Fukuoka Signature · Spicy Cod Roe
Karashi Mentaiko
Photo: Chester Siu / Wikimedia Commons · Public domain
Kawahara never patented or trademarked his karashi mentaiko recipe and shared it freely with competitors, which is why Fukuoka now has well over a hundred mentaiko makers.
Salted pollock roe sacs are cured in a chili-and-seasoning marinade until firm and deep red, then sliced open and eaten raw over rice, folded into pasta, or grilled — sold whole by weight from Fukuoka's fish markets and food halls as the city's signature souvenir.
Why it's made this way: Toshio Kawahara, who grew up in Busan and repatriated to Hakata after the war, founded Fukuoka's first mentaiko company, Fukuya, in a corner grocery store and developed the spicy "karashi mentaiko" style that made the dish a specifically Fukuoka specialty rather than a generic import.
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