These Sriracha Seared Salmon Cakes are spicy, crispy, and satisfying. Baked or fried, these are, without exaggeration, the best fish cakes I have ever made or eaten. It’s not a claim I make lightly. Trust.
I have tried many salmon cake recipes over the years; most were lacking spice, overly-complicated, or just plain boring. In my own version, I start with my oven seared salmon as a base. Searing the salmon takes all of ten minutes, and it is SO worth the extra effort. Using fresh seared salmon rather than canned will give you a fresher, less “fishy” flavor as a base. It will also give you some glorious crispy browned edges, which add a ton of flavor to the finished product.
When you start with freshly seared salmon, you don’t need to “doll it up” too much. I tried lots of variations, but found that a simple mix of celery, onion, Greek yogurt, panko, dill and smoked paprika gave these salmon cakes all the flavor and moisture they needed.
Oh, and Sriracha. Did I mention Sriracha? Yeah. Adding Huy Fong’s magical spice sauce was a total goldmine!
Most people don’t know the history of sriracha. The Huy Fong brand was developed in 1980 by a Vietnamese refugee of Chinese descent named David Tran. The name, Huy Fong, comes from the ship Huey Fong that brought Tran to America. Sriracha sauce itself was inspired by traditional Thai hot sauces. Not surprisingly, 80 percent of the recipe is chili peppers, aged in the bottle for 6 months before being sold. The thick, garlicky hot sauce is bottled in Southern California, not far from where I live.
WhenSriracha is added to these seared salmon cakes, they go from tasty to extraordinary. Top them with a dollop of cream Sriracha sauce, and enjoy!
Recommended Products:
We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Sriracha Salmon Cakes
Ingredients
Salmon Cake Ingredients
- 1/2 pound fresh boneless skinless salmon filet
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 2 large eggs beaten
- 2 ribs celery
- 1 onion peeled
- 3/4 cup panko breadcrumbs
- 1/4 cup Greek yogurt
- 2 tablespoons fresh dill, roughly chopped
- 1 tablespoon sriracha (if spice sensitive use 1/2 tbsp, if you love sriracha/spice use 1 1/2 tbsp)
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
- Grapeseed oil for frying (about 1 1/2 cups)
Creamy Sriracha Sauce Ingredients
- 1/3 cup Greek yogurt
- 1/3 cup mayonnaise you may substitute Greek yogurt or sour cream
- 1 tablespoon sriracha or more to taste
NOTES
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. First you will need to sear the salmon. For step-by-step photos of the following process, click here.
- Place a large nonstick skillet with metal oven-safe handle on a burner over medium high heat for 3-4 minutes until drops of water sizzle and bead on the surface when you sprinkle them.
- When water dries pour 2 tbsp oil and swirl around the bottom of the pan to evenly coat. Oil will begin to smoke lightly after a moment or two. Place salmon fillet(s) gently into the skillet.
- Turn the heat to high. Let the salmon sear for 2-3 minutes until a golden brown crust begins to form on the bottom of the fish. You'll be able to see the edge of the crust where the meat touches the pan.
- Transfer the whole skillet to the preheated oven. Let the salmon continue roasting in the oven for another 6-9 minutes until just cooked through. Using an oven mitt, take the hot skillet out of the oven and remove seared salmon from the skillet. Leave the remaining oil from cooking the fish in the skillet, you'll be using it again.
- Roughly chop the salmon and reserve (it will be about 1 1/2 cups flaked salmon). If baking the salmon cakes (recommended), reduce oven heat to 375 degrees F. If frying the patties, you can turn the oven off.
- In a food processor, mince together the celery and onion.
- Add the minced celery and onion to the same skillet you used to sear the salmon. Cook until softened and starting to caramelize. Place in a mixing bowl and allow to cool off.
- In the food processor, combine the chopped salmon and fresh dill. Pulse a few times so that the mixture is chopped, but not a paste (careful, it can easily go to over-processed if you pulse it too much!)
- In the mixing bowl with the cooked celery and onion, add the processed salmon and dill, 2 beaten eggs, Greek yogurt, salt, smoked paprika and sriracha. Stir to blend, then add the panko breadcrumbs.
- I recommend baking these fish cakes. There is really not a big flavor difference here between baking and frying, and baking lowers the calorie count. To bake them, shape the mixture into 1/4 cup patties, then place patties on a well greased baking sheet. Place in the preheated oven and bake for 8 minutes. Turn the patties, then bake for 7-8 more minutes till browned and cooked through.
- If frying the patties, add enough oil to the skillet to reach a depth of 1/4 inch. Heat slowly over medium heat. When the oil is hot, fry the salmon cakes for 2 1/2-3 1/2 minutes on each side till golden brown. Be careful not to overcrowd the pan.
- Once cooked, remove the salmon cakes from the pan using a metal spatula and place them on paper towels to drain.
- To make the sauce: Combine ingredients in a mixing bowl and stir together until well blended. If subbing Greek yogurt or sour cream for mayonnaise, add salt to the sauce to taste. Add additional sriracha for added spice, if desired.
- Serve salmon cakes topped with the creamy sriracha sauce.
Nutrition
tried this recipe?
Let us know in the comments!
Tryed and had wonderfull reviews from the whole family
Fabulous Esther! So pleased to know your family enjoyed it. 🙂
Hi Tori
Can you actually get 10 salmon cakes out of a 1/2 pound of salmon.
Jackie yes, if you follow the directions as written. I’ve made this recipe several times and always end up with 10 cakes using 1/4 cup of mixture each. They’re not big cakes (not burger sized), just average sized fish cakes. Remember, there are lots of other ingredients in there too besides the salmon!
Will these freeze well and taste good afterwards?
Hi Rivka, I have never frozen these. I assume they will probably freeze and reheat well, but with fish dishes I feel that freshly cooked is always best.
Sounds and looks delicious. How do you think they’d turn out if grilled?
Hi Maurice– the patties are very soft when they are formed, so I’m not sure they would hold up on a grill… they’re pretty delicate.
Mmmmmmmmmm !!!
Thanks Tori you hit it out the ball park with this!
I just found gluten-free Panko breadcrumbs at the store. This looks like a great recipe to try out with them! Thanks for another tasty recipe that incorporates visual and taste appeal altogether in one!
Multiple fish-gasm. Everything is better with a little Sriracha.
I got mine right in the grocery store! Asian section…
Asian hot chilli sauce: chilli paste, vinegar, garlic, sugar salt. Can get in any Asian super or online.
sriracha……What is that? And where do you buy it???
what is sriracha?? where can i find it in NJ- or what ingredients can i use to make it?
Hi Marcia– it’s a spicy pepper sauce. Nowadays it can be found in the Asian section of most grocery stores, it is quite popular.
Looks delish!
I would love to try this. What would you substitute for the Greek yogurt in the fish cake recipe?
How about coconut milk?
Dorine I would not use coconut milk here, the flavor would not be right and it’s too liquid– you need something thick and creamy for the proper texture.
Yes nondairy
Sarah what kind of a sub are you looking for? If dairy is ok, use sour cream as a sub. If dairy is not, use non-dairy sour cream (like Tofutti sour cream).
I have used coconut milk yogurt for dairy-free cooking. It’s thick like yogurt. Might try it.
That answers the question: What’s for Dinner? Thank you Tori Avey!
I’m way behind the curve here….I’ve never tried Sriracha…I even meant to get some last time at the grocery. …but …I have at least a half dozen red sauces I like already…mostly I like Tapatio, Louisiana Hot Sauce, and Cholula…but then again, I’m in North East Texas….but thanks for another reminder about the famous Sriracha, which I’ve yet to try.
This is the salmon cake recipe I’ve been searching for!
It just kept going. Sriracha •boom• My ears perked. Salmon •omg•. Cakes •you’re killing’ me•
Sriracha is an especially functional ingredient to add to seafood and other proteins with a high risk of food borne illness due to parasites and other bacterias because the capsaicin found in peppers actually also kills bacteria/parasites… 🙂 :*
That looks delish! I think Father’s Day Dinner has been decided!
These look great! You recommend baking…I have to ask: Do you recommend baking for health reasons or because you think that the baked ones taste better than the fried?
Hi Becky– the baked and fried tasted pretty much identical to me in all my tests. The fried ones “look” a little prettier (they brown a little more evenly) but the flavor is very much the same. I was surprised by that, actually, because most patty recipes like this taste better fried… but this particular one bakes up great. So I recommend the baking because of health reasons, and because you won’t be compromising on flavor, and why use the extra oil if you don’t need to? Plus you’ve already got the oven fired up from searing the salmon. On the other hand, frying them works perfectly well too! 🙂