Baked Sushi Cups

These delicious baked sushi cups are the best way to get your sushi craving in! Not only are they incredibly cute but so easy to make and pack so much flavor. It’s basically like a savory cupcake and we’re all here for it!

I first saw this recipe on TikTok by Tor Minell and I just knew I had to make it myself! The nori and salmon bake to crispy perfection while still being so soft and flakey inside and then the spicy mayo and rice is the icing on the cupcake! I don’t know if I’ll ever want to eat salmon any other way after this. Let’s make it!

The Salmon

The salmon filling is so easy to make and tastes like heaven! You can easily swap the salmon for shrimp, tuna, or crab if you’d like but I think salmon cooks the best in the oven for this recipe.

HERE ARE THE INGREDIENTS YOU WILL NEED:

• salmon, skin removed and cubed
• mayonnaise
• sriracha or sambal
• sesame oil
• low sodium soy sauce
• lime juice
• chili powder

To bowl, add the cubed salmon, mayo, hot sauce, sesame oil, soy sauce, lime juice, and chili powder. If you have Kewpie mayo, it will definitely enhance the taste but regular mayo will work well too. Just mix it all together and set it aside.

THE SPICY MAYO

This is the easiest part and also the best part because the sauce is pure heaven! You can drizzle it on top of the bowls when they come out of the oven and then save any leftovers, IF ANY, and use it in wraps, with a rice bowl, or even as a salad topping.

All you need is a small bowl and to it add mayo, lemon juice, sesame oil, sugar, and Sriracha or Sambal. I used to always use Sriracha in my spicy mayo but recently I tried sambal which is the Vietnamese hot chili paste and it was so much better. You can buy it from any large supermarket/Asian market. Depending on how spicy you like it, you can add less or more hot sauce.

Sesame oil is optional but highly recommended. A little dash goes a long way as it has a very strong nutty and earthy taste that helps to brighten the creamy sauce up.

ASSEMBLY & BAKING

Preheat oven to 400°F.

Prepare the nori sheets by cutting each sheet into four small squares. You’ll need 12 to fill a cupcake tin – that’s how many this recipe makes!

Now for the rice, you can either make sushi rice from scratch using this recipe on the blog or just buy sticky Jasmin rice from the store and add a pinch of sugar and rice vinegar and that’s it. The easiest hack ever to make this recipe even easier.

You don’t need to spray or oil up the cupcake tin since the nori doesn’t stick to the pan. Take a nori square, add about 1 or 2 tablespoons of the sticky rice and spread it flat. Press it down into the tin and repeat until the tray is filled with 12 cups. After that, add the salmon filling on top and pop in the oven to bake for about 15 minutes until golden on top.

This step is optional but I love to broil it after 15 minutes just for about another two minutes so it’s a bit more crispy and golden brown on top. If you decide to do this too, just watch it closely so it doesn’t burn.

Once out of the oven, top it off with your favorites. Here are some ideas of things to add:

• avocado
• cucumber
• green onions
• unagi sauce
• sesame seeds
• spicy mayo

And then you can just enjoy!

OTHER SEAFOOD RECIPES TO TRY

• Sweet & Spicy Salmon Rice Bowls
• Chipotle Shrimp Rice Bowls
• Volcano Shrimp
• Shrimp Scampi
• Sushi Bake

If you tried this recipe and loved it, drop by down below and let me know how you liked it with a rating and comment! Feel free to also leave a question there about this recipe and I’ll get right back to it.

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