Photo courtesy of Emily Mariko

Many San Luis Obispo High School students have seen the new obsession of TikTok on their For You Pages: salmon rice bowls.

The trend was started by the user @emilymariko, a content creator who makes videos where she makes meals, talks about her grocery store purchases, and sometimes just a simple day in her life. 

“I love salmon rice bowl girl. Her videos are so satisfying to watch, and it’s so cool seeing people’s recreations of her recipes,” said junior Olivia Cusick. 

Her TikTok went viral due to the simplicity and beauty of her leftover salmon bowl.

All a person would need is leftover rice, salmon, an avocado, and sriracha. She steams the rice in the microwave with an ice cube and parchment paper. She shreds the salmon on top of the rice and finally tops it off with the condiment. The video is minimalistic, she doesn’t speak, the editing is clean, and it’s filmed in her beautiful, bright kitchen. 

However, there’s much more life behind that uber-popular video. A noticeable feature of her food-based content is the lack of diet culture or shame. She eats healthy portions and doesn’t restrict herself, at least in what she publishes online. That’s pretty rare among popular influencers, especially those who are being paid to advertise products like flat tummy teas. 

She also is a proponent of not wasting food, and will sometimes film videos in which she shows the groceries she buys, and then at the end of the week will film a video showing the lack of leftover food. Again, this is rare among influencers, who often stock their fridges with more food and beverages than is necessary before their next grocery trip.

Emily Mariko is a refreshing break from the typical habits of majorly popular TikTok users.  It will be interesting to see how she uses her platform going forward.