to get used quickly. Sometimes it is hard to keep up with a lot of fresh produce in the fridge, so the best way by far to handle this is to make veggie packed meals that require no starches for it to be filling. This salmon tataki and cauli-rice hits the mark!
This bowl feels like a decadent treat, yet is light in the stomach and incredibly nutrient dense. I love this as a reset meal or if I feel like I need a post-training recovery meal. Quick-frying the salmon rids concerns of preparing raw fish at home, but retains the satisfying texture of raw fish. Piling on raw and pickled vegetables boosts the dish’s nutrient content and creates an explosion of flavors to compliment the salmon. Add a salty-umami sauce on top, and wouldn’t expect much for leftovers…
Ingredient Fun Facts:
- salmon: an amazing source of protein, omega-3 fatty acids, and a long list of vitamins and minerals. Salmon should definitely be in your meal rotations! Best to buy from a reputable fish monger, and wild caught if possible. I like to buy multiple filets at a time and freeze them immediately in separate airtight containers. This way I can defrost them individually for meals whenever I want.
- cauliflower: a cruciferous vegetable like broccoli and cabbage, cauliflower contains anti-oxidant nutrients which have been shown to be cancer-preventing. High in fiber and a great replacement for rice for a low-carb version of many dishes. Cauliflower has a gentle sweet flavor, and goes great without about anything!
- edamame: though I don’t like to eat soy more than very occasionally, edamame are high in protein and mineral-rich. I keep a bag of frozen, shelled edamame in the freezer for recipes just like this. They defrost quickly and require nothing beyond a sprinkle of salt to be delicious
- pickled vegetables: fermented pickled vegetables have probiotics which are great for gut health and promoting digestion, and a great way to preserve fresh vegetables to be consumed over longer periods of time. Pairing vinegary foods with fatty ones is a really well-balanced combo, and something I highly recommend trying with other meals such as eggs fried in butter with sauerkraut on top!
How to Make Salmon Tataki Bowls:
Marinate the salmon:
1. With freshly washed hands, lay the salmon filet skin side down. Grip the narrow end of the skin, and with your knife very slightly angled downwards, oscillate back and forth while pushing the knife forward with gentle pressure to remove the skin. If you are cutting through the skin, reduce the angle of your knife. Don’t worry if a little meat is left, we will cook the skins too!
2. Slice the salmon filet with the grain into 1/2 inch thick slices, working length-wise from one end to the other. For thicker portions of the salmon, cut the slices into 1/2 again, so that you are left with small sashimi-like pieces
3. Marinate the salmon in 1 tbsp of tamari and 1 tsp of toasted sesame oil. This can be done in advance to let the salmon marinate, or just while preparing the other elements for the bowl
Prepare the vegetables:
1. Using a food processor’s grater plate (or by hand), rice the cauliflower. I prefer to use the smaller grate setting on my food processor.
2. Slice cucumber, avocado, and any other vegetables you want to add to your bowl such as fresh tomato, lettuce, pickled vegetables, ginger or steamed vegetables (bok choy, broccoli… there are endless possibilities!)
Cauliflower Rice:
1. Heat a pan to medium, add 1 tbsp of butter or oil, and add the cauliflower rice. Stir to coat the cauliflower in the oil and cover it, cooking until the cauliflower begins to soften, about 3 minutes
2. Stir the cauliflower, add the edamame, and cover again, cooking until the edamame is defrosted. Salt to taste, and distribute between 2 large bowls
Salmon Tataki:
1. While the cauliflower rice is cooking, heat another pan, preferably a cast iron skillet, to medium high heat
2. Add cooking oil (I used refined coconut oil) to the pan, and when it is just beginning to smoke, using tongs or chopsticks, lay 2 -3 pieces of salmon in the oil, count 5 seconds and flip each slice of salmon over for another 5 seconds (adjusting for thicker and thinner pieces). The slices should have a nice brown sear on each side, but still be raw in the center
3. Add oil as needed and repeat until all the salmon has been seared
Make the Sauce:
1. Add the tamari, mirin and sesame seed oil to a small bowl and whisk to combine. Add chili flakes if desired
Assembly:
1. Arrange the prepared vegetables and avocado on top of the cauliflower rice. Divide the salmon in half, and place on top
2. Pour sauce across each of the bowls, sprinkle with sesame seeds, and devour!
Grain-Free Salmon Tataki Bowl
Ingredients:
- 1 small head of cauliflower*
- 1/2 cup frozen edamame, shelled
- 1 tbsp coconut oil or butter
- salt to taste
- 300g of very fresh or sushi-grade salmon (about 2 small filets, or 1 large)
- 1 tsp toasted sesame oil
- 1 tbsp gluten-free tamari (or coconut aminos)
- coconut oil (for frying)
- 3 tbsp tamari (or coconut aminos)
- 2 tbsp mirin
- 1 tbsp sesame oil
- 1/2 cup sliced cucumber, quartered and sliced
- 1/2 an avocado, sliced
- 1 scallion, chopped
- 1/4 cup pickled ginger (or 1” chunk of fresh)
- 1/2 cup pickled beets (or any pickled or fresh vegetable of choice in your fridge)
- sesame seeds, for garnish
Instructions:
- With freshly washed hands, lay the salmon filet skin side down. Grip the narrow end of the skin, and with your knife slightly angled downwards, oscillate back and forth while pushing the knife forward with gentle pressure to remove the skin. If you cut through the skin, reduce the angle of your knife.
- Slice the de-skinned salmon filet with the grain into 1/2 inch thick slices, working length-wise from one end to the other. For thicker portions of the salmon, cut the slices into 1/2 again, so you are left with small sashimi-like pieces
- Marinate the salmon in 1 tbsp of tamari and 1 tsp of toasted sesame oil. This can be done in advance to let the salmon marinate, or just while preparing the other elements for the bowl
- Using a food processor or by hand, rice the cauliflower
- Slice cucumber, avocado, and any other vegetables you want to add to your bowl such as fresh tomato, lettuce, carrot, pickled vegetables, ginger or steamed vegetables (bok choy, broccoli… there are endless possibilities!)
- Heat a pan to medium, add 1 tbsp of butter or oil, and add the cauliflower rice. Stir to coat the cauliflower in the oil and cover it, cooking until the cauliflower begins to soften, about 3 minutes
- Stir the cauliflower, add the edamame, and cover again, cooking until the edamame is defrosted. Salt to taste, and distribute between 2 large bowls
- While the cauliflower rice is cooking, heat another pan, preferably a cast iron skillet, to medium high heat
- Add 1 tbsp of sesame oil to the pan, and when it is just beginning to smoke, using tongs or chopsticks, lay 2 -3 pieces of salmon in the oil, count 5 seconds and flip each slice of salmon over for another 5 seconds (adjusting for thicker and thinner pieces). The slices should have a nice brown sear on each side, but still be raw in the center
- Add 1 tbsp of sesame oil as needed and repeat until all the salmon has been seared
- Add the tamari, mirin and sesame seed oil to a small bowl and whisk to combine. Add chili flakes if desired
- Arrange the prepared vegetables and avocado on top of the cauliflower rice. Divide the salmon in half, and place on top
- Pour sauce across each of the bowls, sprinkle with sesame seeds, and devour!
Recipe Notes:
Calories
635.93Fat (grams)
37.72Sat. Fat (grams)
10.74Carbs (grams)
37.82Fiber (grams)
9.62Net carbs
28.21Sugar (grams)
21.38Protein (grams)
37.79Sodium (milligrams)
2680.79Cholesterol (grams)
71.50
