A wonderful little side dish and great in a bento box! Mentaiko Hanpen combines mentaiko (spicy cod roe) with Japanese hanpen fish cake. We add a little Kewpie mayonnaise and bake until golden. Enjoy with rice.
We love mentaiko. We love hanpen. And now we combine them to make a tasty snack!
While looking for different ways to enjoy hanpen, I found a recipe for mixing hapen with mentaiko and baking it in the oven. Such a simple and tasty idea.
The best part is that we can bake it in the toaster oven. We don't use our full size "regular" oven often, but I use the toaster oven daily. So if it's a recipe I can make in the toaster oven...that is a huge plus.
And if you don't want to use individual cupcake liners, you can arrange the mixture in a single layer on a small tray and bake the whole tray. I like the cupcake liner idea because it makes for a very fun bento lunch component!
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Ingredients
Here's what you'll need:
- Hanpen fish cake
- Mentaiko
- Kewpie mayonnaise
- Shredded nori - optional
See recipe card for quantities.
What Is Hanpen Fish Cake?
Hanpen is a type of Japanese fish cake. It is super delicious and underrated.
This type of fishcake is lighter and fluffier than "regular" Japanese fish cake. Why? Because it's mixed with mountain yam! Hanpen has a delicate sponge-like texture.
Hanpen doesn't have much flavor on it's own, so is very good at absorbing other flavors...like mentaiko! We love it in soup and shabu shabu (or hot pot). It's also tasty when fried and baked.
Hanpen is sold as a single large square in Japanese markets. You can find them in the freezer and/or refrigerated section.
What Is Mentaiko?
Mentaiko is spicy cod roe. It's briny and salty with a little bit of heat. Mentaiko is tasty and very versatile.
You can make mentaiko rice, mentaiko toast, mentaiko udon and even mentaiko pasta. Mentaiko is a popular onigiri filling.
The many ways you can enjoy mentaiko is endless. There's a popular Japanese bakery in Honolulu called Okayama Kobo Bakery. They make mentaiko mochi oyaki and beautiful salt-butter rolls with mentaiko! Both are incredibly tasty when you get them hot out of the oven (imagine hot melty mochi with mentaiko).
Purchase mentaiko from Japanese markets. In Honolulu we go to Nijiya (Ala Moana location), Mitsuwa (in Waikiki), or Marukai. Mentaiko is available in the frozen and/or refrigerated section. It freezes well so you can buy a few packs and store them the freezer for last minute meals.
Instructions
Let's get cooking!
Cut the hanpen into bite-size cubes (we cut into 36 pieces) and place in a medium bowl.
Remove the mentaiko from the thin sac/membrane. Discard the sac (or eat it as a snack!) and place the mentaiko into the bowl.
*There are many ways to remove the sac/membrane:
- Use one hand to hold one end of the mentaiko and at the same time use chopsticks to press and squeeze all the roe out into a small bowl.
- Or use a small knife to cut a slit into the sac/membrane and scrape out the roe.
Add the Kewpie mayonnaise. Use a spoon to gently mix everything together.
Divide into 6 cupcake liners and...
...bake in the toaster oven (or regular oven) at 400F for 5 minutes.
Substitutions and Variations
Here are a few ideas we like:
- Nori - Top the finished dish with shredded nori.
- Spicy - Drizzle chili oil on top.
- Chives - Sprinkle chives on top of the finished dish (this one is a good idea because we often have leftover chives from making Mentaiko Rice.
Enjoy!
Equipment
This recipe calls for cupcake liners. You can use regular cupcake liners and a cupcake tin. Or make life easier and use silicone cupcake liners. More on why we prefer silicone cupcake liners in the "Top Tip" section below.
Storage
The prepared dish will keep in the refrigerator for 1-2 days in a sealed container. Reheat in the toaster oven for 2 minutes at 350F.
Top Tip
Definitely use silicone cupcake liners! We love these cupcake liners because:
- Silicone cupcake liners stand up and hold shape on their own. You don't need a cupcake tin to hold them up.
- Make as much or little as you want. Only need enough for one bento? Make ⅙ of the recipe and bake in a single silicone cupcake liner.
- You can use the toaster oven! You don't need a full size oven when using silicone cupcake liners. We make 6 pieces for this recipe so we just use 6 silicone cupcake liners in the toaster oven. It saves so much energy and I love the toaster oven ^_^
FAQ
Yes! Mentaiko will keep very well in the freezer for up to 2 months. We like to keep a package in the freezer because it is useful for last minute meals.
Mentaiko is sold in 2 lobe packs at the market. You only need 1 lobe for this recipe. Mentaiko will keep in the refrigerator 2-3 days. Make sure to use the other lobe quickly (we have many mentaiko recipes) or freeze it ^_^
Mentaiko Toast is great for an easy breakfast or snack! We also love to make Mentaiko Udon and Mentaiko Pasta (super tasty with angel hair pasta). And Mentaiko Rice is a forever classic.
Mentaiko Hanpen Recipe
Mentaiko Hanpen
Ingredients
- 1 piece hanpen fish cake
- 1 lobe mentaiko
- 1 tablespoon Kewpie mayonnaise
Instructions
- Cut the hanpen into bite-size cubes (we cut into 36 pieces) and place in a medium bowl.
- Remove the mentaiko from the thin sac/membrane Discard the sac (or eat it as a snack!) and place the mentaiko into the bowl. *There are many ways to remove the sac/membrane:- Use one hand to hold one end of the mentaiko and at the same time use chopsticks to press and squeeze all the roe out into a small bowl.- Or use a small knife to cut a slit into the sac/membrane and scrape out all the roe.
- Add the Kewpie mayonnaise. Use a spoon to gently mix everything together.
- Divide into cupcake liners and bake in the toaster oven (or regular oven) at 400F for 5 minutes.
Related
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Mahalo for Reading!