Thai Salmon Bowls with Coconut Rice

5 from 3 votes

Thai Salmon Bowls with Coconut Rice

Flaky broiled salmon with a punchy sambal marinade, dreamy coconut rice, and crisp quick pickles—these Thai Salmon Coconut Rice Bowls are the perfect balance of heat, freshness, and comfort in every bite. Easy enough for a weeknight, yet impressive enough for a dinner party!

Prep Time10

Cook Time20

Marinating Time30

Total Time1

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Thai, Laotian

Servings: people

Author: Gaby Dalkin

Ingredients

For the quick pickles:

3 Persian cucumbers thinly sliced
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
1 cup shredded purple cabbage
1 cup shredded Napa cabbage
½ red onion thinly sliced

For the Salmon:

2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
2 tablespoons sambal oelek
1 teaspoon soy sauce
½ teaspoon sesame oil
3 cloves garlic finely chopped
1 inch ginger peeled and finely chopped
1.5 pounds salmon pin bones removed

For the rice:

2 cups water
1 cup coconut milk
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon sugar
2 cups jasmine rice
zest and juice of 1 lime

To garnish:

fresh mint leaves
fresh basil leaves
fresh cilantro leaves

Instructions

To make the Quick Pickles

In a small bowl, toss the cucumbers, cabbage, red onion, and rice vinegar. Let sit while you prepare the salmon, tossing occasionally to evenly coat the veggies.

To make the Salmon:

In a small bowl, whisk together the rice vinegar, sambal oelek, soy sauce, sesame oil, garlic, and ginger. Line a baking sheet with foil and place the salmon on top. Spread the marinade evenly over the salmon and let it sit for at least 30 minutes (or up to 4 hours for extra flavor).
When ready to cook, preheat the oven to broil. Place the salmon on the top rack and broil for 8–10 minutes, until golden and cooked through. Remove from the oven and let rest for a few minutes before flaking.

To make the rice:

In a medium saucepan, combine the water, coconut milk, sugar, and salt. Bring to a gentle simmer over medium-high heat. Stir in the jasmine rice, reduce the heat to low, cover, and let cook undisturbed for about 15 minutes, until all the liquid is absorbed.A
Turn off the heat and let the rice steam for 5–10 minutes. Fluff with a fork, then mix in the lime zest and juice.

To assemble:

Divide the coconut rice into 4 bowls. Top with flaked salmon and a generous helping of the quick pickles. Garnish with mint, basil, cilantro, and scallions. Serve immediately.

Notes

Buy center-cut salmon, skin-on. Even thickness means even broiling. Skin-on protects the underside from the broiler heat and slips off in one piece after cooking.
Marinate for at least 30 minutes, never more than 60. The acid in the rice vinegar plus the sambal will start "cooking" the fish past an hour. The 30 to 60 minute window is where the flavor lives.
Pat the salmon dry before broiling. Wet fish steams instead of caramelizes. A 60-second pat with a paper towel is the difference between a glaze and a soggy top.
Broil on the second-to-top rack, 4 inches from the element. Closer than that and the marinade burns. Farther and the top doesn't get the lacquered char that makes these bowls.
Pull the salmon at 125°F internal. Carryover heat brings it to 130 to 135°F off the broiler, which is medium and still silky. Cook past 140°F and you've got chewy fish.
Toast the rice in coconut milk for 60 seconds before adding water. Stir the dry rice in the coconut milk in the pan over medium heat for 1 minute. The grains start absorbing fat first, which gives a richer, glossier finished rice.
Add the lime zest after cooking, the juice off the heat. Lime juice goes bitter when it boils. Stir zest in halfway through; squeeze juice over the finished rice with the lid off.
Salt the cucumbers before pickling. A pinch of salt on the slices for 5 minutes pulls out water; the pickles stay crunchy in the rice vinegar instead of going limp by minute 20.
Use full-fat canned coconut milk, never carton. Carton coconut milk is mostly water; canned has the cream needed for the rice to taste like coconut. Shake the can hard before opening.
Tear the herbs, don't chop. Mint, basil, and cilantro all bruise under a knife. Tear by hand right before serving so they stay bright in flavor and color.
Build the bowls warm rice, room-temp pickles, hot fish. Temperature contrast is what makes this dish read restaurant-y. Pull the pickles out of the fridge 10 minutes before serving so they wake up.

Nutrition