Tarako (food)

nihongo|Tarako|鱈子|, in Japanese cuisine, is a salted roe food, usually made from Alaska pollock, [cite book | title=Handbook of Food Science, Technology, and Engineering | chapter=Caviar and Fish Roe | first=Yiu H. | last=Hui | page=161-12 | publisher=CRC Press | year=2006 | isbn=0849398495 | url=http://books.google.com/books?id=8STobgpiP6oC&pg=PT267&dq=tarako+roe&sig=ACfU3U0Kdo1zINWULlYh2hJbqd6YIs1-MA] although nihongo|"tara"|鱈 actually means cod in Japanese.

Tarako is served in a number of ways:
*Plain (usually for breakfast, particularly as part of Japanese New Year meals)cite book | title=Food Culture in Japan | chapter=Major Foods and Ingredients | pages=58–9 | first=Michael | last=Ashkenazi | coauthors=Jacob, Jeanne | publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group | year=2003 | isbn=0313324387 | url=http://books.google.com/books?id=Ley_r5VldNUC&pg=PA58&dq=tarako+roe&sig=ACfU3U2nSCA6PM8HDbEJpGQddI93Wj0_Yw#PPA59,M1]
*As a filling for "onigiri"
*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. In Kyūshū, tarako is commonly served with red chili pepper flakes, possibly due to that region's historic ties with Korean culture.

See also

* Masago
* Mentaiko
* Tobiko

References