Tarako is salted cod roe that can be eaten raw or cooked by grilling or boiling before consumption. Because it has a very short shelf life, eat it as soon as you buy it or store it in the freezer. Some people like well-cooked salted cod roe but I love eating it half-cooked. Besides eating it with onigiri, I love adding tarako to pasta or mixing it in mashed potato. The salty-sweet taste and texture of tarako is fun and delicious! This onigiri has been my favourite since I was little. When my mother makes this version, she adds a generous amount of roe. Because of this, I’ve never been happy with other salted cod roe onigiri as I always prefer my mother’s!
Ingredients
- 3½ oz (100 g) Salted cod roe (tarako)
- 17 oz (480 g) Cooked Japanese short grain rice
- 1 tsp Salt
- 4 Nori seaweed sheets
How to Make It
- Place salted cod roe on a sheet of aluminium foil and grill in a toaster oven for 2 minutes. Alternatively, boil a pot of water and cook salted cod roe for 1 minute. Divide salted cod roe into 4 portions.
- Scoop one-quarter of the rice into a rice bowl. Make a 2-cm (1-in) indentation in the rice with your fi nger and add some salted cod roe.
- To form onigiri, wet your hands and spread a pinch of salt on your palms and fi ngers. Transfer rice to your hands and lightly press rice 2–3 times into your preferred shape. Make sure fi lling is completely covered with rice. Wrap nori around rice ball as desired. Repeat with remaining ingredients.
