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Easy Japanese Mentaiko Spaghetti 明太子パスタ

Name: Easy Japanese Mentaiko Spaghetti 明太子パスタ
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 15 min
Cuisine: Japanese
Ingredients: 50g Mentaiko (approximately 1 Pollck Roe Sack); 300g Spaghetti; 1 tbsp Kosher Salt for cooking the spaghetti; 4 tbsp heavy cream; 2 tbsp unsalted butter (room temperature); 1 tbsp soy sauce; Freshly Ground Black Pepper; 50g Ikura (Salmon Roe); 50g Tobiko (Flying Fish Roe); Nori Strips; Furikake (Seaweed seasoning) for garnish; Shiso leaves

Mar 21, 2023 · 52 Comments

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Japanese Mentaiko Spaghetti Noodles 明太子パスタ is a creamy wafu pasta that is easy to make, delicious and packed with umami flavour! Made with just a handful of ingredients, this Japanese style pasta is al dente and loaded with the tender texture of creamy pops of fish roe with strips of nori seaweed.

This classic Japanese style spaghetti dish with a creamy mentaiko sauce is a popular menu item in many Japanese restaurants and is our household favorite! If you feel fancy, top this pasta noodle dish with sea urchin and ikura fish eggs!

> In This Post: Everything You'll Need For Delicious Spicy Mentaiko Pasta Recipe

Skip making mentaiko pasta recipe with mentaiko pasta packet purchased from Japanese grocery stores. Instead, use traditional seafood ingredients to make your homemade mentaiko mixture.

Check out this quick story summary of our recipe!

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> In This Post: Everything You'll Need For Delicious Spicy Mentaiko Pasta Recipe
What is Mentaiko?
Ingredients and Substitutes
Instructions
> Recipe
Easy Japanese Mentaiko Spaghetti 明太子パスタ

What is Mentaiko?

Mentaiko 明太子, the Japanese word preferred in the Fukuoka Prefecture, is a Japanese dish made of Alaskan pollock roe (cod roe). Raw mentaiko usually comes in sac membranes cured with salt, and other marinades like red chilli peppers and soy sauce.

Karashi Mentaiko (辛子明太子) is the Korean name for the Korean version dish of fermented pollock roe (myeongnan-jeot 명란젓). In 1949 during the Japanese occupation of Korea in World War II, Toshio Kawahara, founded the oldest mentaiko company called Aji no Mentaiko Fukuya" (ふくや).

He slightly modified myeongnan-jeot to suit Japanese tastes and introduced it as Karashi mentaiko. Tarako (鱈子) The milder, less spicy version in Japan.

Usually, mentaiko is a spicy cured pollack roe that is salty and savoury and never eaten in large amounts or as a main dish. It is served as a side dish with finely chopped green onions, sesame seeds and rice or as a filling in Onigiri rice balls.

Similar to tobiko (とびこ) is flying fish roe in Japanese cuisine, there are many different colors and flavors in mentaiko.

Some are spicy, some are yuzu flavored or just plain salted cod roe.

Do you love pasta dishes? Here are some of my favorite delicious and easy recipes I know you will love!

Ingredients and Substitutes

Mentaiko Japanese spaghetti is like a classic Japanese dish mixed with Western food applications aka Wafu Pasta recipe with spicy cod roe sauce.

This caviar pasta is easy to make and takes just a few Japanese ingredients available at your local Asian supermarket or Japanese grocery store.

Mentaiko - Your best bet to find Alaska pollock mentaiko is at your nearest Japanese market. A good substitute is tarako (cod roe that is prepared without red chili peppers) or tobiko (flying fish roe). Mentaiko adds a lovely pop of umami and depth of flavor to the pasta cream sauce.

Heavy Cream - heavy whipping cream is one of the main ingredients to make this Japanese-style pasta extra creamy. You may use Half and Half, whole milk or even oat milk for a dairy-free alternative!

Butter - Adding unsalted butter is a crucial ingredient that gives this creamy sauce extra depth. Use extra virgin olive oil if you prefer this simple dish healthier.

Pasta - you can use either spaghetti pasta, linguine or even udon noodles.

Optional Ingredients

Ikura Salmon Roe
Tobiko Flying Fish Roe
Nori Strips
Furikake (Seaweed seasoning) for garnish
Shiso leaves

Instant Mentaiko Pasta Sauce

Whenever we shop at our local Japanese grocery store, we see S&B Mentaiko Pasta Sauce to make instant spaghetti pasta noodles. There is no need to shortcut this spicy cod roe pasta dish, given how quick & Easy Japanese Mentaiko Spaghetti 明太子パスタ is to make at home!

Other Variations

Mentaiko Udon Noodles (mentaiko yakiudon)
Tarako Spaghetti

Instructions

This easy Mentaiko Pasta 明太子パスタ is quick and delicious Japanese food to make at home. Even if this is your first time with Japanese cooking, you can nail this recipe!

Cook spaghetti in a large pot of salted boiling water per packaged instructions until al dente. Add one tablespoon of salt.

To make mentaiko pasta sauce, add heavy cream, room-temperature unsalted butter, and soy sauce to a mixing bowl. Mix well to combine. If you do not have time bring the butter to room temperature, don't worry, the hot pasta will melt the butter.

Use a sharp knife and cut the pollack roe sac open on a cutting board. Remove the roe from the sac with a spoon. Discard the membrane.

Add the pollack roe to the mentaiko pasta sauce and mix well.

Once the spaghetti is cooked, drain and transfer to a large serving bowl. Reserve starchy pasta water.

Spoon mentaiko pasta sauce over spaghetti and toss to evenly combine.

Garnish with ikura, tobiko, nori seaweed strips, furikake seasoning or shiso leaves.

Serve and enjoy.

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What To Serve With Japanese Mentaiko Spaghetti Noodles

I love loading my Creamy Mentaiko Wafu Pasta with lots of ikura and tobiko on top. The bright fresh pop of fish roes really livens up this umami rich spaghetti!

This is a great recipe when you are looking for an easy but delicious Japanese cuisine comfort food.

Complete the meal with the following delicious dishes.

I'd love to see how you went with my recipes! Leave a comment below or tag me on Instagram @INSTANOMSS #INSTANOMSS.

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