Torpedo-shaped with large pectoral fins that look like wings, the majestic flying fish can propel itself out of the water and into the air, gliding across short distances to avoid predators.
You may be familiar with this fish’s eggs: tobiko. Delightfully briny and slightly sweet, the small, crunchy orange roe can be found coating a California roll or seasoning a mixture of spicy tuna. Typically preserved with salt, tobiko also comes in other hues and flavors depending on how it’s cured: red from beetroot, yellow from yuzu, black from squid ink or green from wasabi.
Recipe: Tobiko Pasta
At Mr. Tuna, a sushi restaurant in Portland, Maine, the most popular menu item is a seafood roll topped with tempura flakes, scallions and a bed of shiny red tobiko. The chef Jordan Rubin said he likes the subtlety of red tobiko, not to mention the way it delivers “a nice clean fish flavor.” He piles it generously on top of the roll, so it’s “in your face,” rather than a decorative afterthought.
This is tobiko’s dilemma — and that of most sparkly, pretty things in the world: Its beauty often eclipses its function. Unless you’re ordering tobiko nigiri from a sushi menu, it can be easy to take for granted. Until you try cooking with it yourself.
Even better, tobiko is a fraction of the price of caviar, so you can have your roe at home and eat it, too. Many cooks, particularly in Japanese and Korean households, use flying fish roe in all kinds of creative ways that highlight its vibrant salinity: on top of a bowl of rice, stirred into mayonnaise and baked onto mussels, bejeweling a plate of creamy pasta.
When you’re craving the dynamic taste of the seaside, this speedy wafu, or Japanese-style, tobiko pasta hits the spot. In just 20 minutes, you can line your guests’ stomachs and ring out the old with a festive meal, glass of Champagne in hand. As with most pasta, this tastes especially great at midnight.
The only thing to cook here is the spaghetti or linguine, which is tossed with cream cheese and pasta water for a lovely sauce. Creamy but light, the sauce gains dimension from the tried-and-true combination of soy sauce and punchy wasabi paste, which mellows out once it meets the hot pasta. Finely chopped scallions lend freshness, while shredded nori drives the sushi feel home.
A healthy serving of tobiko is stirred into the pasta as well as dotted on top to lend rich seafood flavor — and a fun, poppy texture — with zero effort, though other roes, such as ikura (from salmon or trout) or masago (from capelin), work well, too. It doesn’t hurt that all of these roes are readily available in the refrigerated section near most supermarket fish counters these days.
Enjoy this midnight pasta with your favorite bubbly or sake, or follow Mr. Rubin’s lead and consider sparkling sake. As you pop a bottle or two, let these party noodles propel you across the short distance between one year’s end and another’s beginning.
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The post This Midnight Pasta Was Made for New Year’s Eve appeared first on New York Times.
