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If you’ve ever scraped cod fish roe out of its sacks, I commend you. For a lazy home cook like me, I’d take this easy to use pouch any day. Kanefuku’s Spicy Mentaiko Caviar makes it incredibly easy for me to make my favorite Japanese pasta dish, Creamy Mentaiko Udon, in no time! (https://www.kanefuku.co.jp/eng/company/)
What is Mentaiko?
Mentaiko is Alaska Pollack (cod family) Roe, spiced with powdered red pepper and surrounded by a thin, elastic membrane. Mentaiko is usually pink to dark red. (Source)
Mentaiko is salty, and can be used in a wide variety of ways – with rice, in soups, stews and in pasta dishes.
Kanefuku Frozen Spicy Mentaiko Caviar (Spicy Pollack Roe)
- Kanefuku offers their mentaiko caviar in a non-spicy version if you want to avoid any spice.
- Kanefuku also sells whole mentaiko sacks if you’re looking to extract the roe yourself to season separately, or to simply enjoy whole!
- If you’ve never had mentaiko, it’s exactly what you’d expect – fishy and salty! The roe is tiny, which adds a lot of texture to any dish you add it to.
- This can be used in many different dishes, so be creative!
Honest Review/Thoughts
Kanefuku’s frozen mentiako packet is my favorite! I always need to have this pack in my freezer to easily make a quick, satisfying meal. It’s incredibly versatile – I use it for a number of dishes, such as onigiri, or menatiko cream pasta. You can practically add it to any dish you’d like!
I also love that it’s mess free. I’ve tried extracting the roe from the frozen cod sacks, but find it’s way more labor intensive. I would only purchase the whole sacks if I want to add it to a stew. Otherwise, Kanefuku’s packs are very convenient and highly recommended!
Rating: 9/10 | Spiciness: 2/10
COOKING INSTRUCTIONS
Here’s how to use Kanefuku Frozen Spicy Mentaiko:
(Serves 4)
- Cook pasta and drain.
- Add 4 Tbsp of Unsalted Butter to hot pasta until butter melts.
- Add 4 Tbsp of Heavy Cream and 6 Tbsp of Spicy Mentaiko to pasta and combine well.
- Garnish with chives or Furikake and serve.
Enjoy!
Where to Buy
I found Kanefuku’s Frozen Spicy Mentaiko Caviar in the frozen section at my local Korean market (Kukje Supermarket and H-Mart).
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