Teriyaki Salmon Bowl

The Young Runner’s Guide to Nutrition

The Young Runner’s Guide to Nutrition: How to Fuel Your Body to Train Smarter, Run Faster, and Recover Quicker by Michele Pettinger is a great book for any young athlete, coach of young athletes, or parents of athletes. In fact, I know the exact person that I’m going to share this book with. Well, I’m going to give it to her parents so that they can read it first. Then, it can be the athlete, parents, and coaches all working together for promote health and wellness and encouragement for this elite athlete.

See, she’s great at her sport, but honestly, her nutrition is sub-par. And I think that if she were to take her nutrition seriously, she would be unstoppable! Nutrition is like fueling the car engine; if you don’t put the right fuels in, you can’t get proper performance out.

This book is designed to empower young runners to take control of their health and training. But it doesn’t just stop at runners, it’s great for all young athletes. It’s a practical guide that teaches the basics of sports nutrition and includes over 40 balanced and healthy recipes with everything from breakfast to amazing meals like this easy teriyaki salmon bowl. It also has snack suggestions, smoothies, and meal planning help. It helps teach the fundamentals of sports nutrition, explaining why athletes need specific nutrients and what foods contain them.

It’s like a building block for health, not talking down to young people at all, but helping to lift them up in practical ways that can actually be applied by the young busy person (and their family).

This recipe comes from the Nutrient-Dense Recipes chapter; it’s chock full of great recipes I want to try like the tofu poke bowl with spicy mayo on page 167, the tofu Buddha bowl on page 200, and the egg muffin cup on page 140.

Instructions for cooking grains

These stovetop instructions also come from the book, and are written as a great guide on how to cook almost any whole grain. Rinse the grains in a fine sieve.

Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil per 1 cup of grains in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Grains usually double in size when they are cooked, so 1 cup of raw brown rice will be before for these salmon bowls. You could also cook more if you want leftover rice.

Add the uncooked grains, and stir until they are well coated with oil. Stir constantly for about 2 minutes to lightly toast the grains.

The amount of liquid (water or broth) used will be twice the amount of grains, so, 1 cup of grains to 2 cups of liquid.

Pour the liquid into the saucepan and increase the heat to high. Bring to a boil.

Reduce the heat to low and cover the saucepan. Simmer until the grains are tender and the liquid has been absorbed, about 20 minutes. Remove from the heat and let it rest for 5 minutes.

Grains can also be cooked easily in a rice cooker following the manufacturer’s instructions.

Fluff with a fork and serve or store in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.

Make the slaw

Mix the cabbages, carrots, scallions, cilantro, and sesame seeds in a medium bowl. Set aside.

As you can see in the ingredient photo, I used pre-shredded cabbage for convivence. You can shred or slice your own if you prefer. You could also simply buy a bag or premixed slaw and use 3 cups of that, adding in the scallions, cilantro, and sesame seeds.

Make the teriyaki sauce

In a separate bowl, combine the tamari, rice wine vinegar, hot sauce, sesame oil, olive oil, garlic, ginger, and sugar. Whisk until the sugar is dissolved and the ingredients are well combined.

Most of these ingredients are common, but the one you may not be familiar with is tamari. Tamari is a Japanese sauce made from fermented soybeans. It’s similar to soy sauce, but darker in color, less salty, and gluten-free. Because it’s thinker than soy sauce, it’s often used as a dipping sauce by itself. I like the lower sodium tamari.

And, because the tamari is gluten free, this whole meal is naturally gluten free.

Remove ¼ cup of the teriyaki sauce and add it to the bowl with the Asian slaw ingredients. Using a fork, mix the sauce and the slaw together thoroughly, then refrigerate until ready to serve.

tip for the ginger

When I buy ginger I often have some leftover after using it for dinner. In that case, I’ll peel it and give it a rough chop. Into a Ziploc bag it goes and store it in the freezer. That way, it’s ready to use for the next recipe.

Prepare the salmon

Here are some great tips for helping to make a healthy kitchen and great fish.

Dedicate a separate cutting board to preparing raw fish to avoid cross-contamination and dangerous food-borne bacteria.

Pat the salmon dry with paper towel, and sprinkle the salt and pepper over the fish.

I find that a metal fish spatula is essential to cooking and flipping fish easily.

The book gives instructions on how to cook the salmon on the stove top, but you could also easily cook it in the air fryer. I think the air fryer is my preferred way to cook fish. Here are my instructions on air fryer salmon.

Stovetop

Heat a large cast iron skillet over medium heat and add the oil. Carefully swirl the oil to coat the pan and carefully add the fillets skin side up. Don’t overcrowd the pan, cook in 2 batches if necessary. Don’t disturb the fillets while they cook.

Cook for 3 minutes, then flip the salmon skin side down using a spatula and cook for another 2 to 3 minutes. Cooking time may need to be adjusted depending on the thickness of your fillets.

To determine if fish is cooked thoroughly, purchase an instant read thermometer. Insert the thermometer into the thickest part of the fish. The internal cooking temperature should read 140° to 145°F.

If you don’t have a thermometer or are unable to purchase one, you can determine if

fish is cooked thoroughly without a thermometer, insert a fork into the thickest section of the fillet and twist gently. If the fish flakes easily and has lost its translucent appearance, the fish is thoroughly cooked.

When the salmon is finished cooking, remove the fillets from the skillet. The salmon should easily detach from the skin in the pan. Place on a plate while you make the teriyaki sauce.

Teriyaki sauce and plating

Place the remaining teriyaki sauce in a small saucepan and set over medium heat. In a small bowl, combine the cornstarch and the cold water and stir until dissolved. Add the cornstarch mixture to the saucepan with the warmed sauce. Whisk constantly until well combined and the sauce thickens and coats a spoon, then remove from the heat. If it becomes too thick, add some water to thin it out.

To assemble the bowls, add a portion of the rice, slaw, and a fillet of salmon into each bowl. Spoon the sauce over the fillet of salmon and serve. You could also cut the salmon into bite sized pieces and gently toss them in the thickened teriyaki sauce before plating them.

Garnish with additional sesame seeds and cilantro if desired.

Storage and make ahead

This recipe is great for meal prep. Here are a couple of tips. Make and store everything separately in airtight containers in the fridge. Keep the slaw without the dressing in a ziptop bag. The salmon can be cooked and served cold from the fridge (I love it that way!). Assemble it all when you’re ready to eat. Use everything up within 3 days for best freshness.

Of course, I do think these are best hot and fresh right after making them.

To reheat leftovers, place them in a microwave-safe meal prep container and in the microwave and cover with a damp paper towel. Microwave on medium power for 1 to 2 minutes, until heated.

Try swapping out the teriyaki sauce and using Miso Walnut Sauce for a creamy slightly sweet sauce.

More great Bowls recipes

I love bowls, and would eat them every day if I was left on my own. Here are some of my favorite bowl recipes to share with you: Mexican Shrimp and Corn Bowl, Salmon Sushi Bowl, Winter Grain Bowl, and Asian Fusion Bowl.