Mentaiko Udon 明太子うどん (Spicy Cod Roe Udon) is one of my favourite dishes in Japanese cuisine. Actually I love any dishes with mentaiko but this is definitely my favourite mentaiko dish. I love the combination of the springy udon texture and the salty creamy cod roe with a hint of spiciness from the marinated roe. All toss together and top with shredded cucumber and seaweed. *For non spicy version, you can substitute with Tarako (non spicy version) instead of Mentaiko. But the heat from mentaiko is really not noticeable.
This dish can be whipped up within 10 mins for a quick lunch or busy day dinner.
Mentaiko is available in any Japanese Supermarket at the sashimi section. They are sold mostly in sac which you need to slit open the sac to extract the roe. Alternatively, you can get those which already remove the roe from the sac and sold in packet. The latter is not very commonly found. I got mine from BIG BOX Supermarket in Jurong West.
You can use Frozen, Fresh or Dried Udon, which can be found in most of the supermarket in Singapore. And cook it as per the instruction on the packaging. I used the dried ones which I got from Isetan and I prefer the texture of my udon to be more on the chewy side, so I cooked using a shorter time. Or you can always interchange with Spaghetti.
While the udon is cooking, you can prepare the mentaiko sauce.
Mix all the ingredients for the sauce in a small mixing bowl and set aside for later.
When the udon is ready, drain and transfer into a larger mixing bowl. Add in the mentaiko sauce, butter and toss until the butter melted and the noodles are well coated with the sauce.
Transfer the udon into a serving dish and top with julienned Japanese cucumber and shredded seaweed.
You can always top with more mentaiko (without mayo) if you are as mentaiko crazy as I do.
いただきます (Itadakimasu) Let’s Eat!!
- 240g Dried Udon (or fresh/frozen udon for 2 pax)
- 10g Butter
- 2 tablespoons Japanese Mayonnaise
- 2 tablespoon Mentaiko (Spicy Cod Roe or can substitue with Tarako - non spicy version)
- 2 teaspoon Mirin
- 1 teaspoon Sake
- 1 teaspoon Sugar
- dash of pepper
- Julienned Japanese Cucumber
- Shredded Roasted Seaweed
- Prepare a pot of boiling water and add 1 teaspoon of salt to the water
- Cook the udon as per the packaging instruction
- Add all ingredients for the sauce into a mixing bowl
- Mix well and set aside
- When the noodle is cooked, drain and transfer to a large mixing bowl
- Add the mentaiko sauce and butter
- Toss until the butter melt and the noodles are well coated with the sauce
- Transfer to udon to the serving plates
- Top with shredded cucumber and seaweed
- Add more mentaiko if preferred