Skip to main content
Epicurious
Cookbooks

Spaghettini with Fish Roe Dressing

By Harumi Kurihara

4.4

(4)

Image may contain Spaghetti Food and Pasta
Spaghettini with Fish Roe DressingTakahiro Imashimizu

Editor's note: This recipe is excerpted from Harumi's Japanese Cooking , by Harumi Kurihara. To read more about Harumi, click here.

Mentaiko Spaghettini

This is one of the most popular types of pasta in Japan and is a great example of how a foreign ingredient has been adapted to Japanese taste. I think you will find it quite an eye opener.

Ingredients Note:

Mentaiko is quite difficult to substitute. Its unique taste comes from the salting process and chili. Kombu cha powder may also be hard to substitute, but you can make something similar with a little strong fish stock.

Recipe information

  • Yield

    Makes 2 servings

Ingredients

6 oz. uncooked spaghettini
3 oz. mentaiko (see Ingredients Note)
2 tablespoons butter
nori seaweed to taste
shiso leaves or fresh basil and mint leaves to taste
1/2 teaspoon kombu cha powder
soy sauce to season
chopped green onion or chives to garnish

Preparation

  1. Step 1

    1. Boil the spaghettini in a pan of salted water until al dente.

    Step 2

    2. Soften the butter and beat until creamy. Remove the thin membrane form the mentaiko and mix the roe with the butter.

    Step 3

    3. Finely shred the dried seaweed (nori) and the shisho leaves.

    Step 4

    4. When the spaghettini is cooked, drain well. Immediately mix with the mentaiko and the better and season with kombu cha powder and soy sauce.

    Step 5

    5. Put onto a serving plate, sprinkle the dried seaweed and shisho leaves on top and garnish with green onions or chives.

Harumi's Japanese Cooking
TagsSpaghettiPastaJapaneseEast AsianAsianBasilHerbs & SpicesNoriSeaweedStarterDinnerNut FreeEasySimmerNew YearsCookbooks
Read More
Sofrito Bolognese
An ex-boyfriend’s mom—who emigrated from Colombia—made the best meat sauce—she would fry sofrito for the base and simply add cooked ground beef, sazón, and jarred tomato sauce. My version is a bit more bougie—it calls for caramelized tomato paste and white wine—but the result is just as good.
Vodka Gochujang Pasta
This pasta has some really big energy about it. It’s so extra, it’s the type of thing you should be eating in your bikini while drinking a magnum of rosé, not in Hebden Bridge (or wherever you live), but on a beach on Mykonos.
Spicy Carrot Rigatoni
Hailee Catalano transforms humble carrots into a beautifully creamy pasta sauce.
Miso-Peanut Hibachi Chicken
The magic of this hibachi chicken recipe comes from a combination of miso and peanut butter and how it beautifully caramelizes when it hits the grill.
Spicy Tinned Tuna Tostadas
Made with tinned fish and topped with mango and avocado, these vibrant tostadas won't break the bank.
Fufu
Fufu is a dish that has been passed down through many generations and is seen as a symbol of Ghanaian identity and heritage. Making fufu traditionally is a very laborious task; this recipe mimics some of that hard work but with a few home-cook hacks that make for a far easier time.
Chopped Salad With Sardines and Preserved Lemon
A feel-good meal full of crunchy veg and even crunchier pita chips.
Île Flottante
Originally called omelette à la neige (snow omelet) in reference to the fluffy snow-like appearance of the meringue, île flottante (floating island) has a lengthy history that dates back to the 17th century.