Ikura いくら

Also called salmon roe, salmon caviar

Salmon roe, usually cured in soy sauce or salt with a little sake. Every shop has its own seasoning.

Ikura is salmon roe. The word comes from the Russian ikra, which just means fish roe.

Most places cure it in soy sauce or salt, often with sake, and some use dashi or mirin. That marinade is where shops differ, and a good one can make ikura the best bite of the night.

At sushi counters it usually shows up from late summer into autumn, often as a small bowl or a gunkan.

See alsoUni: murasaki, bafun and aka