A delicious sushi bake made with velvety salmon, imitation crab, and tangy sushi rice. Easier to make than traditional sushi and is reminiscent of the beloved California maki roll. It's sweet, savory, and creamy. The secret is using cream cheese, Kewpie mayo balanced with teriyaki sauce, or unagi sauce.
Prep Time20 minutesmins
Cook Time30 minutesmins
Servings: 5servings
Calories: 679kcal
Author: Mella
Ingredients
Rice
2cupsuncooked riceregular white rice or Japanese rice, note 1
Cook the rice - Wash rice 1 to 2 times with tap water. Drain well. Cook with water based on your preferred method (rice cooker or stovetop).
2 cups uncooked rice, 2 cups water
Make sushi rice - In a large bowl, place vinegar, sugar, and salt. Stir to combine. Add cooked rice while still hot. Using a spatula gently incorporate the vinegar mixture into the rice. Sprinkle some furikake and mix again. Set aside.
1/3 cup rice vinegar, 1 tbsp white sugar, 1 tsp salt
Salmon
Preheat oven or air-fryer to 400°F/ 200°C. Rub salmon fillet with lemon juice and oil. Sprinkle salt and pepper.
10 oz salmon fillet, 2 tsp lemon juice, 1 tsp oil, 1/4 tsp salt, black pepper
Bake for 8 to 10 minutes. We need it to be slightly undercooked or in medium doneness. You can also pan-fry the salmon if preferred.
Sushi Mixture
Remove the skin from the cooked salmon. Place in a large bowl and flake with a fork. Add the shredded crab, green onions, Kewpie mayo, cream cheese, and half of the teriyaki sauce. Mix until smooth.
Assembly and Baking
Brush the baking dish with vegetable oil. Spread sushi rice and flatten using a spatula. Sprinkle the remaining furikake.
Top with salmon-crab sushi mixture. Spread as evenly as possible then gently press down to help compact the mixture.
Bake for 12 to 15 minutes to heat through. I like mine to have a little color on top so I bake for 15 minutes, using either a convection oven or oven air-fryer.
Serve
Drizzle remaining teriyaki sauce and Kewpie mayo. Drizzle with more green onions and furikake. Top with slices of avocado or Japanese cucubmer.
Scoop and wrap with sheets of seaweed snack. Serve and enjoy!
Video
Notes
Rice - measured using baking cups and not the cup that came with the rice cooker.
Rice Vinegar - you can substitute with Marukan seasoned rice vinegar. Omit salt and or use less sugar.
Bottled Unagi Sauce - Use eel sauce (also called unagi sauce) or thick sweet teriyaki sauce. It's sweeter, smoother, and thicker in texture. When selecting the sauce, it's recommended to check that there's no ginger flavor mentioned on the label. Ginger could potentially overpower the sushi mixture.
Variation - make it spicy by using spicy mayo. Just combine the kewpie mayonnaise with sriracha or sweet chili sauce. Stir until smooth and creamy.
Nutrition - approximate calculation excluding avocado, cucumber and seaweed snacks.