Bottarga / Karasumi — Sun-Dried Mullet Roe

Australian mullet roe, salt-cured and dried in the sun the traditional way. The Italians call it bottarga, the Japanese call it karasumi, and both cultures treat it as one of the great concentrated seafood flavours.

The process is simple and slow: the roe sac is salted to draw out moisture, pressed, then dried under the sun until it firms into a dense amber block. Nothing is added. What you are left with is mullet roe with all the water taken out of it and all the flavour left behind — intensely savoury, faintly bitter at the edge, and rich in a way that makes a little go a long way.

Why Choose It?

• Traditional method: salt-cured and sun-dried, nothing added.
• Australian roe: local mullet, cured here.
• Intensely savoury: concentrated flavour with a firm, dense grain.
• Two ways to use it: sliced thin as it is, or grated over a finished dish.
• It keeps: cured and dried, so it lives in the fridge for a long time.

How To Use It:

• Sliced thin: with a slice of pear or daikon, and sake. The Japanese way.
• Grated over pasta: with olive oil, garlic and chilli — the Sardinian classic.
• Over steamed egg: shaved on at the end.
• On pizza or risotto: grated on after it comes out, never before.
• With drinks: thin slices on their own, as they do in Nagasaki.

The One Rule:
Never cook it. Heat turns bottarga bitter and rubbery — grate or slice it onto the finished dish.

Storage:
Wrap tightly and keep refrigerated. It will darken and firm up over time, which is normal.

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