April 27, 2010

Tarako (Cod Roe) Spaghetti/たらこスパゲティー

Tarako spaghetti is huge in Japan, as you can see from the results of a Google image search for tarako spaghetti in Japanese.
Most of them are the same in that the tarako is separated into individual bits, with the sac skin removed, but my version has developed in a different way.
たらこスパゲティのGoogleイメージ検索でも分かるように、日本ではたらこスパゲティは人気があります
多くは、たらこの皮を取って、一粒づつに分けているという点で同じですが、私のたらこスパゲティは違ったふうに発展してきました。

I simply cut each tarako into smaller pieces, without removing the roe skin.
皮は取らず、たらこをそれぞれ小さく切ります。

I put them in a small container, add some sake, and heat in the microwave.
小さな容器に入れ、お酒を入れ、電子レンジで加熱します。


Each diner is requested to garnish their portion with toppings and season it according to their preferences.
I topped mine with nori and katsuobushi, and seasoned with noodle soup concentrate.
食べる人が好みに応じて、自分の分にトッピングしたり、味付けをしたりしてもらいます。
私は自分の分は海苔と鰹節の載せ、濃縮の麺つゆで味付けしました。

2 comments:

Yangsze said...

Hi Hiroyuki, that is so interesting! What about the spaghetti -- is it just served as is or do you toss it in a little olive oil? I actually make my tarako spaghetti with lots of enokitake mushrooms.

First I put oil (usually grapeseed oil which I can get here in California) in the pan, sometimes with a small pat of butter added as well (I find butter alone can be too rich). Then I put in the enokitake mushrooms (separated) and fry gently until they wilt. At this point I add the tarako (which I scrape out of the sac) and a little bit of the pasta water if it seems too dry, then finish with a couple of pats of butter, toss the hot spaghettini in and serve with chives or minced green onion. The enokitake soaks up all the tarako flavour and blends in with the spaghettini. Sometimes I use other mushrooms such as crimini or even fresh shiitake, sliced thinly, but enokikate is my favourite for this dish, because it is so sweet, mild and slightly crunchy.

Hiroyuki said...

YSC: Not olive oil but margarine!

My initial version of tarako spaghetti contained ingredients such as:
Onion, thinly sliced
Buna shimeji
Tarako, separated into individual bits, with skin removed.
These ingredients were pan-fried in salad oil before being mixed with boiled spaghetti. Then, the spaghetti was seasoned with concentrated noodle soup, and topped with nori and katsuobushi before being served.
My tarako spaghetti has undergone several changes to reflect the preferences of my family, and what I showed in the post is my latest version.