Spicy Salmon Rolls

By Sprig Originals ✓ · cooked up in Sprig

The sushi-bar classic, built for a home kitchen: sushi-grade salmon trim gets hand-chopped and folded with sriracha mayo, sesame oil and chili flake, so you never need perfect slices. Rolling is the real skill here — properly seasoned rice, a tight first fold, and a wet knife give you six clean pieces per roll. Makes four rolls for two generous entrée servings.

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups Japanese short-grain sushi rice
• 1 3/4 cups cold water
• 3 tbsp unseasoned rice vinegar
• 1 1/2 tbsp granulated sugar
• 1 tsp fine sea salt

• 10 oz sushi-grade salmon (belly trim or fillet), skin and pin bones removed
• 3 tbsp Japanese mayonnaise (such as Kewpie)
• 1 1/2 tbsp sriracha
• 1 tsp toasted sesame oil
• 1 tsp soy sauce
• 1/2 tsp togarashi or Korean chili flake (gochugaru)
• 2 scallions, thinly sliced

• 4 sheets toasted nori
• 1 Persian cucumber, cut into matchsticks
• 1 tbsp toasted sesame seeds
• 1 cup water mixed with 1 tsp rice vinegar, for hands (tezu)
• soy sauce, pickled ginger and wasabi, for serving

Instructions

1. Rinse the rice: place it in a bowl, cover with cold water, swish with your fingers, and pour off the cloudy water. Repeat 4 to 5 times until the water runs nearly clear, then drain in a sieve for 10 minutes.
2. Cook the rice: combine the drained rice and 1 3/4 cups cold water in a heavy 2-quart saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat uncovered, then cover, drop to the lowest heat and cook 12 minutes. Remove from heat and let stand, covered and undisturbed, 10 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, make the seasoning: warm the rice vinegar, sugar and salt in a small saucepan over low heat, stirring just until dissolved, about 1 minute. Do not boil. Cool to room temperature.
4. Season the rice: turn the hot rice out into a wide non-metal bowl or sheet pan. Drizzle the vinegar mixture over it and use a rice paddle or silicone spatula to cut and fold — slicing motions, never stirring — until the grains are glossy and evenly coated. Fan or spread it out to cool to just above room temperature (about 15 minutes). Cover with a damp towel; never refrigerate.
5. Chill the salmon 15 minutes in the freezer to firm it up, then place it on a cold cutting board. Slice into 1/4-inch strips, then cross-cut and rock your knife through the pile until you have a coarse, slightly sticky chop with visible texture — do not turn it into paste.
6. In a chilled bowl, whisk the mayonnaise, sriracha, sesame oil, soy sauce and chili flake. Fold in the chopped salmon and scallions with a spatula until just coated. Taste and add more sriracha if you like. Cover and refrigerate while you set up.
7. Set up your rolling station: a bamboo mat covered tightly in plastic wrap, a bowl of tezu (vinegar water) for your hands, a very sharp knife and a damp kitchen towel. Cut each nori sheet in half crosswise if it is a full sheet — you want four half-sheets roughly 7 by 4 inches for manageable rolls (or use 4 full sheets for larger rolls).
8. Lay one nori sheet shiny-side down on the mat, aligned with the edge closest to you. Dip your fingers in tezu, scoop about 3/4 cup rice, and spread it in an even 1/4-inch layer, leaving a bare 3/4-inch border along the far edge. Press gently — compacting the rice makes gummy sushi.
9. Sprinkle the rice with sesame seeds. Lay a line of the spicy salmon (about 1/4 of the mixture) across the rice about one-third up from the near edge, and add a few cucumber matchsticks alongside.
10. Roll it: lift the near edge of the mat with your thumbs, fold it up and over the filling, and press the mat down firmly just past the filling to lock in a tight cylinder. Release the mat, roll forward once more onto the bare nori border, then squeeze the mat gently along the full length to shape and seal. Dab the seam with a wet finger if it will not stick.
11. Repeat with the remaining nori, rice and filling. Let the finished rolls rest seam-side down 2 minutes so the nori sets.
12. Cut each roll with a very sharp knife wiped damp between every cut: halve the roll, then cut each half into three even pieces, using a single decisive draw-through stroke rather than sawing. Serve immediately with soy sauce, pickled ginger and wasabi.

Chef's tips

Nutrition (per serving, estimated)

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