History

Toshio Kawahara opened Fukuya in Hakata in 1949 and adapted the Korean salted cod roe technique (myeongnan-jeot) into the Japanese form: pollock roe cured in chilli, dashi, soy and sake. The product spread through Kyushu in the 1950s and exported across Japan in the 1980s and 1990s. Today Fukuya in Higashi-ku and Yamaya (founded 1974) are the two big factory shops. Mentaiko is eaten on white rice as mentaiko gohan, stuffed into French rolls at Full Full Bakery, or tossed through pasta and Hakata udon. The shape and seasoning carries Korean DNA but the dashi-cure is Japanese.

Common allergens: Fish, Soy, Wheat

Make it at home

Yield 8Hands-on 30 minTotal 48 hrDifficulty Intermediate

Ingredients

  • 400g fresh pollock roe sacs (sometimes labelled tarako)
  • 30g sea salt
  • 30ml mirin
  • 30ml sake
  • 30ml shoyu
  • 5g bonito dashi powder
  • 10g Korean chilli flakes (gochugaru)
  • 5g sugar

Method

  1. Rinse the roe sacs gently in cold water; pat dry without breaking the membranes.
  2. Lay the sacs in a non-reactive tray, sprinkle with the sea salt evenly. Refrigerate 12 hours.
  3. Drain the brine off. Combine mirin, sake, shoyu, dashi, chilli flakes and sugar in a bowl.
  4. Lay the sacs in a clean tray, pour the marinade over so they are half-submerged. Refrigerate 36 hours, turning the sacs once.
  5. Drain, pat dry. Serve sliced and laid on rice, or tossed through pasta, or stuffed into a baguette.

Tip from the editors. Korean gochugaru is the right chilli. Japanese togarashi will burn the cure instead of seasoning it.

Where to eat mentaiko

Mentaiko in Fukuoka

Fukuya Aji no Mentaiko Factory ★ 4.3

Japanese¥¥hakata

Fukuya's mentaiko factory shop reopened July 2025 as Fukuya Aji no Mentaiko Factory. Same-day mentaiko on the second floor, plus a counter for rice sets.

Signature: Fresh mentaiko set, Mentaiko gohan rice bowl, Skin-on barako mentaiko

Order: Mentaiko gohan rice set with a side of the skin-on barako.

Tip: Open 10:00-16:00. Closed on irregular maintenance days; check the calendar.

Higashi-ku, Fukuoka 812-0068, Japan

Yamaya Canal City Hakata ★ 4.2

Japanese¥¥hakata

Yamaya's Canal City B1 sells mentaiko by the gram next to a small dine-in counter pouring mentaiko rice sets with miso soup and free-flow pickles.

Signature: Mentaiko rice set, Hakata motsunabe, Mentaiko-stuffed onigiri

Order: Mentaiko rice set, with all-you-can-add mentaiko on top.

Tip: Open with the mall, 10:00-21:00 daily. Walk-in only; queue at lunch.

Hakata-ku, Fukuoka 812-0018, Japan

Full Full Bakery ★ 4.3

Bakery¥hakata07:00-19:00Walk-in onlyMentaiko French roll

Full Full's mentaiko French roll has been a Hakata souvenir since 2002: a soft baguette split and stuffed with mentaiko-butter, sold by the dozen.

Tip: Counter at Hakata Station's Deitos exit. Boxes of six are the standard order.

Worth the queue: Mentaiko French roll

Hakata-ku, Fukuoka 812-0012, Japan

More cities are in research. Want mentaiko covered somewhere specific? Tell us where you want to eat.

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