Salmon Poke Bowl with Black Rice

Black rice, or forbidden rice, is a medium-grain rice notable for its deep blackish-purple hue. It’s especially fun to work with around Halloween but it definitely goes with seafood year round! For our salmon bowl, we used an Italian black rice that we carry in our market and cooked it according to the directions on the box. We then seasoned it the same we would sushi rice with rice vinegar, sugar and salt. Black rice is less glutinous than white rice, so its cooked texture is heartier and nuttier than white rice but we think it makes for an intriguing and delicious result!

Ingredients

• 1 lb sushi grade salmon, skin and pin bones removed
• 3/4 black rice (dry)
• Quarter of a medium sweet white onion, thinly sliced
• 2 green onions, white and most of green part, thinly sliced
• 3 Tbsp rice vinegar
• 1 – 1/2 tsp Kosher salt divided
• 1 Tbsp sugar
• 1 tsp sesame oil
• 2 Tbsp low sodium soy sauce
• 1/2 tsp Sriracha or Sambal
• Red tobiko to garnish (optional)
• Sesame seeds to garnish (optional)

Directions

1. Cook rice according to directions on package (most black rice takes 30-40 minutes until al dente)
2. While rice is cooking, cut salmon into small cubes, place in mixing bowl and move to refrigerator. (If using defrosted salmon, lay some paper towels in the bowl before adding the salmon to absorb moisture then discard them before making your poke.)
3. When rice is done cooking, drain through a sieve and set aside.
4. As rice is cooling, make your sushi rice seasoning by combining the rice vinegar, sugar and 1 tsp of salt. Mix together until sugar is dissolved.
5. Next, make your poke by combining the salmon cubes with the white onions, green onions, 1/2 tsp salt, sesame oil, soy sauce and Sriracha. Fold gently until all the ingredients are incorporated throughout.
6. In a separate mixing bowl, add the cooked rice followed by the vinegar mixture and mix until all of the rice is coated.
7. Place a scoop of rice in a bowl and top with a scoop or two of salmon poke. Garnish with tobiko and/or sesame seeds if desired. You can certainly also add avocado, cucumber, seaweed salad or anything else to this bowl. We just kept the color scheme aligned with Halloween!