Recipe: Salmon flakes used for Japanese rice balls. Yes, you can make it yourself and it's VERY easy & affordable.

Number of steps: 6
Time taken: 30 min

About This Dish:
You love Japanese rice balls (a.k.a. Onigiri) but are tired of going to a Japanese supermarket to buy the delicious salmon flakes...That was my problem. Thankfully, those salmon flakes in the rice balls are super easy to make! You can store them up for up to 2 weeks in the fridge and longer if you freeze them up! Perfect! 

What You Need:

• A little more than 0.5lb of salmon! (I used the frozen salmon sold at Trader Joes)
• Sake (Japanese rice wine) 1 tbsp
• Salt 1/2 - 1 tsp
• (Optional) Roasted sesame 1 tbsp

1. Here's what you need at a glance. I didn't use the sesame seeds. Make sure your salmon is defrosted if previously frozen.

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4. Put the rest of the meat into a pan and start broiling it on low heat. Put it on heat for a couple of minutes to get rid of excess moisture.

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7. Once the flakes are completely cooled down, you can wrap them up in plastic wrap and freeze them for long term storage. I usually freeze some and put the rest in a tupperware for the fridge. It'll last 2 weeks if you put them in the fridge!

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2. Boil the salmon for 5 minutes until cooked.You can also grill it until cooked. Boiling is recommended as it is quick, clean and easy! 

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5. Add the sake. Once the sake soaks into the meat add the salt. Taste it as you go. If you want more salt, add more. It all depends on your preference. Broil it on low heat until you get rid of the excess moisture.

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3. Separate the skin and the meat of the salmon while breaking it up into small pieces. We only want the nice pink colored meat of the salmon! Throw out the skin and discolored meat.

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6. Spread it out on a plate until it cools down and excess moisture is taken away even more. We want the meat to be as dry as possible.

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