Julienned potatoes with spicy cod roe ジャガイモの明太子和え (Mark’s book p24)
We have to agree with Mark that this dish is excellent and definitely joined our list of favorites. I have to admit first that I deviated a little from the original recipe but it tasted very very good. I should have made the dish, at least once, according to the original recipe before modifying it. First, we did not have the spicy cod roe or “karashi-mentaiko” 辛子明太子 and we had all other kinds of potatoes except Russet. Substituting for the spicy cod roe, after removing the roe from it’s sac, I added Tabasco and a bit of sake to make regular “tarako” たらこ cod roe spicy and the right consistency. For my wife, the spicy cod roe is too spicy and this way, I can control the spiciness. Instead of Russet, I used a large red potato which has less starch than Russet. For the rest, I followed the recipe. To reiterate, thinly julienne the potato and soak it in water to remove excess starch, drain and pat dry. Saute in small amount of oil in a hot frying pan for 2 minutes or so without browning until softened but still bit crunchy. Serve on a plate, top it with a pat of butter and the spiced-up cod roe. Add freshly cracked black pepper. Mix and enjoy.