I just love getting ikura sushi - those jewel-like, glistening orange balls of salty goodness are the eggs, or roe of salmon. They're delicious, sustainable, and economical. They also have a wonderful mouthfeel. Where do you buy it and what do you do with it?
Ingredient Spotlight: Salmon Roe (Ikura)
The Monterey Bay Aquarium's Seafood Watch ranks it as a "Best Choice" in sustainability. Ikura is the fully-ripe ovaries of salmon, and ranges from dark orange to reddish-orange in color. Before eating, the roe is cured in salt or brine.
Salmon roe can be purchased at Asian food markets or online. It tends to be cheaper when sold in Asian markets as "sushi quality;" it's more expensive when purchased as caviar from high-end stores. Sushi quality roe is sufficient enough to use as caviar. As with all caviar, never use a metal utensil to scoop or serve; always use a spoon made of plastic, bone, or wood. Metal breaks down fish eggs and alters the taste in a negative way. The individual eggs should pop open crisply when pressed against the roof of the mouth. The roe should taste fresh, salty, and slightly like fish. It should be subtly oily but not greasy.
An entire sac of ikura is called sujiko in Japanese and a skein in English. Buying an entire sujiko and then curing the roe yourself at home is much more economical than buying already-prepared ikura. Sujiko can be found at most Asian markets, or if you live in an area where there is salmon fishing, you could ask a fisherman if they would be willing to give you a skein if they come across it. Or, if you have a fishing license, you could try your hand at salmon fishing and maybe you'll catch a female full of roe.
Along with eating salmon roe in sushi, ikuradon (ikura rice bowl,) and chirashi, you can also serve it as caviar on toast points, blinys, or deviled eggs. A nice way to enjoy ikuradon is to marinate the ikura in equal parts of soy sauce, mirin, and sake for a few days in the fridge, and then serve it over rice. They can also be used in scrambled eggs and served with crème fraîche and chives for a decadent breakfast. Salmon roe blended with mayonnaise makes a wonderful sauce for seafood or a vegetable dip.
Related:
Holiday Tip: Buy Sustainable Caviar On A Budget
Wallet Guide to Ocean-Friendly Sushi
Nijiya Supermarket
Summer Project: Make Vegetable Maki Sushi With Kids!
How To Cure Your Own Salmon Roe - a practical guide for if you've caught your own salmon and want to eat the roe
Salmon Caviar Cured in Tripel Beer
(Image: Catalina Offshore Products
Tags
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Ikura is also very popular in russian and eastern european cuisine. It's called "Ikra" and is eaten on white bread with butter, or inside thin pancakes or crepes - "blini".
You can likely find it at eastern european stores too, depending on where you live, or online. It can be shipped if it's canned:
http://www.russiantable.com/store/Red-Caviar-Russian-Traditional-Style-180-g-(7-4oz)-jar__906-88.html
view mynameisalreadyregistered's profile
They're very beautiful, and I do love sushi, but I can't really stand ikura. It just tastes like a big popping mass of fish oil to me; but it could be I haven't had any of good quality yet. Nothing agains roe in general, in fact, I love smelt roe. The ikura, you can keep.
http://www.abreadaday.com
view eprewitt's profile
Let me point out, though, that farmed salmon are not as sustainable as one might think - they are still fed tons (weight-wise) of wild fish, so there is still an impact on the natural environment.
view mimblewim's profile
The first comment hit a nail on the head about Ikura - it was adapted from Russian cuisine and the Japanese name is just a phonetic variant on the Russian word. (Ikra ->Ikura). The Japanese can't say consonants without a vowel paired with them (except m/n) so they added in the "ku". People often attribute food to Japanese cuisine which came from Europe. So many people ask for "Japanese bread recipes" and it's actually pain de mie (French sandwich bread). It's amazing how much credit Japan gets for food that they adapted from Europe.
At any rate, I can't stomach eating salmon roe because it reminds me of the jars of bait my father used to take fishing. It looked exactly like what you see on sushi - orange jelly balls.
view Orchid64's profile
Interesting that Orchid64 points out that the Japanese name is actually FROM the Russian word for it, not the other way around! I didn't know that.
This is one of the few things I miss since I've gone vegetarian! In Russia we would eat red or black "ikra" on holidays, so to me the taste is synonymous with family gatherings and fun times. As the first comment mentioned, we would eat this either rolled into bliny (Russian thin flat pancakes) or on holidays and get-togethers, this is often served as an appetizer - a teaspoonful put on top of slices of buttered french bread. Delicious!
view NadyaN's profile
I'm with eprewitt - I love masago and tobiko, but ikura just doesn't do it for me. I could barely make it through one piece of ikura sushi when I tried it.
view confusednazgul's profile
LOVE Ikra and eat it with my Russian in-laws all the time. I much prefer it to black caviar or small red caviar. I love it on just nice toast or a bagel. I don't think you even need butter as it is so rich. They get theirs at a local Russian market, and eprewitt, the quality does effect the texture (which can be quite "loose" instead of popping in your mouth if it's not fresh) and oily quality.
view lotusmoss's profile