"Tobiko" in Japanese means "flying fish roe". This product is used to prepare oriental dishes, most often all kinds of rolls and sushi.
About tobiko
Flying fish roe is very small. So, the diameter of each egg reaches the order of 0.5-0.8 mm. Externally, the caviar resembles a scattering of beads. The product is colored with natural dyes in bright colors. Wasabi gives tobiko a green color, ginger juice gives a rich orange, and the secret of the ink glands of cuttlefish or squid is black.
Caviar grains have a hard shell, due to which they crunch on the teeth when chewed. The taste and aroma of the product are unique and unusual. This is due to a sauce prepared according to an old recipe in which raw caviar is soaked. According to the legend, the recipe is passed down from generation to generation and is kept in the strictest confidence. It is owned by only a few Japanese companies that produce a seafood delicacy such as tobiko.
The Japanese are real fans and connoisseurs of this unusual product. They add flying fish roe to various dishes, and also use it as an independent snack. Tobiko is sold fresh, ready-to-eat, frozen, or canned.
About 30% of the composition of caviar is occupied by proteins, which are very easily absorbed by the body. In addition, tobiko contains many minerals and trace elements: phosphorus, iodine, potassium and silicon, a large amount of vitamins: A, B, C, D. Despite such a rich composition, the calorie content of the product is low, only 72 kcal per 100 g of caviar.
California Roll Recipe
One of the most famous dishes that a large number of people think of when they mention tobiko are California rolls. Making them at home is easy enough, provided you have all the ingredients you need. You will need:
- cucumber - 0.5 pcs.;
- avocado - 0.5 pcs.;
- Japanese mayonnaise;
- tobiko - 2 tablespoons;
- wasabi;
- crab meat - 100 g;
- boiled rice - 0.5 tbsp.;
- nori sushi sheets.
The mat is a special bamboo napkin, wrap with cling film on all sides. Cut the nori sushi sheets lengthwise into two halves. Peel the cucumber and avocado and cut into thin strips. Cut the crab meat into small strips. Put prepared rice on the matte side of the nori leaf half (it should be boiled, cooled and seasoned with rice vinegar to taste) and smooth it in an even layer, 4-5 mm thick, leaving the edge of the leaf, about 2 cm, without rice.
Place the flying fish roe on top and smooth out gently. Cover the caviar with a mat, press firmly and flip to the other side. Spread some wasabi on the back of the nori. Arrange the crab meat, cucumber and avocado strips. Add Japanese soy mayonnaise by squeezing a small strip along the filling.
Twist the roll gently, joining the top and bottom edges of the nori together. The strip that is left without rice is used to glue the sheet. To do this, moisten it with water and press it against the back of the nori. Give the finished roll a square shape and cut with a sharp knife into 6 pieces.
