Salmon Buddha Bowls with Asian Sauce
Salmon Buddha Bowls combine salmon with a delicious Asian sauce, chewy farro, shelled edamame, and fresh veggies. These bowls are healthy and great for meal prep!
Buddha Bowls
What are buddha bowls? They are one-dish meals combining grains, vegetables, proteins, and sauces. They are a great way to eat a balanced meal, consisting of small amounts of many things in one bowl.
We’ve especially been on a grain bowl kick lately, and I’ve been playing with various flavors and textures that go well together. These are a great way to kickstart your healthy eating program before holiday season, because it’s easy to get off track after months of gym shorts and t-shirts. (Speaking for myself here!)
Reasons to Love These Bowls:
- Healthy (as stated) – Lots of veggies, chewy grains, and healthy fats.
- Tasty – The Asian sauce is great on so many things, but really makes the salmon pop with flavor.
- Filling – You don’t need a giant piece of salmon to fill up on these bowls. The grains are substantial and you’ll feel full pretty quickly.
- Simple – These are GREAT for meal prep, as everything can be prepped in advance. For a weeknight meal, you can have everything ready, including the Asian sauce, and then just sauté the salmon at dinnertime.
Buddha Bowl Ingredients
- Salmon – Four salmon filets are needed for this recipe. I prefer to buy wild caught salmon, but you could also use farm-raised as well.
- Sesame Oil – Used to sauté the salmon. You could also use olive oil or avocado oil.
- Asian Marinade – A combo of soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, chili paste, oyster sauce, brown sugar, and minced garlic.
- Farro – This is a chewy, nutty grain that is SO good. Definitely give it a try.
- Chicken Broth – I use a lower-sodium version to cook the farro in for flavor.
- Edamame – Buy frozen shelled edamame.
- Fresh veggies – Shred a carrot and a zucchini with a potato peeler. This adds freshness to the bowls.
- To serve – Drizzle the remaining marinade left in the skillet over the salmon, and add a sprinkle of toasted sesame seeds.
Do you love farro like we do? Then try my Greek Farro Salad or my Mediterranean Grain Bowls with Chicken!
We’ve been adding crispy chickpeas to our salads and bowls lately, and they are SO good. An optional addition but delicious and adds an extra protein boost!
How to make Asian Salmon Buddha Bowls:
Step 1
Prepare the Asian marinade. In a bowl, whisk together the soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, chili paste, oyster sauce, brown sugar, and minced garlic. Set aside.
Step 2
Prepare farro. For the instant pot, combine the chicken broth and rinsed farro in the pot. Set to pressure cook for 10 minutes. When it’s done cooking, let it do a natural release for about 12 minutes and then vent. (You will need to strain any extra liquid off the farro.) Follow the package directions for the stove top.
Step 3
Cook edamame. Place the edamame in the microwave and cook until done (according to package directions). Add a sprinkle of kosher salt and set aside.
Step 4
Shred veggies. Use a potato peeler to shred the carrot and zucchini.
Step 5
Cook salmon. Heat up a cast iron skillet to medium-high heat. Sprinkle both sides of the salmon filets with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste. Add the oil to the skillet and place salmon in skillet. Cook until golden brown on one side, flip it and then add the Asian marinade. Continue cooking until the salmon is done. Don’t over-cook.
Step 6
Assemble bowls. To serve, spoon some farro in the bottom of the bowls. Top with the salmon filets, some edamame, and fresh veggies. Drizzle some of the Asian marinade left in the pan over each bowl. Sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds. Crispy Chickpeas are optional!
When is salmon done?
Salmon is technically done when it registers 145 degrees on a digital thermometer. However, when I cook it that long, it’s dried out. There is a lot of carry-over cooking with salmon, and I use a fork to see if it’s done. If the salmon flakes easily with a fork, then it’s done.
For this recipe, my digital thermometer registered 125 degrees when I removed it from the pan. I let it rest awhile, and it was perfectly cooked. Done in the center and moist, as well!
Other salmon recipes on the blog:
Or try other favorite fish recipes, like my Curry Fish Stew or my Easy Fish Tacos.
Kitchen Tools Used: (affiliate links)
xoxo ~Sue
Salmon Buddha Bowls with Asian Sauce
Ingredients
For the salmon:
- 20 oz. salmon – four 5 oz. filets
- 1-2 Tablespoons sesame oil
- 6 Tablespoons lower sodium soy sauce
- 2 Tablespoons rice wine vinegar
- 2 teaspoons chili paste
- 2 teaspoons oyster sauce
- 1 Tablespoon brown sugar
- 2 cloves garlic – minced
Other:
- 1 1/4 cup farro
- 2 1/4 cup lower-sodium chicken broth – or you can use water
- 1 1/3 cup edamame – shelled and cooked
- 1 medium carrot – shredded
- 1 medium zucchini – sliced
- avocado slices – to serve
Instructions
- Prep the mariande by whisking together the soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, chili paste, oyster sauce, brown sugar, and minced garlic. Set aside.
- Cook the farro according to packaged directions. Instead of water, I prefer to use chicken broth for a flavor boost. If using the instant pot, pressure cook for 10 minutes followed by a 12 minute natural release. Drain excess liquid off the farro.
- Microwave the edamame according to package directions. Add a sprinkle of kosher salt.
- Shred the carrot and zucchini with a potato peeler, or slice into desired shapes.
- Sprinkle both sides of the salmon with salt and pepper, to taste. Heat up a cast iron skillet over medium-high heat. Add some sesame oil (or other oil) to the pan, and when hot, add salmon. Sear the first side for a few minutes, and then flip. Add the Asian marinade and continue cooking until the salmon is done.
- To assemble bowls, spoon some farro in each serving dish. Then top with the salmon filets, some edamame, and then fresh veggies. Drizzle the remaining marinade (that's left in the skillet after cooking) over the salmon. Sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds and crispy chickpeas (optional)!
So delicious and healthy!! Will be making these often. I love the Asian flavors and heartiness of the farro.
I’m so happy you enjoyed these bowls, Shari! 🙂
Healthy and still all the taste. What a great recipe!
Amen!