Salmon Fried Rice (35g Protein)

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Most fried rice is a carb dish with protein sprinkled in. This one flips the ratio. Half a kilo of salmon plus four eggs puts 35g of protein in every bowl, and it is the single best use I know for leftover cooked salmon.

If you are starting from raw fillets, they cook in the same pan in 6 minutes before the rice goes in. Either way you are eating in about 20 minutes.

Why this works

Day-old rice is non-negotiable. Overnight in the fridge, the surface starch dries out and the grains firm up, so they toast and separate instead of steaming into mush. If you only have fresh rice, spread it on a tray and freeze it for 20 minutes, which gets you most of the way there. The other rule is to treat the salmon like a finishing ingredient. It goes in last and gets folded, not tossed, so you end up with big tender flakes instead of pink confetti.

Ingredient notes

Any salmon works, including the cheaper frozen portions, and this is a genuinely good home for the leftover half of a roasted fillet. Soy sauce goes in around the hot edge of the pan so it sizzles and loses its raw edge before touching the rice. White pepper is the quiet signature of restaurant fried rice; black pepper works but tastes noticeably different. Frozen peas can swap for diced carrot, corn, or shelled edamame if you want even more protein.

Salmon Fried Rice

Fried rice built around big flakes of salmon and extra eggs, so it eats like dinner instead of a side dish.

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Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 15 minutes mins

Total Time 25 minutes mins

Servings: 4 bowls

Calories: 610

Ingredients Method

Ingredients

  

• 500 g salmon fillets, skin removed about 1.1 lb, or 3 cups leftover cooked salmon
• 600 g cooked jasmine rice, chilled overnight about 4 cups
• 4 large eggs, beaten
• 150 g frozen peas no need to thaw
• 4 scallions, sliced
• 2.5 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tsp sesame oil
• 1.5 tbsp neutral oil, divided
• 0.5 tsp white pepper

Method

 

1. Season the salmon with salt. Cook it in a dry nonstick wok or skillet over medium-high heat, about 3 minutes per side, until just cooked through. Move it to a plate and flake it into large chunks with a fork. Be gentle; you want flakes, not paste.
2. Heat half the oil in the same pan over high heat. Pour in the eggs and scramble until just set but still glossy, then scrape them out onto the salmon plate.
3. Add the remaining oil and the rice. Break up any clumps with the back of your spatula, then press the rice flat against the pan and leave it for 30 seconds at a time so it toasts. Repeat for 3 to 4 minutes.
4. Add the peas and toss for 1 minute. Pour the soy sauce in around the edge of the pan, not on the rice, and toss to coat evenly.
5. Return the eggs and salmon and fold them through gently so the salmon stays in big pieces. Kill the heat, add the sesame oil, white pepper, and scallions, and give it one last toss.

Tips and storage

This is one of the better meal prep recipes on the site because fried rice reheats well by design. Portion it into containers and it keeps 3 days refrigerated. Reheat in the microwave with a teaspoon of water, or better, re-fry it in a hot pan for 2 minutes. I do not recommend freezing it; the salmon turns dry and woolly.

If you go through fried rice phases like I do, the high-protein chicken fried rice is the original template for this one. For salmon in its unflaked form, see the teriyaki salmon bowls.