Crispy Rice Sushi with Smoked Salmon Bang Bang Sauce
Crispy Rice Sushi recipe is crunchy, delicious, easy, and fun to make! The rice is crunchy outside and soft little chewy inside. Feel free to experiment and add your favorite toppings and sauce! They make great appetizer, party food, game days, or light supper! Makes 10-12 pieces.
Cook the rice following the package instructions. While the rice is still warm gently mix the rice with coconut aminos, rice vinegar, and sesame oil.
Line a generous sized single layer of food cling wrap inside of a 8” by 8” (20 cm) square shaped baking dish or a container with flat bottom. This will be the mold to shape the sushi block.
Add the rice to the container. Compress it down and flatten it tightly using a rice paddle or the back of a spoon to help the rice grains stick together. Press it down tight and shape it as flat and even as possible. Focus particularly around the corners and the edge as these are the areas that the rice tends to fall apart. The height of the rice block should roughly be around 3/4 -inch (2 cm) thick.
You can also use the container liner to help you shape the edge of the rice by gently lifting it upwards then bringing it inwards to compress the rice grains and help them stick to each other.
Once the rice grains are compressed into a big block and once it’s cool to room temperature. Seal the container and refrigerate overnight.
Serving day:
Wet the chopping board with some water so that the rice won’t stick to the board. Carefully lift the rice block out of the container and remove the cling wrap. Slice the rice block into roughly 10 rectangular shaped and equal sized pieces. You can dip the knife in a bowl of water to help slicing.
To Air Fry: Preheat your air fryer. Spray the fryer basket with avocado oil. Spray the rice sushi pieces with another thin layer of oil then place the oiled-side down into the basket. Leave some space between the pieces. Air fry at 380F (193C) for 8 minutes. Spray another thin layer of oil and carefully flip them to air fry for another 8 additional minutes. The rice sushi should come out golden and a little crispy. Cool them down over a baking rack.
To pan fry: Preheat a frying skillet over medium heat until it feels quite warm. Add 3-4 tbsp avocado oil. Add the rice sushi pieces. Leave some space between each piece. You should hear the sizzling sound. Pan fry for 4 minutes or until you see the bottom turns golden brown then flip to cook another 3-4 minutes. Add more oil, if needed. The texture should be crispy golden outside and soft and little chewy inside. Cool them down over a baking rack
To serve:
Layer the rice sushi with a thin layer of cucumbers, avocado, and smoked salmon on top. Drizzle with the bang bang sauce and garnish with chive and furirake, if using. Serve immediately.
Video
Notes
About the rice, use short grain white rice (Japanese rice or Korean rice) that’s often labeled as “sushi rice” in Western grocery stores. You can also use sticky rice but the texture will be very sticky and dense.
About the baking dish size (the mold), besides an 8”by 8” (20 cm) square baking dish, you can also use any rectangular shaped container/dish as long as it has a wide & flat bottom.
Height (thickness) of the rice sushi, in my experiment 3/4 -inch (2 cm) in height lands the best texture.
Use water - wet the chopping board surface and dip the knife blade in a bowl of water when you slice the rice block to prevent the rice from sticking to the surface or the knife.
When you flip the rice rushi pieces in a fryer basket, be careful. It’ll be hot. I hold a pair of chopsticks in one hand and a silicone spatula the other hand to help me flip the pieces.
Storage - Cooked rice can be stored safely in the fridge for up to 3 days.
Make-ahead: You can make the rice block a day before and refrigerate overnight. Before serving, take them out of the fridge, slice, air fry (or pan fry), add the topping, and serve!