Mentaiko Spaghetti

Japanese pasta restaurants typically have both "Italian style" and "Japanese style" pasta selections on their menu, and mentaiko (spicy cod roe) spaghetti is a Japanese style standard. It's very simple to make - just mash up the mentaiko and peel off its skin, add butter and a little bit of soy sauce, and then mix it all together with the boiled pasta. I added shiso leaves and nori on top so it's a little hard to see the mentaiko, but it gives the pasta a nice texture and saltiness. Actually today's mentaiko pasta tasted pretty spicy but not as salty as I expected. Maybe next time I will try using tarako, which is salted roe. Tomato-based pastas are still my favorite, but once in a while it's a nice change to have a Japanese style pa-su-ta!