Karashi Mentaiko Supagetti 辛子明太子スパゲッティ Spaghetti With Mentaiko And My 600th Post

Do not judge a book by its cover and it is appropriate to use the saying to describe this rather ordinary looking pasta dish. What it lacks in the look department is aptly compensated by the unique and addictive flavour that will have you ask for more, a reason why I have chosen this to be my 600th post.

Apart from the furikake (rice seasoning) and shredded nori which are used as garnishes, everything else is of foreign origins. Despite that, this quirky and very tasty dish is quintessential Japanese, the willingness of the Japanese to experiment with non Japanese ingredients is why there are always surprises awaiting when one visits a Japanese eatery.

The star of the dish is of course the karashi mentaiko (marinated spicy pollock roe) or known as myeongranjeot in Korean. Though it was only introduced to Japan over a century ago, it is now considered a common ingredient in Japanese cooking. It is difficult to describe the taste of mentaiko; it is salty, savoury, fishy , a little spicy and utterly delicious! ... words failed me really so do make it one of the ingredients you must try before you die.

P.S My dear friend A had started a lunch group at work with 5 of her colleagues (each contribute a  fixed amount of money and each would take turn making lunch etc etc.) and I was quick to say yes when she asked me for my assistance when it was her turn to cook. This formed one of the components of her bento boxes.

recipe from the tummies' kitchen

serves 3 as part of a Japanese meal or bento

you'll need;

250g spaghetti, cooked until al dente

65g of karashi mentaiko (marinated spicy pollock roe), separated from the membranes and set aside

3 heap tbs of pure cream

4 heap tbs of kewpie mayonnaise (Japanese mayonnaise)

pepper to taste

shiso fumi furikake (shiso rice seasoning) or finely shredded fresh shiso leaves

shredded nori seaweed

You can find mentaiko at all Japanese and Korean grocers (ask for myeongranjeot) and this is the packaging of the one we used.

And this is how the marinated pollock roes look like. Remove the the tiny eggs simply by making an incision on one end of the roe and squeeze out the tiny eggs from the very thin membrane.

Shiso fumi furikake (shiso rice seasoning) and we used pure jersey cream from South Australia, available at La Latteria in Carlton.

Place mentaiko, cream, cupie mayonnaise in a large seasoning bowl and whisk until well combined, season with pepper. Meanwhile cook spaghetti with a large pot of salted water.

Place drain spaghetti into the bowl with the mentaiko cream mixture and mix well.

Sprinkle with shiso fumi furikake (or fresh shiso) and shredded nori seaweed.

Or seen here as part of the offerings in a bento. Please check out my tori no karaage (fried chicken) and recipe for origini (rice balls) and maze gohan (mixed rice balls) will be posted next so please stay tuned!