Lazy Tuna Mentaiko Spaghetti

I usually use fresh mentaiko when making mentaiko spaghetti, but on days I'm feeling extremely lazy, I do resort to using a packet of pre-made mentaiko sauce. At first I was a little suspicious of mentaiko from a packet, but it isn't too bad, and the MSG it contains naturally makes it taste better. I find adding some canned tuna also adds to the flavour.

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Lazy Tuna Mentaiko Spaghetti
(serves 2)

200g spaghetti
1 packet mentaiko spaghetti sauce (I use S&B Spicy Cod Roe Spaghetti Sauce - there are 2 sauce sachets inside each packet, as well as shredded nori seaweed)
1 can tuna, drained (preferably in olive oil)

1. Cook the spaghetti according to the instructions, less one minute.
   
2. Add the drained tuna and mentaiko sauce to the spaghetti, and combine well over low heat. 
   
3. Sprinkle with shredded nori and serve immediately.
   

Note: There are many different brands of pre-made mentaiko sauces/mixes; some are dried, others a thickened sauce. Naturally, choose a brand which you prefer. They should be available at your local Japanese grocer or in supermarkets that stock Japanese products.

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Grilled Prawn Mentaiko Pasta

Yet another pasta. I was trying to use up leftover mentaiko pasta, so I just grilled some prawns and added them on top. I found these enormous tiger prawns from the supermarket (City Super). They were - huge! Compare the size with the other smaller prawns (and the "smaller" prawns are normal medium prawns, too, not shrimps!).

This dish is probably not good to eat very often for those watching their cholesterol... 


Mentaiko Spaghetti Bento

I don't often put spaghetti in a bento as the thought of cold spaghetti is not that appealing (unlike spiral pasta, which is fine cold as it is like a pasta salad) but today I made an exception... I had leftover mentaiko (cod roe) spaghetti from last night's dinner, and I couldn't let it go to waste.

It wasn't too bad cold. There was enough oil coating the pasta to keep it from sticking together, and if you like eating mentaiko, you won't mind it at room temperature. If you really dislike the thought of room temperature pasta and have access to a microwave,  you can also pack it into a microwaveable bento and zap it for a minute before eating. (Add a few drops of water before microwaving or the pasta will dry out.)

I was also thrilled because I could use one of my new bento sets that arrived in the mail on Saturday! The cute apple container has chinese pear, strawberries and kiwi fruit inside.

Mentaiko spaghetti is a popular Japanese-style fusion pasta dish in Japan. Click here for my mentaiko spaghetti recipe.




Mentaiko Spaghetti #2

The Ode to Hokkaido Weekend concluded on Sunday night with my 2nd attempt at Mentaiko Spaghetti - a Japanese-style fusion pasta. (Ok, so this dish is not really Hokkaido-specific, but it still fits my Japanese food theme...)

I actually measured out the ingredients this time, so I could write up a proper recipe. I'd written out rough instructions before, but I'm trying to be a little more exact, so here's a proper recipe for Mentaiko (or tarako) spaghetti (Mentaiko is marinated pollock roe, and Tarako is salted roe, usually from pollock):

Mentaiko/Tarako Spaghetti
(Serves 2)

250g thin spaghetti
130g (or 2 sacks) Alaskan or walleye pollock (cod fish) roe
20g butter
2 tsp light olive oil
2 tsp rice wine vinegar
4 tsp lemon juice
1 tsp Japanese mayonnaise (I use Kewpie brand)
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
chilli oil (optional)
shredded nori (seaweed)

Here's what the roe looks like in its sacks.

1. Gently slice open the cod roe sacks and scoop out the cod roe. I slit open one end and use the back of a spoon to squeeze the roe out of the sack (as if you are squeezing out the filling from a sausage).

Here's the squeezed out roe (on top) and the empty membrane sacks (bottom).

2. Cook the spaghetti according to the timing on the packet instructions, less 1 minute. Drain, then pour back into the pot. 

3. Add the butter, and melt it using the heat from the spaghetti. Add the light olive oil (or other oil) and mix to coat the spaghetti. I add a mix of butter and oil, so it is slightly healthier, but if you like, you can just add more butter and no oil. 

4. Add the cod roe and mix. If your spaghetti is getting cold, you can do this on low heat.

5. Add the mayonnaise, rice wine vinegar, lemon juice, then a dash of salt and pepper. If you like your pasta spicy, sprinkle in a few drops of chilli oil. 

6. Mix well together, then taste. Add more seasoning if necessary.

7. Serve immediately, sprinkled with some shredded nori (seaweed).

Tip: If the pasta is drying out, add a bit of olive oil and/or water (not too much water, just a splash).

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mentaiko/tarako spaghetti

My 1st attempt at making mentaiko spaghetti, and I'm very happy because it turned out better than expected! Actually, upon reflection, I bought tarako (salted pollock roe) so it was tarako spaghetti, not mentaiko (spicy pollock roe). I was a little concerned YH may not like it, as he's not tried it before, and it could be a little fishy I suppose, although how could anyone not like cod roe?! But YH loved it - he was even hoping for seconds, and was really really sad there wasn't any! I'd taken his do-not-cook-too-much-pasta to heart, so we only had one bowl each. Actually the serving portion was just right, and left us looking forward to eating it again soon.

Update: see attempt #2 for a more precise recipe.

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I read about 4-5 different recipes for mentaiko pasta that I found online to get an idea of how to make it, then headed off to the kitchen. I didn't use proper measurements, but just estimated according to the amount of pasta and seasoned to taste. The different recipes I'd read varied as to what to add - so I just sort of picked the items that I thought would work best.

The lemon juice I added at the end was a bit of an inspiration, because the pasta was tasting quite fishy - I needed something sour to cut through the fishiness of the roe, and the vinegar I'd previously added wasn't doing the job (and I didn't want to add too much vinegar as it would overpower the pasta), so I think the lemon juice worked well. In the end, the tastes combined really well and were quite complex. Not too fishy, not too sour, not too salty - just a nice balance of everything, and the roe added a lovely texture to the spaghetti. I'd bought cream in advance, thinking I needed to add it, but I'm glad I didn't, as it was definitely rich enough with the butter and roe. I think cream would have been overkill... I usually use olive oil for pasta instead of butter, but this time, I think it really needed the butter to add to the taste, as it didn't have any garlic/onion in it.

Mentaiko/Tarako Spaghetti

thin spaghetti (for 2 people) (I used Barilla Spaghetti no.5 - which is a thin spaghetti, as opposed to say San Remo Spaghetti no.5 which is much thicker)

2 sacks cod fish roe (mentaiko or tarako)

butter (around 30 - 40g?)

Japanese mayonnaise (I used Kewpie brand)

rice wine vinegar

soy sauce

sea salt

lemon juice

chicken stock powder

shredded nori (seaweed)

1. Cook the spaghetti according to the packet instructions. Set aside.
   
2. Cut open cod roe sacks, scoop out the cod roe.
   
3. Melt butter in pot. Add cod roe, mix.
   
4. Over low heat, add spaghetti, mix to coat spaghetti in roe.
   
5. Season to taste, according to how much pasta you have. Add bit of mayonnaise, splash of rice wine vinegar, pinch sea salt, dash soy sauce, few squirts of lemon juice, sprinkle of chicken stock powder. Taste. Add more lemon juice, salt if necessary. If the pasta is drying out, add a bit of olive oil and/or water (not too much water, just a splash).
   
6. Serve immediately, sprinkled with some shredded nori.
   

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