Sweet Chili Salmon Poppers are your new favorite take on salmon! Crispy fried salmon strips tossed in a simple sweet chili sauce, all served over sushi rice. Really the perfect appetizer…or double the recipe and make it a full dinner!
I work professionally as a sushi chef. Blogger by day, chef by night! We serve a dish similar to these salmon poppers in our restaurant…and they are a customer favorite, for good reason!
The perfect start to your meal, with juicy salmon, a yummy sauce, and a sprinkle of green onion.
This recipe was featured in @whisk magazine. COVER SHOT photographed by Shoshi Sirkis and styled by @teimonet.
Personally, I love making a big bowl of these to enjoy on my break! It’s hearty but also light at the same time, and great for any summertime meal.
What you need for salmon poppers
For this easy salmon popper recipe, you only need a few ingredients:
- Fresh salmon, or frozen salmon, defrosted (because the salmon is fully cooked you don’t need to buy the top sushi grade salmon, I find Ikea sells a wonderful frozen salmon!)
- Flour and water (for the tempura batter)
- Panko or golden breadcrumbs
Sweet Chili Sauce
For the sweet and spicy popper sauce, we use a base of sweet chili sauce, with a couple add ins to ramp up the flavor!
What you need:
- sweet chili sauce
- sriracha hot sauce(try to buy one that is authentic! If it has thai writing on the bottle its probably good;)
- rice vinegar, or substitute with white vinegar
- sweet red paprika
- sesame seeds
Fried Salmon Strips
For the crispiest fried salmon, we coat the salmon strips in a simple tempura style batter and dredge them in panko crumbs.
This fried salmon dish is both vegan and dairy free, no eggs needed!
TIP: Japanese style panko crumbs, which are white in color, are the crispiest. However, golden breadcrumbs also make a delicious salmon popper dish! Try both and see which one you prefer.
How long does it take to make Salmon Poppers?
This is a simple and easy dinner recipe that comes together in just 20 minutes.
Bread the salmon strips, heat up the sauce ingredients, and serve it all over sushi rice with a couple toppings: black sesame seeds for color contrast and fresh green onion slices.
Looking for more delicious salmon recipes? Try these favorites:
Moroccan Salmon with Burst Cherry Tomatoes
We hope you love this recipe! If you try it, please give a star rating and comment below, readers love to hear what you think!
Sweet Chili Salmon Poppers
Ingredients
- .5 lb fresh salmon sliced into finger length strips
- 1 cup flour
- ¾ cup water plus 1 Tbs
- 1 ½-2 cups Japanese panko crumbs these make the crispiest poppers!
Sauce:
- 1 cup sweet chilli sauce
- 4 tsp rice vinegar
- 2 tsp sriracha
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1 tsp sesame seeds
To serve:
- Sushi rice
- Black sesame seeds can substitute with white sesame but black adds a nice contrast
- 2 stalks of green onion chopped
Instructions
Crispy Salmon Strips
- Combine flour and water in a container or bowl and whisk to combine well.
- Pour panko crumbs into another bowl.
- Heat 2 inches of oil in a wok or fry pan.
- Dip each salmon stick into the tempura batter and then into the panko crumbs, coating fully.
- Carefully place directly into the hot oil. Fry until golden and crispy, 2-3 minutes per side.
- Let drain on a wire rack or paper towel.
Sweet Chili Sauce
- Add all sauce ingredients to a wok or saucepan and heat, stirring until hot.
- Place the salmon poppers in the sauce and toss.
- Serve over sushi rice and garnish with black sesame seeds and green onion.
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These salmon poppers are delicious! The sweet chili sauce is just out of this world amazing!
These were so delicious! That sauce was absolutely to die for!
Salmon is my favorite fish, and I’ll eat ANYTHING with sweet chili sauce. Very excited to try this out ASAP, thanks so much for the recipe!
Kids to surely enjoy this dish. Sounds so easy to make and looks so delicious and tempting to eat. My try for the weekend.