Who doesn’t love a bowl? It’s always satisfying, there are variations to suit all diets and preferences, and limitless combinations.

Lately I’ve been craving Vietnamese food, and this salmon Bahn Mi bowl is my latest dinner creation.

I absolutely love the freshness of Vietnamese cuisine, it’s so full of flavour, yet not heavy, and I love how much they use fresh herbs. This bowl is spicy, sweet, and sour all in one and is fairly easy to put together on a week night. Make the pickles a day ahead to cut down on time, and if you have leftovers they’re great in salads, sandwiches, or to garnish stir fries and fried rice too.

Salmon Banh Mi Bowls

makes 4 bowls

Banh Mi Pickles

1 medium carrot, thinly shaved with a vegetable peeler

1 Lebanese cucumber, sliced with a mandolin, or thinly sliced with a knife

1 small shallot, thinly sliced

1/2 cup rice wine vinegar

1 tsp kosher salt

1 tsp sugar

1 tbsp toasted sesame seeds

1/8 tsp red pepper flakes

Sriracha Mayo

1/2 cup mayonnaise

2 tsp Sriracha

juice of 1 lime

1/4 tsp salt

Salmon

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup boiling water

1/4 cup fish sauce

1 tbsp Sriracha

1 tsp soy sauce

3 cloves of garlic, minced

1lb piece of salmon, sliced into 4 equal pieces, or 4 fillets, skin removed

Bowl Components

2 cups cooked white or brown rice

4 cups chopped spinach

1 large avocado, sliced

4 lime wedges, for serving

green onions, sliced, for garnish

cilantro, chopped, for garnish

1. To make the Banh mi pickles: Add sliced carrots, cucumber and shallot to jar or sealable-container. In a liquid measuring cup, whisk together the vinegar, salt, sugar, sesame seeds and red pepper flakes. Pour over sliced vegetables and cover jar or container. Refrigerate at least 1 hour, and up to 1 week.

2. To make sriracha mayo: Whisk together all ingredients until smooth and well combined, cover and refrigerate until ready to use.

3. To make the salmon: Add brown sugar to a 8 x 8-inch baking dish. Pour in boiling water, and whisk until sugar is dissolved. whisk in remaining marinade ingredients. Remove 1/4 cup of marinade and reserve for drizzling over bowls later. Add salmon fillets to baking dish with marinade, turning to coat both sides Cover, and refrigerate, flipping salmon once, 1 hour.

4. Preheat oven to broil. Line a baking sheet with foil. Arrange salmon fillets in single layer on prepared baking sheet. Broil, until salmon is cooked through, golden brown, and beginning to crisp at the edges, 6-8 minutes.

5. To assemble bowls: Divide cooked rice and spinach among 4 bowls. Top each with salmon fillet, sliced avocado, Bahn mi pickles and herbs. Drizzle with sriracha mayo and garnish with lime wedges.