This Salmon Skin Roll is made with crunchy salmon skins, crisp cucumber, and creamy crab in Japanese mayo. This delicious dish is sure to impress your family and friends.
If you love sushi, then you should try this Volcano Roll and Shrimp Tempura Roll.
Table Of Contents
Recipe Details
I love sushi and this recipe for Salmon Skin Rolls is one of my favorites. It’s simply delicious and the perfect thing to serve at get-togethers or family dinner.
- TASTE: This recipe is full of flavor, from the fresh veggies to the sweet and tangy crab and mayo mix, to the savory salmon skins.
- TEXTURE: Its full of crunchy fried salmon skins, crisp cucumbers, creamy avocado, and rich mayo. And the sticky rice wraps it all up.
- TIME: This recipe will take an hour and 10 minutes.
- EASE: This Salmon Skin Roll has a fair amount of steps and ingredients, but it’s not as hard as you think. These step-by-step instructions will walk you through it.
What You’ll Need
Ingredient Notes
- Sushi rice– You can make your own with just a few ingredients and short-grain rice. The starch helps hold the roll together and it has a tangy flavor.
- Salmon skins- You can purchase these or remove them from salmon filets yourself.
- Corn starch- This ingredient will help the skins crisp up when fried.
- Avocado- This will be sliced into sticks, so look for a ripe one that is still a bit firm.
- English cucumber- You can use regular cucumbers, too, but these have a delicious crispness.
- Nori seaweed- These sheets of seaweed will be used to roll everything up.
- Sesame seeds- Toasted sesame seeds and Black sesame seeds add a nutty flavor to the sushi.
- Imitation crab sticks- This ingredient is better for sushi than real crab as the texture shreds just right for the filling we need.
- Rice vinegar- This tangy condiment will add delicious flavor to this Salmon Skin Roll.
- Japanese mayonnaise- This mayo is different from the American version as it is very creamy and a little sweet.
Add-ins and Substitutions
- Substitute another seafood- Try this with yellowtail, salmon, tuna, shrimp, or spicy crab in place of the salmon skins and imitation crab.
- Add other sauces- You can make this roll with ponzu sauce, Unagi eel Sauce, teriyaki, mirin, Yum Yum Sauce, or Spicy Mayo.
- Use another wrap- Instead of the nori seaweed, make this Salmon Skin Roll wrapped in soy paper or finely sliced cucumber in its place.
- Add other vegetables- Besides avocado and cucumber, celery, radish, and carrots could also work. Anything with a little crunch.
How to Make Salmon Skin Roll
- Prep the salmon skins. Remove the scales with a sharp knife. Then rinse and pat them dry. Season both sides with salt, then dredge them in corn starch.
- Fry them. Fill skillet with about 1 inch of high-heat oil, then fry both sides of the skins over medium-high heat until golden and crispy. Put them on a plate lined with paper towels and let them cool. Then slice the salmon skins into strips.
- Make the sushi rice and prep the crab. Now make the sushi rice according to the recipe and let it cool. Then finely chop the imitation crab meat and place it into a large bowl. Mix it with the Kewpie Japanese mayonnaise. Then set it aside.
- Cut the seaweed. Wrap your sushi mat in plastic wrap. Then place 1 sheet of toasted seaweed on top of it and cut off 1/4 of it with scissors.
- Add rice and sesame seeds. Wet your hands in a bowl of water and grab a handful of prepared sushi rice and begin gently spreading a thin even layer on top of the seaweed. Now sprinkle both sesame seeds on top of the rice. Then flip the entire sheet of seaweed over.
- Add the filling. Now, in the middle of the seaweed, add about an ounce of the imitation crab meat mixture, a few strips of cucumber, and two slices of avocado, and a few strips of the crispy salmon skin.
- Roll the Salmon Skin Roll. While turning in the front of the nori with the sushi mat, slightly compress the inner ingredients. Keep rolling the sushi with the sushi mat, making sure to keep the roll tight.
- Cut it. Place the sushi roll onto a cutting board and use a sharp wet knife to cut the sushi into 8 equal pieces. Serve with soy sauce and wasabi.
Pro Tip: It’s so easy to get sticky rice squished into this bamboo mat, so save yourself some clean up time by just wrapping it in plastic wrap before rolling.
Recipe Tips
- Make your own Japanese mayo- If you haven’t got any on hand, you can make your own by whisking together 2 tablespoons of regular mayo with 1 tsp. rice vinegar and 1/4 tsp. sugar until combined.
- Use water with the sticky rice- When you mold the sushi rice to the nori, or when you cut the roll, wet your hands or knife with water before each touch to keep the rice from sticking.
- Trim the nori seaweed sheets- Trimming some of the sheet will keep the amount of filling proportional to the amount of rice used.
- Don’t smash the sushi rice- Be gentle with the rice when you’re spreading a thin layer of it on the nori so it doesn’t get into a mashed mess. It’s easy to do with sticky rice.
FAQs
How do you skin salmon for sushi?
To take the skin off a salmon fillet, lay it flat with the skin side on the bottom. Gently holding it in place, slide your knife between the skin and meat, making long even sawing motions until you have removed the meat. Now you have the skin and can remove any scales or extra meat still attached before preparing it for this Salmon Skin Roll.
Can you eat salmon skin with scales?
You want to make sure that the scales have been removed from the salmon skin before prepping and frying it because the scales are not edible.
Serving Suggestions
This Salmon Skin Roll recipe is versatile and perfect for sharing. Here are some great ways to serve it to friends and family.
- Sushi: This Salmon Skin Roll can be served with others for a great spread at a party or for dinner, such as this Volcano Roll, Shrimp Tempura Roll, Easy Sushi Bake, or Salmon Nigiri.
- Sides: Pair this roll with Hibachi Fried Rice, Fried Spring Rolls (VIDEO), Kani Salad, or Shrimp Tempura Udon Soup.
- Proteins: Enjoy this dish with Homemade Shrimp Tempura with a Shrimp Tempura Dipping Sauce, Mongolian Beef, and Grilled Teriyaki Chicken.
- Desserts: Finish off the meal with some Mochi Donuts (VIDEO), Easy Dango, Ube Ice Cream, or Strawberry Tanghulu.
Make This Recipe in Advance
Make ahead: You can prepare the sushi rice, chop the vegetables, and fry the salmon skins beforehand. Just store them all in the fridge until you’re ready to assemble the roll. You may want to flash fry the salmon skin to get it crispy again though.
Storing: Store any leftovers of this Salmon Skin Roll covered in the refrigerator for up to 2 days. The rice will harden as it sits so try to only make what you can eat that day.
Freeze: I don’t recommend freezing this because salmon can form bacteria when re-frozen and the rice becomes very hard.
More Tasty Sushi Dishes!
Full Recipe Instructions
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 lb Salmon skins
- Salt to taste
- 1 cup Cornstarch
- oil for frying
- 1 recipe cooked sushi rice
- 1 packages imitation crab sticks
- 2 tbsp Japanese mayonnaise Kewpie
- 1 ripe avocado sliced
- 1/2 English cucumber sliced
- 6-8 sheets toasted nori seaweed
- Toasted sesame seeds
- Black sesame seeds
Instructions
- Prepare the salmon skins by removing the scales with a sharp knife. Then rinse and pat dry.
- Season both sides of the salmon skins with salt, then dredge them in corn starch.
- Fill a large pan with about 1 inch of high-heat oil (canola or vegetable oil). Then fry both sides of the salmon skins on medium-high until golden and crispy.
- Transfer the crispy salmon skins onto a plate lined with pepper towels and let them cool. Then slice into strips.
- Now make the sushi rice according to the recipe. Then let it cool. Note: my sushi rice recipe makes 8 rolls. But you can cut this in half if needed.
- Finely chop 8 oz of imitation crab meat and place it into a bowl and mix it with 3 Tbsp of kewpie Japanese mayonnaise. Then set it aside.
- Now wrap your sushi mat in plastic wrap. This will make your life a lot easier than it comes to clean up.
- Place 1 sheet of toasted nori seaweed on top of the sushi mat and cut off 1/4 of it with scissors. You don’t have to do this but I find that if you use the full sheet, you end up with too much rice vs filling.
- Now wet your hands in a bowl of water and grab a handful of rice and begin spreading a thin even layer of sushi rice on top of the seaweed. Be careful not to press on the rice too hard, or you'll end up with a mashed up mess. Continuously wetting your hands will prevent the rice from sticking to your fingers.
- Now sprinkle toasted white sesame seeds along with black sesame seeds on top of the rice. Then flip the entire sheet of seaweed over.
- Now, in the middle of the seaweed, add about 1 oz of the imitation crab meat mixture, a few strips of cucumber, and two slices of avocado, and a few strips of the crispy salmon skin.
- Now, this is the tricky part. While turning in the front of the nori with the sushi mat, slightly compress the inner ingredients. Keep rolling the sushi with the sushi mat, making sure to keep the roll tight.
- Place the sushi roll onto a cutting board and use a sharp wet knife, cut the sushi into 8 equal pieces. I usually wet the knife before each slice.
- Then serve with soy sauce and wasabi.
Nutrition
Calories: 193kcal | Carbohydrates: 31g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 6g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Trans Fat: 0.01g | Cholesterol: 1mg | Sodium: 31mg | Potassium: 164mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 156IU | Vitamin C: 4mg | Calcium: 10mg | Iron: 0.4mg
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Hi, I’m Dina, so glad you stopped by! I believe life is too short for bad coffee and boring meals. With my easy to follow step-by-step recipes, you’ll be surprised at how quickly a wholesome and delicious meal can come together. I hope you find something you enjoy!
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Suneet says
This looks absolutely delicious! I’ve been hesitant about making sushi at home but I am definitely going to try this one! Thank you for the recipe!
Suneet
Dina says
You are very welcome Suneet! I am happy that you found my blog and I hope you love this salmon roll recipe. Please let me know how it turns out! 🙂