Fish eggs spaghetti (2004-03-11)
Like many traditional Japanese foods that I don't like (Okay so I have flaws...), fish eggs would be high on my list.
There are basically three kinds of fish eggs on the market. Ikura(the roe of salmon), mentaiko(the roe of cod fish, and kazunoko(the roe of herring). Ikura is sold either raw or marinated in soy sauce. It is always eaten uncooked on top of rice because each wobbly egg just pops and disintegrates into nothing under heat.Mentaiko is marinated in sake, dashi(japanese stock), mirin, and chili powder before it is sold. It is eaten over rice or mixed with steamy hot spaghetti. The heat of the freshly-cooked spaghetti is enough to cook the eggs.
Kazunoko is dried and eaten with rice. It is a popular food eaten during New Year. The numerous tiny fish eggs in its sac symbolize multiple offsprings, hence descendents for the family.
To someone who doesn't even like cavier, moi, fish eggs are foul and wickedly fishy. The Japanese, as well as my husband, just love this stuff. So yesterday I cooked mentaiko spaghetti for KL. The dish is usually served with roasted nori(seaweed) strips, another fishy ingredient, sprinkled on top. Bon appetite!
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