I Made TikTok’s Viral Salmon Rice Bowl, and Here’s How It Tasted IRL

If you’ve spent any time on TikTok in the last few years, you’ve likely come across a few (or, in my case, hundreds and thousands of) videos re-creating Emily Mariko’s salmon rice recipe. A leftover meal commonly eaten in Japanese and Korean households, the content creator’s version of the easy lunch has been a staple of the app for some time.

Mariko’s TikTok sharing the salmon recipe has garnered over 34 million views in less than two weeks back in 2021, and unlike the famous baked feta pasta or Gigi Hadid’s spicy vodka pasta, this trend is beyond simple and can be whipped up in 10 minutes flat using leftovers. After “hearting” so many TikToks of the meal, I finally gave into the hype and ordered some Kewpie mayo (a delicious Japanese mayonnaise made of egg yolks) to try it for myself.

@emilymariko

Best lunch of the week!

♬ original sound – Emily Mariko

The dish really only requires six ingredients, although you can easily customize your own salmon rice however you’d like. Mariko famously microwaves her leftover salmon and rice with an ice cube – which I’ve since learned steams the rice – but since I was impatient, I quickly made rice and cooked a piece of salmon right before putting together the bowl.

The process was even easier than expected, and the result was a filling, tasty lunch that I’ll definitely be adding to my meal rotation. My final takeaway? The viral salmon rice bowl deserves all the attention it’s getting. Ahead, see exactly how I made the viral meal and a breakdown of the full recipe.

Yerin Kim is the features editor at PS, where she helps shape the vision for special features and packages across the network. A graduate of Syracuse University’s Newhouse School, she has over five years of experience in the pop culture and women’s lifestyle spaces. She’s passionate about spreading cultural sensitivity through the lenses of lifestyle, entertainment, and style.