Go to any sushi restaurant in Japan and notice that "ikura" or salmon roe, is either written in katakana or hiragana. I was curious as to why it was often written in katakana--the alphabet designated to loanwords. I asked the master at
Sushi Danran about this curiosity. He told me that "ikura" イクラ comes from the Russian language. The Russian word for "caviar" is "ikra" hence, "ikura" in Japanese. Salmon roe is prevalent in Russia--so much so that they have
salmon roe flavored Lay's! Hit me up.
Last week, my fish monger had some beautiful sacs of salmon roe in his display. I snatched up 1/4 lb at $13.99/lb.
It comes in a membrane sac that holds together all the eggs. This sac must be removed, and the eggs marinated to resemble the ikura that is served in your sushi.
Ikura Shoyu Marinade
INGREDIENTS
1/4 lb. fresh salmon roe (sujiko)
3 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp sake
METHOD
1. Place sujiko in warm water and break the eggs away from the sac. The eggs are delicate so be careful when separating them from the membrane sack.
2. Once they are broken apart, rinse them through a colander with cold water.
3. Combine soy sauce and sake in a small saucepan and bring the mixture to a boil. Wait until the mixture cools down.
4. Place the ikura in a air-tight food storage container. Pour the liquid mixture over it.
5. Seal the lid on the container and place it in the refrigerator. Wait for a half day before eating.
Приятного аппетита! (Prijatnovo appetita)
Go to any sushi restaurant in Japan and notice that "ikura" or salmon roe, is either written in katakana or hiragana. I was curious as to why it was often written in katakana--the alphabet designated to loanwords. I asked the master at Sushi Danran about this curiosity. He told me that "ikura" イクラ comes from the Russian language. The Russian word for "caviar" is "ikra" hence, "ikura" in Japanese. Salmon roe is prevalent in Russia--so much so that they have salmon roe flavored Lay's! Hit me up.
Last week, my fish monger had some beautiful sacs of salmon roe in his display. I snatched up 1/4 lb at $13.99/lb.
It comes in a membrane sac that holds together all the eggs. This sac must be removed, and the eggs marinated to resemble the ikura that is served in your sushi.
Ikura Shoyu Marinade
INGREDIENTS
1/4 lb. fresh salmon roe (sujiko)
3 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp sake
METHOD
1. Place sujiko in warm water and break the eggs away from the sac. The eggs are delicate so be careful when separating them from the membrane sack.
2. Once they are broken apart, rinse them through a colander with cold water.
3. Combine soy sauce and sake in a small saucepan and bring the mixture to a boil. Wait until the mixture cools down.
4. Place the ikura in a air-tight food storage container. Pour the liquid mixture over it.
5. Seal the lid on the container and place it in the refrigerator. Wait for a half day before eating.
Приятного аппетита! (Prijatnovo appetita)
Comments (19)
ps – thanks for this, Yoko! I had given up on eating seasoned sujiko in the states until this.
I absolutely love ikura and have been looking for a marinade recipe! - Thank you!
Wow- thank you for this information. I have been really craving ikura recently and have been paying quite a bit to eat it ready-made at home. It was quite fun (and gross) making it, but it was definitely worth it.
We in alaska have salmon roe in abundance. my uncle just left here from work with 15 pounds of copper river red salmon roe. I sent him the like to this page and he is making this as i type. 15 pounds is a small amount for us here. People usually throw this into the river after cleaning their fish.E-mail me if anyone is interested in some roe!!! i can send you pictures of fresh roe coming out of the belly of the fish as we clean them.
Robert, That sounds like a dream! “People usually throw this into the river after cleaning their fish.” That BREAKS my heart! I want some roe! I would love to see some pictures of fresh roe coming out of the fish belly! Please send pictures to info@umamimart.com. Please let me know how this recipe turns out for you guys. I also posted a recipe using salt here:
http://www.umamimart.com/2012/03/japanify-ikuradon-ode-to-hokkaido/
i have a fishin cousin in cordova who shares generously but not ikura; 15 pounds omg; i think he throws it away; as an aside, anyone have ideas for sansho powders for fish or…; just got back from kyoto; what a grt spice
I shared the Japanify: Ikura Shoyu Zuke post and recipe with a friend who just returned from a fishing trip to Alaska. He returned with salmon roe and didn’t know what to do with it. I hope you’ll post the photos that Robert offered to share.
I never received the photos from Robert, although I am still very interested in seeing them. Thanks for sharing the recipe with your friend.
Excellent recipe. Much better then salted roe. I just made a batch from some fresh steelhead roe.
Most people around here use the roe of salmon and steelhead for bait.