We made Emily Mariko's viral salmon rice bowl for lunch and it is worth the hype

If you're on TikTok, a salmon rice bowl dish has probably popped up on your “For You” page multiple times this past week.

The dish, which was introduced by Emily Mariko on TikTok initially in August, has been replicated by dozens of other TikTokers, including Lizzo. Last month, she shared a video making the dish for lunch.

@emilymariko

Best lunch of the week!

♬ original sound - Emily Mariko

MORE: Double duty dinner: Make this easy, healthy baked salmon, plus salmon croquette leftovers

The dish itself is simple with only five ingredients -- mainly leftovers, but many have put their own spin on the dish. Perhaps the reason why many are so fascinated with the dish, is how Mariko makes it.

First, she takes leftover salmon and breaks it apart on a plate with a fork, then she adds leftover white rice on top. But then, she surprises viewers by putting an ice cube on top of the salmon and rice before warming it up in the microwave. And because of science, the ice cube doesn’t melt, but steams everything on the plate.

Mariko then assembles her bowl by drizzling some soy sauce, kewpie mayo and sriracha on top of the salmon and mashing everything together. Then, with a piece of dried seaweed, she’ll create the perfect bite by grabbing a handful of the mixture to make a small hand roll.

@emilymariko

😋

♬ original sound - Emily Mariko

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Mariko also eats the dish with kimchi or an avocado.

Since Mariko shared the dish on her TikTok, #SalmonRice has over 212 million views. We decided to try it too and it definitely lives up to the hype. Read below to make it too.

Ingredients

A portion of salmon (we used leftover salmon from the day before)
Jasmine rice (we used leftover rice from the day before too)
Soy sauce
Kewpie mayo
Sriracha
Dried seaweed

Optional: Avocado, kimchi

Directions

Take your salmon and gently break it apart on a plate and put rice on top. In Mariko's newsletter, she links out to this salmon recipe from The Natural Nurturer.

Place one ice cube on top of the rice and cover with parchment paper. Microwave for 1-2 mins. If you aren’t using leftover rice or salmon, you can skip this step and move on to the next step.

Once it’s warmed up, toss the ice cube away and you can begin assembling. Drizzle some soy sauce on top of the rice and salmon, some sriracha and kewpie mayo. If you’re on a gluten free diet, you can use tamari or coconut aminos instead of soy sauce, and if you can’t find kewpie mayo in your local supermarket, regular mayo works too.

Mix everything together in a bowl. This is optional, but you can garnish with some green onions or sesame seeds and top with slices of avocado and kimchi.

Take a piece of dried seaweed and put a scoop of the mixture on top and enjoy!

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