[Recipe] Mentaiko-style pasta
(日本語は下)
Today I'd like to share a dish that I had been wanting to make for quite some time: mentaiko pasta. Well, not exactly mentaiko because I had to improvise. Mentaiko is spicy pollock roe. A common ingredient in Japanese. According to what I've read online, mentaiko seems to have originated from Korea, where it is known as myeongnan. Japanese visitors loved it so much, they brought it back to Japan where it is now a common sight. The non-spicy version is called tarako.
Mentaiko and tarako have a unique texture because of the countless tiny roes (fish eggs). The mentaiko pasta is one of the many examples of Asian fusion. Perhaps one of the few positive things that came out of colonialism and imperialism, Asianised western food has taken an important role in the Asian diet. From Hong Kong's egg tarts to Vietnamese banh mi, Asians have adapted western food to suit their palates.
I almost gave up trying since mentaiko was not an easy ingredient to find and resigned myself to the fate that I have to wait until I visit Japan to taste it again. Luckily a few months back, an acquaintance shared on Instagram that there are canned pollock roes at the Eastern European/Russian grocery stores in Rotterdam: Bogatir and Nika Ru. In Russian, tarako is ikra mintaya.
Ingredients (mentaiko)
- Pollock roe: 65g
- (Korean) Chilli powder: 1 teaspoon
- [Optional] Cooking rice wine/sake: 1/2 teaspoon
- Soy sauce: 1/4 teaspoon
- Mix all the ingredients. The cooking rice wine (not mirin) is optional but it does help to remove the fishy smell.
Ingredients (pasta)
- Garlic: 2-3 cloves
- Onions: 1
- Mushrooms: 100-200g (see note)
- Mentaiko: from the previous section
- Cooking cream (kookroom): 4-6 tablespoons
- Soy sauce: 1/2 tablespoon
- Black pepper: 1-2 pinches
- Pasta: 4 servings
- [Optional] parsley (peterselie)
Note: For this recipe, I used eringi muschrooms, which I bought at the Binnenrotte market, in the recipe but shiitake and regular mushrooms should also be fine.
- Chop the garlic and onions and fry with some oil. I like my onions brown.
- If you can multitask, cook the pasta as well.
- Add in the mushrooms and continue frying till cooked.
- Add in the mentaiko paste, soy sauce, black pepper and cooking cream. Adjust the amount of cream based on your creaminess preference. I used around 5 tablespoons.
- Add in the cooked pasta, mix well and serve.
- Garnish with parsley if desired.
The mentaiko paste is also great with bread.
Thanks for reading! Hope you try this recipe.
I would love to hear your comments and suggestions.
[レシピ]明太子風パスタ
海外に住んでから恋しい日本食はありますか?私はオランダに来てから、明太子が食べたくて探し回りましたが、見つけませんでした。数ヶ月前、インスタで情報が入って、ロッテルダムの東欧・ロシアスーパー(BogatirとNika Ru)でたらこの缶詰が買えるってことを知りました。買いたかったけど、ずっと品切りで、ついに先週手に入れました。
辛いもの好きだから、今回の投稿で、このたらこを使って、明太子風パスタを作ることについて書きたいと思います。
材料(明太子)
- たらこ:65g
- (韓国の)唐辛子粉:小さじ1
- [好みで]料理酒/清酒:小さじ1/2
- 醤油:小さじ1/4
- すべての材料を混ぜます。 酒はオプションですが、魚臭を消します。
材料(パスタ)
- にんにく:2〜3かけ
- 玉ねぎ:1玉
- きのこ:100-200g(注)
- 明太子:上の
- クッキングクリーム(kookroom):大さじ4-6
- 醤油:大さじ1/2
- 黒コショウ:1〜2つまみ
- パスタ:4人前
- [好みで]パセリ(peterselie)
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