Salmon bites to shake up your weeknights

Every season, I relish the holiday tins I'm gifted, filled with homemade goodies. To counteract all this tin action, I try to balance out the holidays with meals that aren't just healthy, but festive. 

I saw an interation of salmon bites on Insatgram - it was a polished, fast-moving reel where a perfectly toned influencer whipped it up in a matter of seconds. In real life, it doesn't take long at all. And my version pops a little more!

Note: Never mind measurements - this is a stackable meal that requires no mixing, and is open to any alteratives. So gather it up and make however much you'd like!

Salmon bites recipe ingredients:

• Raw salmon
• Cream cheese
• Jalapeno
• Rice paper
• Avocado
• Cilantro
• Furikake (optional but tasty)
• Sesame oil
• Soy sauce
• Coconut oil (or olive oil, if not available)
• Sesame seeds

Sesame bites recipe instructions:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Cut salmon into two-bite-sized rectangles.
• Place on sheet pan, and toss with a mix of melted coconut oil and sesame oil.
• Dust with salt and furikake (available at Trader Joe's if you don't have a Japanese market near you).
• Roast until cooked through - 20-30 minutes, depending on the size of your bites. Be sure to check in on them!
• While the bites are cooking - prep! Wash and chop cilantro, cut cream cheese into 2-inch rectangular slices, slice avocados and core and slice your jalapenos. As the French say, "mise en place" - or, everything in its place. Your bites will be ready to roll - pun intended.
• Remove salmon from oven.
• While cooling, fill a bowl (or rice paper dipper, pictured above) with hot water.

• Lay a clean cutting board on your counter. Dip the rice paper in the water on both sides until wet all over. Let excess water drip off, then lay flat on cutting board. Careful, it gets sticky!
  
• Place a piece of salmon in the middle-ish, but a little more to one side.
• We don't have jalapeno on us tonight, but this is also where you would place a slice of cored jalapeno pepper.
• Add cream cheese and cilantro, and you are ready to roll!
• Begin by rolling and tucking your little stack once, into a tight-ish log. Then, tuck in each of the open ends into the middle, like a burrito. Finally, roll one last time to secure the odds and ends, and keep things tight. You will get better with practice. Note that these guys are sticky, so when placing on a dish, keep them spaced apart.
• Heat a pan with a mix of sesame oil and coconut oil. Once hot, place the rolled salmon bites on the pan, turning once to slightly crisp both sides.
• Dust the bites with sesame seeds or additional furikake.
• Make a dipping sauce with soy sauce, a dash of sesame oil, a dash of water, and a sprinkle of salt. In my case, I add hot sauce!
• Remove from heat, grab some chopsticks and enjoy!