This Asian style fried fish rice bowl is the perfect summer comfort food! It’s crispy, crunchy, and so satisfying without being too heavy.
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Do you crave crispy, flaky, fried fish as soon as it’s summer? Do you also love spicy sauces and Asian fusion dishes? If you answered “yes” to both of these questions, then we have the perfect new recipe for you to try: an Asian inspired fried fish rice bowl.
Here’s the story behind this dish: one of our favorite local meals in Southern California is the chicken karaage bowl from Silverlake Ramen. (In fact, we love this Japanese dish so much we made a taco inspired by it). The combination of crunchy fried chicken with chewy steamed white rice and a spicy yet zesty sriracha aioli is just irresistible. So we came up with our own twist on the recipe, swapping fried chicken for fried cod fish.
Flaky, salty, melt-in-your-mouth white fish is perfect for frying and serving over rice with a spicy aioli. Add some scallions and a lemon wedge for extra freshness and acidity, and this fish and rice bowl bursts with bright, summery flavor. And the best part is, it only takes about 30 minutes to make!
Fish And Rice Bowl Recipe Ingredients
To make our Asian style fried fish rice bowl recipe at home, you’ll prepare 3 components: fried fish, sriracha aioli, and steamed white rice. Here are the ingredients you’ll need:
- Cod filets
- Egg
- All-purpose flour
- Seasonings – paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, chipotle powder, salt, black pepper
- Vegetable oil
- Scallions
- Lemon
- Light mayo
- Sriracha
- White rice
How To Make A Fish Rice Bowl At Home
It’s fairly easy to make these fried fish and rice bowls at home – all you have to do is steam the rice, whisk together the sriracha aioli, and fry the fish. Here’s a step-by-step breakdown of how to make our Asian style fried fish rice bowl recipe:
- First, bring 2 cups of water to a boil and then stir in 1 cup of dry white rice. Lower the heat to a simmer, cover, and steam the rice until the water is absorbed and the rice is fluffy, about 20 minutes.
- Next, make the sriracha aioli. Whisk together light mayo, sriracha, lemon juice, and a pinch of salt in a small bowl until well-combined, then refrigerate until serving.
- Then, prepare the fried fish. Pat the cod filets dry with paper towels, then slice them into bite-size pieces and set aside. Beat an egg well in a medium bowl and set aside. Combine flour and seasonings in a medium bowl and set aside. Fill a frying pan with about a quarter-inch of vegetable oil and begin heating it over medium-high heat.
- Next, coat the cod fish in the egg, then transfer the fish to the seasoned flour, letting excess egg drip off before adding it to the flour. Then, toss the fish in the seasoned flour, using your fingers to separate any pieces that stick together and ensure every piece of fish is fully coated in flour.
- Once the frying oil is hot, carefully add the fish to the pan, gently shaking off excess flour as needed. Fry the fish until it’s golden and crispy, gently flipping it over every few minutes with a metal spoon so as not to damage the coating. This should take about 6 to 8 minutes. Then, using a slotted spoon or spider strainer, transfer the cooked fish to a cooling rack positioned over paper towels to let the excess oil drain.
- Finally, assemble the fish and rice bowls. Add steamed rice to a bowl, top with fried fish, drizzle with sriracha aioli, and garnish with sliced scallions. Serve with a lemon wedge for squeezing over the bowls before eating.
Recipe Variations
If you’re not a fan of seafood, you can easily replace the cod fish in this recipe with chicken! Follow the same process for coating and frying the chicken, using an egg wash and seasoned flour. Note that the cook time may vary – we always recommend using a digital meat thermometer to check if your protein is done cooking.
Storing & Reheating Leftovers
In case you end up with leftovers from this recipe, we recommend storing the fish, rice, sriracha aioli, and scallions all in separate containers in the fridge. Then, when you want to eat the leftovers, everything will still taste fresh!
The fish will keep for up to 3 days in the fridge. Reheat in the air fryer at 350 degrees F for about 4 to 6 minutes, shaking halfway through. Alternatively, you can reheat the fish in the microwave for about 1 minute per serving – just note that it won’t be quite as crispy.
To reheat leftover rice, add it to a bowl with a splash of water and microwave for about 30 seconds to 1 minute per serving. The extra water will help rehydrate the rice – it can get a little dry when stored in the fridge, especially after a few days. Once it’s reheated, give it a stir before adding the reheated fish and topping with sriracha aioli and scallions.
Serving Suggestions
Our Asian style crispy fried fish and rice bowls make the perfect comfort food dinner when you’re craving a takeout style meal at home. They’re crunchy, warm, a little spicy, and super savory – everything you need to satisfy that fried food itch without being greasy or too heavy.
If you’re feeling ambitious, you could serve these bowls with a side of our pork dumplings for a true takeout style dinner. (Tip: If you make a little extra sriracha aioli, you can use it as a dip for your dumplings! It’s delicious.) Or, try making spring rolls, wontons, or even a side salad to go along with your meal.
But in all honesty, these bowls are so satisfying and tasty on their own, you won’t even need anything else to go with them! Let them shine on their own and indulge in the magic of crispy, crunchy fried fish paired with creamy aioli and rice.
Try our Asian inspired fried fish and rice bowl recipe and don’t forget to rate, comment, and share if you love it! For more unique and easy dishes like this one, check out all of our dinner recipes here.
Love this recipe? You may enjoy these recipes, too:
- Asian Inspired Fried Fish Tacos
- Parmesan Panko Fish and Chips
- Cashew Crusted Fish Tacos
- Teriyaki Chicken and Rice Bowl
- Thai Chicken and Rice Bowl with Peanut Sauce
To browse more of our latest recipes and seasonal dishes, visit our homepage here.
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Asian Inspired Fried Fish Rice Bowl
Equipment
- Large frying pan
- Spider strainer or slotted spoon
Ingredients
Rice
- 2 cups water
- 1 cup white rice dry
Sriracha Aioli
- ¼ cup light mayo
- 2 tbsp sriracha
- 1 tsp lemon juice
- 1 pinch salt
Fried Fish
- 2 filets cod fish patted dry and sliced into bite-size pieces
- 1 large egg beaten well
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1½ tsp paprika
- ½ tsp garlic powder
- ½ tsp onion powder
- ¼ tsp chipotle powder
- ¼ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp black pepper
- 2 to 3 tbsp vegetable oil
Garnishes
- 2 medium scallions sliced
- ½ medium lemon sliced into wedges
Instructions
Rice & Sriracha Aioli
- First, bring water to a boil in a small saucepan. Stir in the rice, lower heat to a simmer and cover. Steam until the rice has absorbed all the water, about 20 minutes.
- In the meantime, whisk together the light mayo, sriracha, lemon juice, and salt in a small bowl until well-combined. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
Fried Fish
- In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, chipotle powder, salt, and black pepper until well-combined. Set aside.
- Next, fill a large frying pan with about a quarter-inch of vegetable oil and heat over medium-high. In the meantime, position a cooling rack over a sheet of paper towels next to the stove, so you have somewhere to drain the fish after cooking.
- Set up your assembly line to coat the fish with the sliced cod, beaten egg, and seasoned flour. Coat the fish in the egg, then transfer to the seasoned flour, letting excess egg drip off the fish before adding it to the flour. Then, coat the fish completely in flour, making sure to separate any pieces that stick together so that each piece is entirely coated.
- Once the oil is very hot, carefully add the coated fish to the pan. Fry until golden-brown and crispy, about 6 to 8 minutes. Flip the fish over once or twice during cooking using a metal spoon (this allows you to be gentle with the fish, so as not to break the coating as it crisps).
- Make sure the fish reaches an internal temperature of 145 degrees F. Once it's cooked, use a spider strainer or slotted spoon to transfer the fried fish to the cooling rack where excess oil can drain.
Fried Fish Rice Bowl Assembly
- Divide up the steamed rice among the bowls. Top with fried fish, then drizzle with sriracha aioli. Garnish with sliced scallions and serve with lemon wedges.
Notes
Nutrition
If you have any questions regarding the information presented in this post, please refer to our Nutrition Disclaimer here.
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