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Bon Appétit

Spicy Salmon Hand Rolls

By Kendra Vaculin
spicy salmon hand rolls
Photograph by Heami Lee, Food Styling by Pearl Jones, Prop Styling by Maggie DiMarco

Hand rolls are versatile—they make a great work-from-home lunch or a build-it-yourself dinner for a crowd. While you definitely don’t need a recipe to make them (part of the fun is using whatever toppings you want), this version features one specific add-in that might inspire the rest of your spread: spicy salmon salad. Various brands sell tinned salmon (or tuna) flavored with chile, like the Fishwife x Fly By Jing smoked salmon or Dongwon hot pepper tuna; mashing either of these with a bit of mayo (and a bit of the hot oil from the can) creates a punchy, creamy spread for scooping onto nori sheets, along with cooling additions like cucumber and avocado.

Cook's Note: If you don’t want to bother with the hand roll wrapping technique, swap in a pack of seasoned seaweed snacks for the plain nori sheets; build bites right in your hand by piling everything on top of the piece of crisp seaweed, then fold and eat them like tacos.

Recipe information

  • Total Time

    15 minutes

  • Yield

    Makes 10

Ingredients

5 square toasted nori sheets
1 3.2–4-oz. can spicy salmon or tuna (such as Fishwife)
¼ cup mayonnaise
Cooked sushi rice (for filling)
1 avocado, thinly sliced
½ medium cucumber, cut into matchsticks
Gochugaru (coarse Korean red pepper powder) or other mild red pepper flakes (for serving)

Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Cut 5 square toasted nori sheets in half to make 10 rectangles. Place one 3.2–4-oz. can spicy salmon or tuna in a medium bowl, reserving any oil in can. Stir in ¼ cup mayonnaise and 1 Tbsp. reserved oil with a fork, breaking up and coating salmon.

    Step 2

    Working one at a time, set nori sheets, shiny side down, on a surface with a long side facing you. Place a spoonful of cooked sushi rice on left side of nori; spread evenly into a square to fill the left third of sheet. Top rice with a small spoonful of dressed salmon, then a few slices from 1 avocado, thinly sliced, and pieces from ½ medium cucumber, cut into matchsticks, arranging in a diagonal line that points up to the upper left corner of nori. Fold bottom left corner of nori up and over fillings, then continue to roll up to form a cone. Pat edge with a bit of water and gently press to seal. Sprinkle exposed filling with gochugaru.

TagsMainDinnerLunchNut FreeGluten FreeDairy FreeQuickEasy30 Minutes or LessJapaneseEast AsianAsianSushiNoriSeaweedSalmonFishSeafoodBon Appétit

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