Half-Half Ikura (Salted Gently Seasoned Salmon Caviar)

I picked up a pound of sujiko, which is fresh salmon roe still in its sack, from Mitsuwa on our way back from an Aikido seminar yesterday. Both of my kids absolutely love ikura, which is the cured version, but it’s so expensive that I usually only buy it at the supermarket as a special treat. Making it myself and then freezing portions seemed like the most cost effective way to keep it on hand.

On most websites, I can only find the seasoned (ajitsuke) version, which I don’t like as much since I often find the soy sauce and mirin flavor to be overpowering. I love what I thought was just the plain salted version, but after salt-curing the roe myself and taste-testing, it was missing something as far as flavor went.

I decided to experiment, and came up with this half-half version, where the seasonings are so subtle they only serve to enhance the flavor rather than mask it. It tastes just like the type we get at really nice sushi restaurants, with a slight extra umami oomph to it.

My only issue is that since I didn’t have the right tool to separate the individual eggs from the membrane, it took me about half an hour to do so by hand.

Ingredients

• 1 lb Sujiko (sac of fresh salmon roe), about 0.8 lbs separated
• 1 tablespoon sea, kosher, or pink himalayan salt
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon dashi stock powder
• 1 tablespoon mirin or sake

1. In a bowl of water, carefully separate the individual salmon roe from the sac. If you don’t have the took for it, using your hands, push each egg out of the membrane. They are stronger than you think but still require careful handling. Throw away the membrane.
2. The eggs and the water they sit in will turn cloudy. Rinse until the water runs clear.
3. In a bowl, combine the roe with salt, soy sauce, dashi stock powder, and mirin/sake. They will turn back to clear. Cure in the fridge for at least 2 hours, best if overnight.
4. Periodically drain and remove the excess liquid.
5. Serve on top of hot rice with thinly sliced shiso or scallions.