I recently got introduced to Japanese-influenced Italian dishes, such as Tofu Mentai and Mentaiko Spaghetti, so I decided to try my own! Here's how I made my Mentaiko Spaghetti!



Here's the Mentaiko before opening the sac! I used one sac for a serving of two.



Using Chubby Hubby's recipe as a basic guide, it turned out pretty good even though I substituted butter with chicken fat and left out the wine.

XY's Mentaiko Spaghetti Recipe
Serves 2

Ingredients
1 Sac Fresh Mentaiko
3 Tbsp Chicken Fat (less sat. fat than butter)
5 Tbsp Chicken Bones Stock (according to taste for smoothness of sauce)
1/2 Medium Onion
1/2 Tbsp Light Cream
2 Tsp Japanese Mayonnaise
Roasted Nori strips (for garnish)

2 servings of Spaghetti
Cooking Oil
Pinch of Salt

Method
1. First, cook the pasta. Boil a pot of water and add a little oil and salt. When it boils vigorously, add the uncooked pasta.

2. Let the pasta cook until al-dente. You can pick up a strand to test whether it is ready. Make a note of the timing so you can refer to it again next time.

3. When the pasta is ready, simply drain the water and let it rest for a while.

For the Sauce:
1. Carefully cut open Mentaiko sac and scoop out the Mentaiko with a metal spoon into a small bowl.

2. Blend the Onion slightly to get a thick paste.

3. Heat a pot on medium fire and add Chicken Fat. When it has heated up, add a little less than all of the onion paste you made and stir fry until fragrant.

4. Raise the fire to medium-high. Now add the stock and stir a while longer until it starts to be reduced.

5. Turn heat off and add Cream, Mentaiko and Mayonnaise. Stir well so everything is mixed.

6. To serve, simply heat up a pan and add the pasta and sauce. Stir and mix well then put it on a plate. Garnish with some Roasted Nori strips and serve it while it's hot!

Enjoy! :)

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'Tis the season to be jolly... for it's hairy crab season again! I'm not exactly crazy for this expensive delicacy, but I have to admit the roe is really good.



To quote TTC, “农历八月挑雌蟹,九月过后选雄蟹”, meaning you should choose female crabs in the Eight Month and male crabs from the Ninth Month onwards (Lunar Calendar). The one in the picture is a female. You can tell from the underbelly; if it's shaped like a triangle, it's male. If it's more rounded, it's female.

hairycrab1


Mum purchased 4 crabs from Capital Restaurant and steamed this herself at home. The deeper red roe is hard and dry. The yellow-orange soft roe is the more delicious roe, being softer and more aromatic. (:

Capitol Restaurant
Bukit Pasoh Shop Houses
44 Bukit Pasoh Road (S)089857

P.S. The gills (shown in the second picture) aren't edible, but not poisonous either.

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Sorry for the long hiatus, everyone! Had Science Attachment programme after Chinese O Levels, but now I'm back online with lots of pictures to make up for it! Meanwhile, here's Mum's experiment: Red Yeast Pork Belly! :p



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