The best Salmon Crispy Rice Ever

If you haven’t already, I encourage you to check out my two other crispy rice recipes that I have on my website. I’ve been on a crispy rice kick lately and have so far made Spicy Salmon, Spicy Tuna and a vegan/vegetarian version with Spicy Cucumbers and Crispy Rice.

This recipe comes together in about an hours time, is really easy to make and tastes incredible! Surprise your friends and family and your next gathering with this perfect appetizer or snack recipe!

As always, if you enjoy this recipe as much as I think you will, snap a photo and tag me over on Instagram so I can repost your recreations. Please also consider leaving a comment and rating below (under the recipe card) this helps my business so much.

Ingredients needed to make air fried spicy salmon crispy rice

You won’t need a ton of ingredients to make this recipe, the most important ingredient that you need is of course, the sushi rice which I found at my local Ralphs, which is the Nishiki brand. You can also use sushi grade salmon, but for this recipe I kept things simple and used a smoked salmon instead that I picked up at my local Trader Joe’s.

• sushi rice
• cane sugar
• evoo
• smoked salmon (or sushi grade)
• spicy mayo
• seaweed
• sesame seeds
• chili oil crunch
• mashed avocado
• cilantro

Kitchen tools needed to make this crispy rice

This recipe can be made either on the stove top or in the air fryer. I can asked a lot which method tastes better, and to be completely honest, I think the air fryer method does! It gets just as crispy in the air fryer as it does on the stove top, but requires less time and less attention.

Stove Top Method:

• frying pan
• tongs

Air Fryer Method:

• Air Fryer
• Parchment paper

How to make air fried crispy rice

There’s a three step process to making this crisp rice, from start to finish you’ll be enjoying this recipe in about an hour, but I promise it’s really simple and straight forward.

To start, cook the sushi rice according to package. While that’s cooking, prepare an 8×8 baking dish by lining it with parchment paper and set aside.

Add the cooked rice to a large mixing bowl and add in extra virgin olive oil and organic cane sugar. Mix with a fork until each rice is well coated. Next, add the rice to the prepared 8×8 baking dish and using a separate piece of parchment paper press down on the rice until it’s well compacted and in an even layer.

Place the dish in the freezer for 30 minutes-1 hour or until the rice is cold and firm to the touch. This part in important because the rice needs to be chilled in order to be placed in the fryer so it doesn’t fall apart.

Remove the rice from the container and cut into equal bite size pieces. Either heat EVOO in a pan over medium to low heat and cook the rice until golden brown on each size, about 4-5 minutes per side. Or, place the cold rice on a piece of parchment paper and air fry at 350F for 20 minutes, no need to flip!

Once you have your crispy rice, layer it with your favorite toppings. For this recipe I did mashed avocado spicy salmon mixture.

To make this mixture, diced smoked or sushi grade salmon and place in a bowl. Mix in spicy mayo (which is just mayo and sriracha). I also like to add in seaweed bites and sesame seeds for more flavor. Mix this up until well combined and place a small spoonful on top of the crispy rice that’s topped with mashed avocado.

Finish it off with chili oil crunch (also from Trader Joe’s) and sprinkle with cilantro and enjoy!

Since this recipe is air fried to perfection, it’s not recommend to make ahead of time to save. This recipe tastes best when served immediately.