I Made Ikura at home

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1. Autumn marks the season when salmon return to their spawning rivers, bellies full of vibrant orange roe. In Japan, the fish section of our supermarkets light up with coral filets of akijake (fall salmon) and vivid orange skeins of salmon roe. The whole skeins of roe are called sujiko in Japanese, and when the individual eggs are separated and cured, it becomes ikura. The process isn’t as difficult as you’d imagine, and if you can get your hands on fresh sujiko, it’s pretty easy to make ikura at home. I like to bring my ikura in a combination of sake, dashi soy sauce, sugar, and salt, which loads each pearl up with umami, and it’s delicious over a bowl of piping hot rice. If you want the full recipe I’ve [posted it here](https://youtu.be/rH46QuEhTKc).

2. Looks amazing

3. Awesome! This brings back memories when my grandmothers used to make it and I could eat large portions without feeling (too) guilty.

   A few notes for the readers:

   – Sujiko itself (ie before you turn it into ikura) is also delicious and commonly consumed in Japan.
   – In supermarkets in Japan, they typically sell salted sujiko that’s ready to eat. If you’re looking to make ikura, try to find ones that aren’t salted or ask the person in the store.
   – It probably goes without saying but make sure you get a good, trusted source for your salmon roe!
   – A perhaps more common method used to separate the individual eggs from the membrane is to put it in hot (about 60c-65c) water with some salt added and mix it around. This will help the eggs to naturally separate from the membrane and should be easier and cleaner for most people. Note that the water does need to be sufficiently hot (but not too hot or else the eggs will start to cook), or else the eggs won’t separate. Using hot salt water will also help to wash away unwanted impurities and odors and help to kill parasites. According to the Japanese Ministry of Health, parasites should die when exposed to 60c temperatures for 1min.

   Here are some videos of the hot water method (in Japanese but I think the egg separation parts should be straight forward enough for most people to follow)

   – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AX_KpaN9OwM
   – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-qHc8bafIx0
   – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cELbl0pvD2o

4. Wow

5. Ikura nandemo…
   (Japanese pun, sort of, haha)

6. Yum salmon pop bobas !

7. I’m so jealous. Ikura is $89/lb in my area and it’s my favorite thing