Sujiko to Ikura

Ever wonder how cured or marinated salmon roe gets to be the way it is?

I never did until I saw a beautiful orange sack of salmon roe at the Japanese Market. I took a closer look and to my surprise, it was an entire encased sack of it! First time I tried to make this was almost two years ago and since then I wasnt able to find it at the market again. Only recently (within the last 4-5 months) did I find some more. It is an extremely laborious process as the membranes need to be separated cleanly.

 (sujiko)

Ingredients:

- Sujiko

- Light Soy Sauce

- Mirin

- Sake

1. While soaking the salmon roe in about 35°C water - about nearly hot water from the faucet , separate the skin/membrane from the eggs so they disperse. Once the membrane touches the warm water, it will turn white allowing it to be more visually effective to separate

2. Drain in a colander and gently use a knife to cut off and remove the remaining membrane. I ran my hands through this multiple times until the water had cleared and all I had left was the roe. The color of the roe will change slightly and decrease in size. Dont worry, this is normal - once you begin the marinade, osmosis will allow for the roe to plump back up and change colors.

3. Place the roe in a dish, add the mariade, and marinate for at least 5 hours. I would be conscious to use less salty marinade since I do keep it in the marinade over night. Watch as the color changes from a white-ish/pink roe to a clear brilliant roe color that you are used to seeing. 

  

(Osmosis in the process)

4. Once marinating is complete, enjoy over white rice with avocado, wasabi, shisho leaf and seaweed!

The texture of the freshly made ikura is different than the ones you'll find at the store or restuarants. They pop in your mouth and they're quite fun to eat! If you are unable to finish them, they're good in the refrigerator for about a week but also hold great in the freezer. It does not change the taste or texture. Enjoy!

Celebrations all around!

We, as a family are always looking for reasons to go out and eat! Perhaps thats where I get my foodie side from. This was a pretty special meal for us. We were celebrating my brother in laws belated birthday, my cousins early birthday/graduation, and the most special of all, my parents 35th anniversary. My sister picked out a wonderful restaurant right in Kips Bay called Momokawa known for their shabu shabu/sukiyaki. I've heard great things about this place from her but we had to see it for ourselves. When I walked in, I was slightly confused since there was a hostess stand but no one in sight. After one family came in and walked up the narrow staircase, I followed and realized, there was no hostess on the first floor.

Here is what we ordered:
- hamachi (yellowtail) shabu pot - They are sold out extremely fast and we called 3 days ahead to make the reservation.
- wayshu beef shabu pot + two extra orders of beef (alacarte)
- uni: served with freshly grated wasabi and nori. Very fresh uni and I couldnt get enough!
- homemade tofu: nothing too special, but refreshing and good
-  oyakodon with salmon flakes and ikura
- grilled hamachi belly
- grilled hamachi fish pocket

There were so many dipping sauces for all of the dishes, it got confusing! Though it was confusing, given the right combination, it became a great marriage of flavors. The hamachi pot shown below came with vegetables, mushrooms, glass noodles, and sliced hamachi. The sliced hamachi could also be eaten as sashimi and they provided soysauce and wasabi (freshly ground). I think that was one of the best parts of dinner. Most of us didnt even want to shabu the fish! The pot for the hamachi was a daikon broth with lots of grated daikon. The beef shabu pot was very traditional and the beef was fatty and tender. 3 seconds in the brother and it was good enough to eat. Unfortuantely for the 6 of us, the beef wasnt enough so we added two more orders of the beef. The a la carte beef was not as tender or fatty as the wayshu beef so make sure you order wayshu. We also wanted the red snapper head but that was sold out as well. We settled on a yellow tail fish pocket and grilled yellowtail belly. It was probably the best grilled fish I have had in a long time. The skin was crispy and slightly seasoned with salt and the fish was very fine and fresh. No bones either which was a plus! At the end of the two pots, they gave us some udon which were to be cooked int he broths and tossed in wasabi salt combo. Delicious! We opted out of dessert since we had cake at home but I'd definitely go back again but never without reservations!

One year older, one year wiser

I picked RobatayaNY for a close friends birthday not only because I heard great things about it but heard about the food and the intimate atmosphere. Since we didnt have reservations, we had to wait a bit but service at the front was great. I put my name down and when our table was ready, which was less than the promised time, I received a call on my cellphone. We walked in and was a little taken aback by the market like action going on. Once you walk past the front counter area, the back area resembled a Japanese garden. It was absolutely soothing and made you feel at home. We were able to catch up and eat at our own pace. Service was polite but not pushy. So the three of us girls decided to order a few small dishes and two main entrees. First up was the grilled uni topped with konbu which is a type of japanese seaweed. My take on uni is that if it's fresh, it should only be eaten raw. However I was pleasantly surprised. The portion was a good size for what it was. The texture was smooth and creamy. The konbu added a nice touch to it. Next came the 5 sashimi special. This included salmon, tuna, red snapper, seabass. All five types were fresh and it was a good selection of fish. A plus would be the freshly grated wasabi. Since its not so easily found in markets around here, I tend to overdose on it and make myself cry but my goodness its a great feeling. Third dish came the grilled stingray fin. We wanted to try something a bit unusual. This came with a small scoop of sweet miso and a slice of lemon. Very well paired and we were told the cartilage was edible. It was a bit hard. The meat of the fun was extremely fine and well cooked. Our other main dish was a grilled ribeye cooked medium rare and perfectly medium rare it was. It was served with a dipping sauce that resembled aujus with a bit of light soy sauce. Lastly we ordered two orders of grilled rice cakes. We didn't want to order rice or noodles but we needed substance. When I was in Japan I would eat this every morning. They're grilled mochi squares that are brushed with a light layer of soy sauce and ten wrapped in seaweed. Filling, simple, and delicious! Of course we couldnt leave without dessert. We ordered a green tea ice cream topped with soybean powder and brown sugar syrup and mung bean/green tea soup with strawberries an rice cakes. The soupy dessert was a bit sweet for me but the ice cream brought me home to Japan. I loved the experience here and I will be coming back except I'll be sitting at the front counter area where all the action is taking place! Anyway, happy birthday Melissa!