What to do with tobiko?

Those little salty flying fish roe, bright orange in color.
I used them to garnish the deviled eggs I brought to the picnic last week, the container says they're good till mid october, and I've got several ounces left -- I used maybe two tablespoons garnishing the eggs.

I made a "california roll" salad earlier this week (with krab, avocado) and used another tablespoon.

Any suggestions?

I love it just over seasoned rice. My wife claims it's common in Akita to put pour just a little of a 50/50 mixture of shoyu and rice wine vinagar over a bowl of rice and just pile stuff on top like chirashi. Tobiko would be awesome for this. Just pile on anything you have lying around, cucumber, green onion, sweet scrambled egg, any fish you have - heck open a can of tuna!

It also freezes surprisingly well, though I'd portion it out because chipping a portion free will squash all the little eggs.

I've seen it floated in noodle soups, like udon.

Tuna salad -
Mayo, a dab of sesame oil, green onion, and dried ground chili pepper (a riff on spicy mayo maki.)

Yes, freeze it.

Freezing it just postpones my figuring out what to do with it.
Part of the challenge is that SueF doesn't like finfish (no problem with crustaceans, not thrilled with molluscs, a little tobiko on sushi or anchovy cooked into something isn't a problem)

I need something a little more out of the box. Will it work with cream cheese on a bagel? Top a steak with some butter?
Because they don't really puree, I don't think I can use them in places I'd use mashed or paste of anchovy, like a caesar dressing or in a daube nicoise.

JoelF wrote:Freezing it just postpones my figuring out what to do with it.
Part of the challenge is that SueF doesn't like finfish (no problem with crustaceans, not thrilled with molluscs, a little tobiko on sushi or anchovy cooked into something isn't a problem)

I need something a little more out of the box. Will it work with cream cheese on a bagel? Top a steak with some butter?
Because they don't really puree, I don't think I can use them in places I'd use mashed or paste of anchovy, like a caesar dressing or in a daube nicoise.

I used to buy a jar and mix it with whipped cream cheese (easier to blend without breaking the eggs but regular cream cheese works too) all the time. A great bialy topping!

JoelF wrote:Freezing it just postpones my figuring out what to do with it.
Part of the challenge is that SueF doesn't like finfish (no problem with crustaceans, not thrilled with molluscs, a little tobiko on sushi or anchovy cooked into something isn't a problem)

I need something a little more out of the box. Will it work with cream cheese on a bagel? Top a steak with some butter?
Because they don't really puree, I don't think I can use them in places I'd use mashed or paste of anchovy, like a caesar dressing or in a daube nicoise.

Just because you cannot puree them, does not mean you cannot use them to substitute for something pureed. In fact, your Caeser idea seems like a pretty good one. Salty note WITH texture to boot. I don't see the issue. Personally, I'd rather let the tobiko shine through on its own whereas I'm more apt to mixify masago with other stuff, but maybe a caesar with no croutons (gasp!) would be nice with tobiko as a salty-ish, crunchy, flavor popper.

Yea, I think you can use it pretty much anywhere you would use anchovy, or maybe even salt, especially when the point of the salt is to offer some texture. The problem is that it's a condiment, but it's sold in eat-by-the-spoonful size boxes.

So, I could see it topping a baked potato w/sour cream, as part of a composite butter, to finish roasted cauliflower, garnish avocado, etc.

Tobiko Pasta

http://findingmrlazy.blogspot.com/2008/06/tobiko-pasta.html

Smoke it?

razbry wrote:Smoke it?

I see what you did there.

Realistically, there's not really enough there to make it worth breaking out the WSM, but flavor-wise, it sounds pretty good to wood-smoke the little fish eggs.

Today was experiment #2 (the California Roll salad being #1): Mock lox 'n' bagel. No lox, no bagel, no cream cheese.
White toast, labna, a thin layer of tobiko and chopped scallions.

Verdict: Pretty damn good. Labna is, flavor-wise, a decent sub for whipped cream cheese. The tobiko is stronger flavored per gram, and I used less than I would salmon. I anticipate the salt content is higher though. A lower-fat choice overall, but I'd like a decent bagel (I may pick a few up at NYBB in Des Plaines today).

I use them for garnishing fish. Grilled salmon with Tobiko mixed with some mayo and cilantro, shrimp with little spoonfulls on each shrimp. I also have done what zoid recommended, putting them on rice.

Sometimes I just eat them by themselves.

So where have LTH'ers been successful in buying tobiko? Whole Foods... Dirk's? There might be some obvious answers, but I'm checking here first b/c the collective LTH wisdom usually does me right.

I'm using it in a recipe this Friday.

H-Mart has tobiko in at least two or three colors.

Jung Boo has it in hard clear plastic boxes in the freezer section.

Russe brand tobiko was 1.7oz for $20 at Whole Foods. Russe sells it for $45 for 8.8oz on their website.

Dear Whole Foods,
http://youtu.be/iOFKU_hwj2o

I'll check out Jung Boo tomorrow or the next day.

Ended up getting it from Mitsuwa. They had both orange and green for the same price. Walked away with about 4oz for $3.50.

I was just at Cere's Table where they did a lovely risotto with house-smoked salmon, topped with tobiko.