Pollock roe, also pollack roe (also known as myeongnan and tarako) is the roe of Alaska pollock (Gadus chalcogrammus) which, despite its name, is a species of cod. Salted pollock roe is a popular culinary ingredient in Korean, Japanese, and Russian cuisines.
Alaska pollock roe | |||||||
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Korean name | |||||||
Hangul | 명란 | ||||||
Hanja | |||||||
Literal meaning | Alaska pollock roe | ||||||
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Japanese name | |||||||
Kanji | |||||||
Kana | たらこ | ||||||
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Russian name | |||||||
Russian | икра минтая | ||||||
Romanization | ikra mintaya |
Names
editThe purely Korean name for pollock, myeongtae had been assigned the Chinese character form
Korean
editAs aforementioned, Alaska pollock in Korean is myeongtae (명태,
The salted roe dish is called myeongnan-jeot (명란젓), being considered a type of jeot (젓) or jeotgal, which is a category of salted seafood.
Japanese
editIn Japanese, (salted) pollock roe is called tarako (
Pollock roe cured with red chili pepper are
Russian
editIn Russian, pollock roe is called ikra mintaya (икра минтая). The word is also used to referred to the salted roe. The Russian word ikra (икра) means "roe" and mintaya (минтая) is the singular genitive form of mintay (минтай), which means Alaska pollock. The word is also derived from its Korean cognate, myeongtae (명태).
History
editKorea
editKoreans have been enjoying pollock roe since the Joseon era (1392–1897). One of the earliest mentions are from Diary of the Royal Secretariat, where a 1652 entry stated: "The management administration should be strictly interrogated for bringing in pollock roe instead of cod roe."[6] Recipe for salted pollock roe is found in a 19th-century cookbook, Siuijeonseo.
Japan
editA 1696 Japanese book records the use of Alaska pollock's roe in Northern land.[7]
The dish mentaiko originates from Korea, but after more than 100 years of modification, most of the pollack roe consumed in Japan is Japanese mentaiko.[8]
[9]
[10][11][12][13][14] Toshio Kawahara (
Consumption
editAlternative names | Myeongnan Myeongnan-jeot Tarako Mentaiko Ikra mintaya |
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Type | Jeotgal |
Course | Banchan |
Place of origin | Korea |
Associated cuisine | Korean cuisine Japanese cuisine Russian cuisine |
Main ingredients | Roe of Alaska pollock |
Salted Alaska pollock roe | |||||||
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Korean name | |||||||
Hangul | 명란젓 | ||||||
Hanja | |||||||
Literal meaning | Alaska pollock roe jeotgal | ||||||
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Japanese name | |||||||
Kanji | |||||||
Kana | たらこ/(からし)めんたいこ | ||||||
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Russian name | |||||||
Russian | икра минтая | ||||||
Romanization | ikra mintaya |
Korea
editTraditionally, myeongnan-jeot was made before dongji (winter solstice). Intact skeins of Alaska pollock roe are washed carefully with salt water, then salted in a sokuri (bamboo basket). The ratio of salt to roe ranges from less than 5:100 to more than 15:100. After 2–3 days, salted and drained roe is marinated for at least a day with fine gochutgaru (chilli powder) and finely minced garlic. myeongnan-jeot is usually served with sesame seeds or some drops of sesame oil.
Myeongnan-jeot, whether raw, dried, and/or cooked, is a common banchan (side dish) and anju (food served with alcoholic beverages). It is also used in a variety of dishes, such as gyeran-jjim (steamed egg), bokkeum-bap (fried rice), and recently in Korean-style Italian pasta dishes.
Myeongnan-jeot is a specialty of South Hamgyong Province of North Korea, and Gangwon Province and Busan of South Korea.
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Myeongnan-jeot sold in a market
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Vacuum-packed myeongnan-jeot
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Heavily seasoned myeongnan-jeot
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Myeongnan-jeot-muchim (salted pollock roe salad)
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Myeongnan-jeot-gyeran-mari (rolled omelette with salted pollock roe)
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Myeongnnan-jeot in jjigae (stew)
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Myeongnan-jeot pizza
Japan
editMentaiko, adapted from Korean myeongnan-jeot,[9][10][11][12][13][14] hence the name mentai (derived from the Korean myeongtae, 명태,
Recently in Japan, mentaiko pasta has become common. Mentaiko is mixed with butter or mayonnaise and used as a sauce for spaghetti. Thin strips of nori (
Mentaiko was nominated as Japan's number one side dish in the Japanese weekly magazine, Shūkan Bunshun.[15]
Tarako is served in a number of ways: plain (usually for breakfast),[16] as a filling for onigiri, and as a pasta sauce (usually with nori). Traditionally, tarako was dyed bright red, but recent concerns about the safety of food coloring have all but eliminated that custom.[16] In Kyūshū, tarako is commonly served with red chili pepper flakes.
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Tarako
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Mentaiko
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Baked mentaiko
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Mentaiko-chazuke
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Mentaiko over rice, with nori strips
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Tarako spaghetti
Russia
editIn Russia, pollock roe is consumed as a sandwich spread. The product, resembling liquid paste due to the small size of eggs and oil added, is sold as canned food.
As mentioned above, in Russian, the word for pollock roe is the same as for the caviar: "ikra". The same goes to a dish, known to the French as "caviar d'aubergine": "кабачковая икра", although it's a spread made of eggplants.
To make the pollock roe taste in a caviar-like way, one should make a butterbrot first e.g. to apply butter to the bread before adding the canned pollock roe. This will smoothen the excessive saltiness of the canned roe.
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An open sandwich with canned roe
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A piece of similar bread with less roe used since Ikra mintaya (canned roe) is rather salty.
See also
editExplanatory notes
edit- ^ i.e., tara (
鱈 , 'cod's') ko (子 , 'child'), however, since pollock bears the name suketōdara (介党鱈 ) it is linguistically understood to be subtype of the tara or 'cod', so this is not exactly a misnomer in the Japanese language. - ^ Whereas hontarako is usually sold raw, to be made into nitsuke (simmered or braise) or made into the soy sauce preserved tsukudani.[5]
- ^ That is to say, the sources treat mentaiko and karashi-mentaiko are synonyms, and thus interchangeable. Note that 'chili' is more formally tōgarashi[3] = tō 'foreign, Chinese' + karashi 'mustard'.[2][3]
References
edit- ^ a b c Sugimoto, Tsutomu [in Japanese] (2005). Gogenkai
語源 海 (in Japanese). Tokyo Shoseki. p. 288. ISBN 4487797438. - ^ a b c d Uchida, Hirotsugu; Watanobe, Masamichi (2008). "Walleye pollack (Suketoudara) fishery management in the Hiyama region of Hokkaido, Japan". In Townsend, R.; Shotton, R.; Uchida, H. (eds.). Case Studies in Fisheries Self-governance. Food & Agriculture Org. p. 163. ISBN 9789251058978.
- ^ a b c d Mouritsen, Ole G. [in Danish]; Styrbæk, Klavs (2023). Rogn: Meget mere end rogn. Gyldendal A/S. ISBN 9788702392029.
karashi-mentaiko (mentaiko) - krydret variant af tarako, som er saltet torskerogn.. med.. japansk chili (togarashi) [karashi-mentaiko (mentaiko) - spicy variant of tarako, which is salted cod roe...with.. Japanese chili (togarashi).]
- ^ a b OECD: Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (2009). "Caviar substitutes". Multilingual Dictionary of Fish and Fish Products. John Wiley & Sons. p. 39. ISBN 9781444319422.
- ^ a b c d Koizumi, Takeo [in Japanese] (2002). Shoku to nihonjin no chie
食 と日本人 の知恵 (in Japanese). Iwanami Shoten. pp. 401, 662. ISBN 9784006030520. - ^ Cha, Sang-eun (12 September 2015). "A hit abroad, pollock roe is rallying at home". Korea Joongang Daily. Retrieved 16 December 2016.
- ^ "
遠藤 元 閑(1696年 )『茶 湯 献立 指南 』、「鱈 の子 は北国 より出 る名物 也」" (JPG). Archive.wul.waseda.ac.jp. Retrieved 15 May 2018. - ^ a b "I asked store owner of Fukuya why the mentaiko is a local specialty of Hakata". dailyportalz. 2 April 2018.
- ^ a b "Mentaiko and the Japanese People". JACAR Newsletter. 4 February 2016. Archived from the original on 14 October 2017. Retrieved 14 October 2017.
- ^ a b "Busan, the City of Pollock Roe". Lotte Hotel Magazine. Archived from the original on 24 May 2022. Retrieved 24 May 2022.
- ^ a b "Fukuoka Food Guide". japan-guide.com. Archived from the original on 24 May 2022. Retrieved 24 May 2022.
- ^ a b Preston Matt (27 October 2015). The Simple Secrets to Cooking Everything Better. Plum. ISBN 9781743547618. Archived from the original on 24 May 2022. Retrieved 24 May 2022.
- ^ a b Yuto Omura (28 July 2021). "Japanese Mentaiko Pasta (Cod Roe Spaghetti)". Sudachi Recipes. Archived from the original on 24 May 2022. Retrieved 24 May 2022.
- ^ a b Grace Keh (18 September 2014). "Mentaiko Spaghetti Recipe (
明太子 )". Sffood.net. Archived from the original on 24 May 2022. Retrieved 24 May 2022. - ^ Ahn Min-jeong (6 May 2011). "일본인 좋아하는 밥반찬에 한국의 그것?". JPNews. Archived from the original on 22 November 2011. Retrieved 19 November 2016.
- ^ a b Ashkenazi, Michael; Jacob, Jeanne (2003). Food Culture in Japan. Greenwood Publishing Group. pp. 58–9. ISBN 0-313-32438-7. Archived from the original on 24 May 2022. Retrieved 24 May 2022.
External links
edit- Media related to Pollock roe at Wikimedia Commons