What is Spicy Salmon?
Spicy salmon refers to a chopped fish filling that is often used in sushi and poke bowls. The pink salmon is chopped finely and mixed with spicy ingredients such as sriracha hot sauce, chili oil and shichimi togarashi (Japanese spice mix). Mayonnaise is an important ingredient to hold the fish together and add a creamy and mild taste to the spicy fish. Spicy salmon is served cold.
What does Spicy Salmon Taste Like?
...Umami is one of five main tastes. It is savory with a depth of flavor. Umami is a taste in many foods, including meat, seafood, beans, and nuts. It is both naturally occurring and created through the specific use of ingredients to create a satisfying taste. Umami is characteristic of proteins and savory dishes.
...Spicy is a flavor that brings heat and fire to food by creating a burning sensation in the mouth or sinuses. Spicy flavors come from hot peppers, horseradish, and wasabi. Spicy adds a kick and sometimes complexity to a dish and releases endorphins, creating a mildly addictive quality.
Ingredients
...Salmon is a popular fish and are best when caught in the wild, though many are farm raised. This fish has a grey skin and orange flesh. Salmon is an oily fish and has a strong fishy flavor with a textured meat that is extremely flaky, moist and tender. Salmon cooks quickly and can be eaten raw as sashimi, in sushi, or as a cooked fillet. There are many preparations for this fish, including curing it with salt and smoke.
...Sriracha is an extremely popular hot sauce that complements many cuisines, particularly those of East Asia. The sauce is a vibrant red color and is easy to squeeze out of the bottle with its semi-thick viscosity. The smell is sweet and spicy and the flavor is similar with a hint of tanginess and garlic. Sriracha tastes very different from any other hot sauce.
...Japanese mayonnaise is a similar to American mayonnaise and uses many of the same ingredients. However, the main distinctions are the use of egg yolks, instead of whole eggs, this gives the mayonnaise a thicker and creamier texture. Rice vinegar is used instead of distilled vinegar, adding another layer of flavor. Dashi powder or other mild seasonings may be added to enhance the flavor. Japanese mayonnaise is cream colored, thick and tastes slightly sweet. Japanese mayo is used on sushi and many other dishes.
...Sesame oil is pressed and extracted from sesame seeds. Sesame is a tiny seed with an earthy and nutty flavor. The sesame ranges in neutral colors from white to black. Raw sesame oil is yellow. Roasted sesame oil is a light to medium shade of brown. The raw, or non-roasted oil has a milder taste than the roasted variety and is more multi-purpose, whereas the oil from roasted sesame seeds lends a deep, earthy flavor that pairs well in East Asian dishes and is used as a flavoring.
...Chili oil is a popular product in Asia, particularly in East Asian cuisines. The oil is made by infusing hot chili peppers into oil. During the process of letting the chili peppers sit in the oil, hot pepper seeds are added for flavor and the chilies are removed. This oil is a deep red color, has a spicy fragrance and is thick from the seeds. The flavor is full, spicy and often has a hint of salt. Chili oil can be added into dishes and on top of dishes, such as noodles, stir fries and meat.
...Shichimi togarashi is a popular Japanese spice blend that is used to flavor noodles, meats and variety of savory dishes. The spice blend can be found prepackaged in the US and has an orange-brown tone composed of flakes and granules of various dried spices. It is hot and spicy with an earthy and citrusy flavor that has hints of ginger and seaweed.