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Sujiko salmon roe

【Nigiri sushi: Gyoran】
Sujiko is salmon or trout roe that has been salted while still wrapped in the membrane of the ovary and is called sujiko because the eggs are connected like a string (suji). Since immature eggs are used to make sujiko, the grains are smaller than those of ikura, which uses mature eggs.

Like salmon roe, there are two ways of seasoning sujiko. One is the traditional method of salting, which brings out the umami flavor of the fish eggs. The fish eggs are then salted again to finish the process. Freshness is the key to sujiko, so if the fish eggs are processed immediately after being caught, they have less salt and are more delicious. However, if you use ingredients left for a while, the saltiness will become stronger and the sujiko will lose its texture.

Recently, the seasoning method that has become popular is soy sauce marinating. For this, you use soy sauce that does not change sujiko color.

I think this is the reason why sushi made with sujiko came about. This is because people who know about the old-fashioned sujiko recognize it as a very salty preserved food, and anyone can imagine that it would not go well with vinegared rice.