So first off, I’d like to thank Walnuts4Gold from reddit.com for helping me figure out the name of this stuff. The only thing I had to go on was the phone number on the bottom. From that I figured out with a little research that Sanyo Foods makes these noodles. Then Walnuts4Food sent me a link with some other varieties including this one. This one is the Mentaiko variety. What’s mentaiko? Wikipedia states it is… Mentaiko (明太子?) is the marinated roe of pollock, and is a common ingredient in Japanese cuisine. Mentaiko originated from myeongran jeot (명란젓) of Korean cuisine and was introduced to Japan after the Russo-Japanese War. Kawahara Toshio, a Busan-born Japanese, adapted Korean mentaiko to Japanese tastes in Fukuoka in the 1950s. The name is derived from the Korean word for Alaska pollock (mentai, 명태 : myeongtae in Korean) and the Japanese word for “child” (子, ko?). The typical seasoning and flavor is slightly different in Japan. Mentaiko is made in a variety of flavors and colors and is available at airports and main train stations. It is usually eaten with onigiri, but is also enjoyed by itself with sake. A common variety is spicy mentaiko (辛子明太子, karashi mentaiko?). It is a product of the Hakataward of Fukuoka City.
It makes perfect sense that this must be what it is….
Click image to enlarge. Pretty easily followed instructions…
Pasta sauce and topping…
Looks like spaghetti to me…
Snazzy drain spout!
Click image to enlarge. So the pasta sauce was a deeper red but really infused into the noodles. The topping was seaweed and a nice addition. It was a spicy and slightly fishy affair – very flavorful and very interesting. I quite liked it – I have never had anything like it before. Was really surprised at just how good the noodles were – they were perfect as far as I’m concerned.
Don’t know if you can discern it really but the light orangish dots are the fish roe (eggs). This was an interesting thing; fish egg spaghetti. I am highly enthused. What was also interesting is that the use by date was 12.25.2010 – Christmas! 4.5 out of 5.0 stars – Weird, tasty and good.
Sanyo Foods owns Sapporo Ichiban just to let you know…
Mentaiko pasta is actually a very popular item at Italian restaurants in Japan.
Mentaiko can also be found in lots of other things like mayo. Or in butter on top of steamed potatoes.
But I never knew that mentaiko was a recent addition to Japanese cuisine from Korea! Thanks!