Salt Cured Cod Roe

Salt cured fish roe is appreciated across the world for centuries. It is bottarga in Italy and surrounding regions, karasumi in Japan, eoran in Korea, and wuyutsu in Taiwan. It is considered a delicacy and correspondingly expensive. Making salt cured fish roe is not difficult, but of course, provided that you have access to unprocessed fish roes intact in pouches.

The fish roe of choice is of the grey mullet, but others such as tuna and bonito are also suitable. Asian grocery stores sell frozen pollock roes. They are from the Alaskan pollock, a cod species. Compared to mullet roes, these cod roes have small and compact eggs. Roes with large eggs such as salmon roes are fragile and may rupture during the curing process. Whether the roes come frozen or fresh, the first step is to pack them with plenty of salt to cover the pouches completely. Refrigerate them for 3 days to be thoroughly salted, then drain the liquid accumulated during salting.

At this stage, it depends on the type of roe to determine if compressing is needed. Mullet roe with larger eggs requires pressing to compact its eggs together, whereas cod roe does not. If the roes need compression, start out lightly-handed, then increase the weight gradually, else the eggs may rupture. Compression requires another couple of days of refrigeration, as liquid continues to escape the roes.

The final stage is drying. Plenty of sunlight is preferred. Alternatively, it can be done more slowly indoor. To dry the fish roes under sunlight, protect them under netting and turn them daily until desired firmness. Indoor, cover them with a thin layer of salt and turn them daily. Once drying is finished, coat the roe pouches with oil and keep refrigerated.

Soft roes are sliced and cooked, usually pan-fried or grilled over an open flame. Hard roes are grated in the same way parmesan cheese is used, atop salad, pasta, pizza, omelette. Like a whiff of an ocean breeze, briny and fresh, they are the essence of the sea.