Tsukimi Ikura Golden Salmon Roe Miyazaki 100g

What is Tsukimi ikura?
Tsukimi ikura (つきみいくら) is golden salmon roe from sakura masu (桜鱒, cherry salmon) — the sea-run form of the yamame trout, a salmon native to Japan. Wild sakura masu are scarce, so these are raised by Smolt Inc. through a full-cycle aquaculture program in Miyazaki. The roe comes out gold rather than the usual red, and it's cured fresh in a dashi marinade.

The fish are raised the way they live in nature: the young fish grow in clear freshwater from the Takachiho mountains, then move to seawater pens off Nobeoka to grow out, then return to freshwater before spawning. Roe is taken at the point the fish is at its best. The dashi cure was developed with Fukuyaku, a restaurant in Nishi-Azabu, Tokyo — the flavor is clean and gentle rather than heavy, with the dashi aroma coming through and a light finish.

Specifications

How to enjoy

It's clean enough to eat on its own, straight from the jar. Beyond that: spooned over rice as an ikura donburi, on top of maki rolls, over carpaccio, added to maguro yamakake, or on a cracker with cream cheese and smoked salmon. The dashi cure is gentle, so it doesn't overwhelm what it sits on.

Pairing notes — warm rice, sushi rolls, carpaccio, cream cheese and crackers, and a dry sake.