If your Tik Tok feed hasn’t come across the girl making salmon and rice and reheating it in the microwave with an ice cube, then where the heck have you been?
Her name is Emily Mariko, and she takes a unique role in food Tik Tok. Why is she so popular? It’s the minimalistic approach. There’s no narrative, she just goes about her routine, makes the food and eats it. She is taking the foodies by storm and there is no holding her back.
When I came across Emily Mariko a couple of months back, I felt myself get sucked in. It was the video with her mashing up the leftover salmon, leftover rice, adding an ice cube into the small mound of rice, covering with wax paper and placing it into the microwave to reheat.
But why the ice cube? It’s simple really, it creates steam and will help to reheat the food thoroughly.
She’s most famous for that Tik Tok but the ones I enjoy are her trips to the grocery store or specialty grocery stores like Asian or Japanese type market stores. I’m always interested to see what she comes out with and how she uses every ingredient. Or when she has to prep all her vegetables for the week by rinsing, cutting and placing them in airtight containers or mason jars full of water to make them last longer (a great tip by the way!).
We cannot forget her iconic toaster oven, which she uses for all of her favorite pastries she picks up. The most satisfying of them all is her breakfast muffin making the egg perfectly runny when you slice through the center. But probably my favorite Tik Tok of all from her is her In-n-Out order: an animal-style cheeseburger with chopped chilies, animal-style fries with chopped chilies and a Coke. I’m a sucker for a burger in general and watching her dive into her customized order makes my dietitian-in-training heart so happy because it’s all about enjoying what you love, in moderation.
Emily Mariko is the relatable “it” food-tokker that has been giving us subtle tips and tricks around our kitchen and showing us that cooking can be fun and so tasty. Take the time to learn from her and embrace her style of cooking that leaves you making the face of yum like she does. After all, it’s the little things in life, like the joy of a simple meal.