emily mariko

Everything you need to know about Emily Mariko aka the girl behind the salmon rice TikTok

Ok but why aren’t we best friends yet?


I’ll be honest with you, I thought influencers were over. The content was repetitive, there was no originality and they were all clearly in it for the money. I didn’t believe what they were selling and got repetitive strain injury from the amount of times I clicked unfollow on Instagram. And then something truly groundbreaking happened – I found an influencer I loved and her name is Emily Mariko.

You might not know the name Emily Mariko but you will have already been influenced by her on TikTok. Every other video on our For Your Pages are people attempting to make those salmon ice rice microwave bowls. And it’s all thanks to Emily.

If for some bizarre reason your page is not full of microwaved fish then let me introduce you to the bowl – it’s cooked salmon, rice with a cube of ice in the middle covered with parchment paper and bunged in the microwave. Then the ice cube is removed to reveal perfectly steamed rice. Then Emily adds avocado, sriracha, soy sauce, kewpie mayo, kimchi and eats it all up with dried seaweed. It’s a simple enough recipe and yet it has the internet in a chokehold. Maybe it’s the recipe, or maybe it’s the organisation and ASMR, either way I just know I love her.

But just who is Emily Mariko? Well she’s actually been a content creator on Instagram, YouTube and TikTok for quite some time, but it wasn’t until the salmon bowl went viral that everyone truly appreciated her.

She feels like the epitome of the “that girl” vibe. She eats fresh veggies, has flawless skin and walks around in cute matching gym sets. However unlike so many other influencers who fit that description she seems like the exact girl you’d want to be mates with. Emily is currently being praised on TikTok for actually getting young women excited for eating normal food including the long demonised white rice and for this she will always have my respect.

via Instagram @emilymariko

She’s 29 years old, lives in California and this is everything else you need to know about her:

Emily has nearly 3million followers on TikTok

@emilymariko ♬ original sound – Emily Mariko

Thanks to the popularity of her salmon recipe Emily now has nearly 3million followers on her TikTok.

On her account she obviously posts her recipes and food hauls and that’s basically it, and yet here we are obsessed.

She does have more recipes on her TikTok

I know I was shocked too. Emily actually makes something else other than salmon rice and if you head to her TikTok you will discover a whole host of delicious healthy looking meals.

There’s salads, pasta, breakfast and of course variations on salmon and rice.

Emily is also big on YouTube and Instagram

Unlike her TikTok which is mainly food, her YouTube account is full of a variety of a content. Emily films clothing hauls, styling tips and vlogs of her life.

On YouTube she’s got just over 300,000 subscribers and some of her most popular videos have received nearly 2million views.

Emily’s Instagram is mainly focused on her love of fashion and she regularly shares outfit posts. She currently has 79,000 followers on there and her handle is @emilymariko.

She’s in a relationship

via Instagram @emilymariko

Emily is currently in a relationship with a guy called Matt who occasionally features in her videos. They’ve been together for six years and live together.

Emily went to Columbia University

According to her LinkedIn Emily attended Columbia University and graduated in 2014 with a BA in neuroscience and behaviour.

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