This salmon and egg rice is easy, satisfying, and delicious...and it's all cooked up in your rice cooker! It makes for an easy comforting meal, is great for packed lunches, and is a must-know for college students! It's another one-pot meal you're going to love.
My sons and I call this rice cooker salmon and egg rice "cheater fried rice" because it could pass for fried rice, but it's not actually fried.
This recipe is not a knock on fried rice...we love fried rice! But it's just a different way of cooking rice together with a bunch of ingredients and it's easy and tasty!
And the rice cooker just takes care of things in one pot!
How To Make Salmon and Egg Rice
The Rice
To make fried rice, you need day-old rice. But what if you don't have day-old rice handy?
This is where this recipe works out perfectly! My recipe works with cooking fresh rice, so there isn't any advance planning necessary.
As is the usual preparation with rice before cooking, wash and drain the rice a few times with cool running water until the water is no longer cloudy and drain it well.
Just like with fried rice, I usually use a long-grain rice like jasmine, but I have also made this successfully using a short-grain like pearl/Japanese rice.
Flavoring the Rice
Flavoring the rice comes from a sauce made up of some oyster sauce, sweet soy sauce, and white pepper. EASY. I use sweet soy sauce as a one ingredient replacement for soy sauce and sugar...two flavor profiles common for fried rice.
(If you do not have sweet soy sauce, substitute it 1:1 with regular soy sauce and add either sugar or honey, using a ratio of 1 tablespoon regular soy sauce to 1 teaspoon sweetener. Adjust the sweetener to taste.)
You can add other flavorings to it like fresh garlic or ginger, or add some chili sauce for some spice. But this sauce is the most basic and is in keeping it similar to the flavor of fried rice.
Mix the sauce ingredients with water and then add the entire thing to the pot with the rice so that they cook together.
Alternatively, you can stir the sauces in after everything is done cooking. I have done it both ways, with no one method being any harder than the other. It's totally a personal preference which you decide to do!
The Salmon and Egg
This recipe uses a raw salmon filet and I add this to the pot with the uncooked rice and liquid so that they cook together. Simply lay the filet down on the rice, close the lid and cook!
Once the rice cooker indicates that the rice is done, that's when you add the scrambled eggs directly to the pot!
Simply pour it over top of the rice (don't worry if it gets on the salmon), close the rice cooker lid again, and let the residual heat cook the egg, anywhere from 5-10 minutes.
Now when you open the rice cooker lid, what you see may not look particularly appetizing as it is, but trust me...you are going to love it! Remember that you can't judge a book by its cover!
Simple use chopsticks or a spoon to break up all the ingredients and fluff up the rice and voila!
This is perfectly good served as is...my boys love it straight from the rice cooker this way! But I like to top it with garnishes like chopped green onions, furikake seasoning, and fried shallots...so good!
Frequently Asked Questions
I either use jasmine (long-grain) or pearl (short-grain/Japanese) rice with great success. You can use basmati rice, but the grains of rice will not stick together like long- or short-grain rice.
A chicken or vegetable broth would add more flavor to the rice while it's cooking. You could also do a mixture of coconut milk and broth or water.
No. I have made this using leftover cooked salmon, and it also works with tinned salmon! Keep in mind that using tinned salmon adds a different flavor to the rice than if you use just a salmon filet.
Yes! You can cook the scrambled eggs in a pan on the stovetop, and then add them to the rice at the end. I would cook the eggs just until they are soft set.
Yes! I would add the vegetables at the same time as the raw scrambled eggs, so that they don't overcook. I would suggest frozen peas and/or carrots, canned corn, or vegetables that are already cooked as being the best options.
Store leftovers in a sealed container in the fridge and reheat it in the microwave. You can also freeze it!
If you're looking for other one-pot rice meals, you have to make sure to check out Rice Cooker Chinese Sticky Rice, an easy version of the popular Chinese dish and one of my most popular recipes!
For one that's cooked up on the stovetop, check out Pepper Beef Rice Skillet. And if you're looking for a cold mixed rice dish, you may want to check out my Chicken Rice Salad Medley. All of these are great rice dishes that are satisfying and loaded with flavor.
This recipe came to be simply because I didn't have any day-old rice handy to make fried rice, but I wanted to make a quick and easy lunch for my boys.
As it turns out, I ended up making this dish quite often because it was so good! It's a great quick and easy meal, works perfectly packed as a school lunch, and for my son who is now away at university, it's something he can easily cook for himself while on a tight budget!
My boys may call this cheater fried rice, but it doesn't make it any less delicious and is definitely a recipe you need to try!
~ Lisa.
Rice Cooker Salmon and Egg Rice
Ingredients
- 1 cup uncooked jasmine rice (use a regular 1 cup measure and not the cup that comes with your rice cooker)
- 1 ¼ cups water
- 2 tablespoons oyster sauce
- 1 tablespoon sweet soy sauce (see Recipe Notes below for substitution)
- ¼ teaspoon white pepper
- 1 120g raw salmon filet
- 3 eggs, beaten
Garnishes:
- Chopped green onions
- Furikake seasoning
- Fried shallots
- Chili flakes or sauce
Equipment
Instructions
- Rinse and drain uncooked rice a few times with cool water until the water is not cloudy, about 3-4 times.
- In a measuring cup, combine the water, oyster sauce, sweet soy sauce, and white pepper. Mix well.
- Add drained rice and seasoned liquid to the rice cooker pot.
- Lay salmon filet on rice. Close rice cooker lid and cook as normal.
- In a bowl, scramble the eggs well.
- Once rice is cooked, add scrambled eggs to the rice cooker pot and close the lid, letting it heat for another 5-10 minutes.
- Use a spoon or chopsticks, break up the salmon and eggs while fluffing the rice to mix the ingredients well.
- Serve immediately and top with chopped green onions, sesame seeds, furikake, chili sauce, etc., if desired.
Notes
- Use a regular 1 cup measure for measuring the uncooked rice. Do not use the plastic cup that comes with your rice cooker.
- Use jasmine (long-grain) or pearl rice for best results.
- If you have a rice cooker with multiple buttons, use the normal rice cook setting. Depending on the model of your rice cooker, the cooking time may vary.
- Pay attention to when the button pops or your rice cooker is done cooking the rice so you can add the scrambled eggs right away.
- When pouring the scrambled eggs into the rice cooker, replace the lid quickly so as not to lose too much of the residual heat.
- If the egg is not done enough to your liking after letting it cook in the residual heat of the rice cooker, push the button on the rice cooker once more to bring the heat up again for a few minutes.
- Alternative Cooking Method:
- Cook the 1 cup rinsed rice with water and salmon but without the sauces and seasonings.
- Cook three scrambled eggs in a pan until soft-set.
- Once rice is cooked, add the oyster sauce, sweet soy sauce, and white pepper and stir well,
- Mix in the scrambled eggs.
- Use broth instead of water to add more flavor to the rice.
- If you do not have sweet soy sauce, substitute 1:1 with regular soy sauce. Then add sugar or honey, starting with a ratio of 1 teaspoon sweetener to 1 tablespoon soy sauce. Add more sweetener to taste.
- Adjust the oyster sauce, sweet soy sauce, and white pepper to taste.
- This can easily be made with fresh salmon, leftover cooked salmon, or half a tin of canned salmon.
- If you want veggies, add frozen peas and carrots to the rice cooker at the same time as the scrambled eggs and let them heat through.
- Store leftovers in a sealed container in the fridge. Microwave to reheat.
- Double or triple the recipe for a crowd or for planned weekly meals. You can also freeze it!
A says
This was delicious! I doubled the recipe because I bought salmon that was probably closer to one pound and it made so much that. I won’t have to cook for days! I decreased the oyster sauce and soy sauce to reduce sodium intake, used water, and didn’t even add chili sauce, and it was still really flavorful. Will add this to my regular rotation of recipes.
Thank you so much for trying the recipe! I'm so glad you liked it! I love having enough for leftovers!
JenL says
It looks like the skin is on the fillet when putting in cooker, but maybe not when you break it up at the end. Do you remove it after cooking, or before adding to cooker? Also I saw someone had used another fish in comments, would a flounder or another white fish get too dry if you used that?
Hi Jen! I did not remove the skin off the salmon and it was just broken up into small bits and blended in really well with the rice. If you prefer not to have salmon skin, I would either use skinless filets or place the salmon in the rice with the skin up and you can remove it before breaking up the salmon into the rice. I think a white fish would work fine...it gets broken down so much and mixed into the rice that I do not think it matters. Thanks for the questions and I hope that helps!
Julia Sim says
Hi! What modifications will you make if this could incorporate japanese seasoning like mirin, sake and kombu?
Hi Julia! This is an interesting idea. I would try it with 1 cup of water, 3 tablespoons of soy sauce, 1 tablespoon of mirin, 1 teaspoon of sake. Then you could put a piece of kombu in with the rice to cook. I don't know how the flavor would work out, but it would be a place to start. Thanks for the question and let me know how it turns out if you try it!
gideon says
the tastiest parts are those leftover on the bottom of the pot! Made two alterations to the recipe. I used barramundi instead of salmon and I used a tablespoon of sugar instead of one teaspoon (the 1:1 soy sugar ratio should be changed to accurately reflect one tablespoon to one teaspoon...1:1 implies that they are both the same measurement)
Out the pot the dish is ok, nothing to write home about but add some cabi or sriracha and all of a sudden you have a make again worthy plate of food.
the very best part is how easy the recipe is to put together and how once cooking it requires zero input
Followed recipe
Hi Gideon! Thanks for making the recipe! Barramundi sounds like a great substitution for the salmon. As for the sweet soy substitution, I meant that soy sauce could be substituted for the sweet soy 1:1, and then sweetener could be added to that. I have edited the notes in hopes that it is more clear.
Jas says
Hi Hi Lisa,
May I ask whether there will be a layer of scorched rice at the bottom of your rice cooker when it's cooked? If no, could you please share with me as to how you prevent this scorching from happening? Because it always happens when I add sauces to cook my rice in a rice cooker and the scorched layer had to be thrown away.
Many thanks in advance.
Hi Jas! I have made this recipe many times, without any scorched rice on the bottom. However, not all rice cookers are the same and depending on the type you have and what the surface the rice pot is made of, that might be contributing to the scorched bottom. I hope that helps.
J says
Hi! This recipe looks so yummy and easy! I’m excited to try it! Just curious, if I only have frozen salmon, would you recommend thawing/heating up the salmon before throwing it in the rice cooker? Thank you for your recipe and time! 🙂
Hello! Thanks for the question. I have not tried using salmon from frozen, but I think it would work. The boiling liquid and the steam, I think, would help heat it through, at least enough to break up into smaller pieces after the rice is done. And then you could mix the salmon into the rice, keep it in the rice cooker (still on) for a bit longer to cook through any bits that might be slightly undone. I hope that helps!
Jas says
Hi Lisa! Thanks for your reply. Understood. I've now changed to using a nonstick ceramic coated soup pot to cook rice that requires sauces in order to mange the cooking process better as rice is precious...Lol....
Thanks again Lisa. 😊
Monica says
Great rice recipes! I am looking for rice free of pesticides specially arsenic contamination on it . Have you found one to use safety?
Thanks
Hi Monica! I am not an expert on this topic and don't think I am best person to advise on your question, but I am sure there are many other resources online that would help. Also, I think it depends on what rice is available to you, depending on where you live.