Happy Monday everyone! I hope you had a good start to the short week and no one had the Monday blues! (: Even if you did, hopefully this post would brighten up your day a little bit! hehe Recently, I chanced upon a small packet of flying fish roe (toboki) and just had to buy it! There was one dish I’ve been wanting to get, but couldn’t get hold of any fish roe to make it! So you can imagine when I saw it, I knew what I was going to make for dinner that day – seafood mentaiko pasta! Mmmmm (:
Mentaiko is just a cream-based fish roe sauce that is so delicious and not overly heavy. I know many a times, when you have cream-based pasta, it tends to be a little too thick and you end up not being able to finish the plate. But trust me, this is one creamy pasta which you would want to slurp every single drop and be tempted to lick the plate! hehe I first had this pasta many years back in Singapore at a Japanese cafe. It was the first time I had pasta at a Japanese cafe and I totally loved it! Just couldn’t have enough! Till this day, I could still remember the taste of it, and that to me means it was one super-awesome-yummilicious dish!
So I headed to my favourite Japanese blog, Just One Cookbook, that always had amazing recipes ( do head to her blog and look at her beautiful bento boxes for her children, so so detailed and I can just imagine how excited they are when they see it! ). I changed it up a little bit but the sauce was delicious! In fact, the sauce wasn’t thick or heavy at all, which was great! hehe To add a little more richness to the dish I added a soft boiled egg so the runny yolk would flavour the sauce too. The mr and sister-in-law loved it! So I urge you to give this a try, especially if you like cream-based pastas! hehe
Seafood Mentaiko Pasta (adapted from Just One Cookbook, serves 6)
1kg seafood marinara
1 packet (about 50-100g) of tobiko (flying fish roe)
3 tbs japanese mayonnaise (kewpie)
3/4 cup of thickened cream
30g unsalted butter
2 small onions, finely chopped
4 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
1 cup fish stock
salt & pepper, to taste
shredded nori (seaweed), to garnish
6 soft boiled eggs, to serve
250g pasta (I used linguini but you can use any you fancy)
Steps :
1) In a large bowl, mix the tobiko, mayonnaise and cream gently until well combined. Set aside.
2) Boil a pot of water and cook the pasta according to the instructions on the packet. Drain and run it under cold water to make sure they don’t stick together. Set is aside.
3) In a heavy based pan or pot, add the butter and allow it to melt completely before adding the chopped onions and garlic. Fry till fragrant, with caution not to burn it or it will taste bitter.
4) Add the seafood marinara and mix it well to make sure it is coated with the buttery onion and garlic mixture. Add the fish stock and allow it simmer for 15 minutes or until the seafood is completely cooked through.
5) Use a strainer to take the seafood out and place them in the creamy tobiko mixture, reserving the liquid in the pot. Give it a good stir and make sure the seafood is well coated with the creamy sauce. Bring the liquid in the pot to a boil and reduce it till about around 1/4 cup and add that to the seafood mixture. Then add the pasta and slowly stir to combine everything together. Season with salt and pepper, careful not to over salt it as the tobiko can be quite salty (depending on how much you put)!
6) To serve, place some pasta and seafood on a plate, and add some mentaiko sauce. Top the pasta with a soft boil egg and sprinkle with some shredded nori. Cut through the egg and allow the egg yolk to flavour and thicken the sauce. ENJOY!
PS : Just found out mentaiko is different from tobiko! But you can use either and it will still be delish I’m sure! Sorry about that! (:
Have a great short week ahead dearest readers and remember to always cook and bake with love! (:
Food Made With Love 
Perfect. Anything seafood = love.
I have to agree! I do love my seafood too! hehe
I cannot tell you how much I love this post. If only I could lick my screen and the pasta would magically pop out haha.
haha you’re so funny Rach! (: But so glad you enjoyed this post! hehe x
Mentaiko is the cured spicy version of cod/pollock and it tastes slightly different than tobiko. Both yummy though. Your pasta looks very luscious! 🙂
ooo thanks for telling me! haha I just thought they are almost the same! oh-oh haha thanks for the info babe! x
No worries. Some people can’t take the Mentaiko taste as it’s smellier. Hehe
I did a less luxurious version. http://kellysiewcooks.com/2012/07/25/mentaiko-明太子-pasta-with-mushrooms/
haha nice! (: x yumyum!
OHHHH YUM!!!! My favourite!!!!
Ok, im definitely gonna give that a try!
hehe yay! It’s my fav too! hehe Enjoy it dearie! xx
This looks insanely gooooood. I love my pastas and a bit of mentaiko stirred in with cream sounds like the most perfect accompaniment.
PS. I’ve only just discovered Just One Cookbook (being the noob I am) and I’m dying to try her recipes out ASAP. Might start off with a few rice dishes before trying this dish though!
hehe I’m very sure you will love it with the mentaiko cream! TOO GOOD TO RESIST! hehe and yes! Do try her recipes! they are all super yum and good! hehe xx
Lianne! Thanks for trying my recipe! I think Kelly mentioned above already that tobiko and mentaiko are different but they do look similar. Mentaiko comes in a sac and they are spicy. I’m glad the creamy sauce worked out and your seafood pasta looks SO delicious. I’m sure your guests were really pleased with this beautiful dish. Thank you very much for the kind mention. I’m happy to know that your reader libishski came to visit my site as well. Thank you!!! xo
BTW just shared your link on my page. Hope that was ok. 🙂
tha’ts definitely okay! Thanks so much dearie! and yes, I’ve learnt something new! hehe thank you again for letting me know the difference! hehe Really good to be able to learn something! hehe and thank you for your recipe! xx
I’ve never heard of such a combination before but it sounds absolutely delightful 🙂
Thank you Tina! hehe you should really try it dearie! (: hehe it’s addictive! hehe xx
This looks like HEAVEN!!! I never thought to put seaweed on as well. Can’t wait to make this 😀
hehe Let me know what you think! hehe It’s one of my favourite sauce for my pasta and can never have enough! xx