If you’ve got some leftover rice in the fridge and a pack of tarako in the freezer, you’re already halfway to dinner. This Tarako Fried Rice is one of those easy, comforting meals that delivers big flavor with minimal effort. The salted cod roe melts into buttery shallots and garlic, coating every grain of rice with savory goodness. Topped with a crispy-edged fried egg and a scatter of scallions, it’s simple, satisfying, and so quick to make—perfect for a weeknight meal or lazy weekend lunch. Buttery, briny, and so deeply satisfying…let’s get into it.

What is Tarako?

Tarako is a type of salted cod roe, often used in Japanese cuisine. It has a delicate, slightly briny flavor and a smooth texture, and is typically enjoyed in a variety of ways. Tarako can be eaten as is raw or cooked, served alongside rice or pasta, or used as a filling for onigiri or in sauces. Sometimes it’s even mixed with butter or mayonnaise to make a savory spread for toast or pasta dishes. In short, it’s a flavor packed ingredient that adds deep umami oomph to even the simplest dishes. I’ve you’ve never tried it before you’re in for a treat! You can find tarako at most Asian grocery stores, particularly those with a well-stocked Japanese section. It’s often sold in vacuum-sealed packages in the refrigerated section or in the freezer section in larger boxes.

Tarako is one of my family’s favorite things. We adore it. So salty, funky, and very different from other types of fish roe or caviar. Tarako is not inexpensive but a little goes a long way. Generally the better the tarako, the larger and more uniform the pieces. It’s really not necessary to buy the best grade of Tarako for this recipe since it’s getting cut up and mixed in. And if it’s your first time trying tarako, I would recommend you get just enough to make this rice.

Making Tarako Fried Rice

If you’ve made fried rice before, you know it’s always best to used leftover rice. Cold, leftover rice is key for the perfect fried rice because it’s drier and firmer than freshly cooked rice, preventing it from turning mushy. The grains stay separate, giving you that signature chewy, slightly crispy texture when stir-fried. Fresh rice, on the other hand, tends to be too soft and sticky, making it harder to achieve that classic fried rice consistency.  Whenever I make rice I make a double batch so that later in the week I can make a quick fried rice meal, like this Caramelized Beef Fried Rice or Thai Chicken Fried Rice or Shrimp Fried Rice. Having cooked rice in the fridge is like money in the bank.

I start making my Tarako Fried Rice by gathering and prepping the ingredients. The shallots and garlic get thinly sliced:

The tarako gets cut into bite-sized slices:

Slice the scallions and have all the ingredients ready by the stovetop. Like most fried rice dishes, this cooks quickly so you want to have everything within reach before starting.

Melt the butter in a non-stick skillet:

Add the shallots:

Cook for 3 minutes until shallots are soft and caramelized:

Once they are nicely browned, add in the garlic.

Lower the heat a bit and add the tablespoon of the oil and the tarako.

Cook it for a minute, stirring occasionally. It’s not necessary to cook the Tarako all the way through. It can be eaten raw and actually most Japanese people prefer it half cooked. Either way, the Tarako will continue cooking as you add other ingredients.

Now it’s time to add the rice! You might want to un-clump it with wet hands if it’s really hard rice that’s been sitting in the fridge a while. Mine is from the night before so it’s cold but still kind of soft.

Press the rice gently into the pan.

Use the wooden spatula to mix the rice into the tarako. Try to cut into the rice to mix rather than just mixing to avoid crushing the grains of rice.

Continue cooking and mixing the rice for about 3 minutes, until all the rice is coated with tarako.

Taste and season. Tarako is fairly salty so you might not need as much salt as you would normally use. I do like to add a generous amount of freshly ground black pepper.

Add in the scallions.

Top with a Crispy Fried Egg!

Heat a small non-stick skillet and add oil.

I like to crack my eggs into a small bowl first so that I can be assured the yolks are intact.

Cook the eggs for one minute and then cover with a lid, cooking for an additional 45 seconds to 1 minute. This yields eggs with a crispy bottom and a very runny yolk. Which adds a whole new level of deliciousness when it mixes with the rice. Check out my Perfect Fried Eggs for a refresher course!

I like to garnish with more scallions for a fresh little bite.

I hope you love this Tarako Fried Rice, it’s such a low effort, high reward dish! Let me know what you think and if you make it tag us in your pics @funkyasiankitchen, we love seeing your creations!

Tarako Fried Rice

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• Author: Funky Asian Kitchen
• Prep Time: 10 minutes
• Cook Time: 10 minutes
• Total Time: 20 minutes
• Yield: serves 2
• Category: entrees
• Cuisine: Japanese

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Ingredients

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• 2 pieces tarako (salted cod roe), about 4 ounces
• 3 cups cooked cold short grain rice
• 2 large shallots, trimmed and finely sliced
• 2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
• 2 Tablespoons butter
• 1 Tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons neutral oil, divided
• 2 eggs
• 2 Scallions, trimmed and chopped plus a little extra for garnish if desired
  Salt and ground black pepper to taste

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Instructions

Gather your ingredients and prepare them- Use wet fingers and de-clump the rice if your rice is one hard ball. Cut the tarako into thick chunks and set all of your ingredients by the stove.

Make the fried rice-Heat a medium non-stick pan over medium high heat and add the butter and the shallots. Cook for 3 minutes until the shallots are soft and caramelized. Lower the heat to medium if you find the shallots are starting to burn. 

Add the garlic and stir into the shallots. Add 1 Tablespoon of oil plus the tarako and lower the heat to medium if you have not already done so. Cook for a minute, stirring occasionally.

Add the rice and press it gently into the pan. Cut into it with a wooden spoon or spatula as you cook the rice (so you don’t smash up the grains of rice), heating it up and mixing it into the tarako mixture. Cook for about 3 minutes until the rice is fully hot and the tarako coats the rice grains evenly. 

Taste the rice and add salt and ground black pepper to taste (The tarako is salty and you may find the rice seasoned enough as is.). Add the scallions and stir into the rice, cooking for an additional minute. Set the pan aside while you fry the eggs.

Make the fried eggs– Heat a small non-stick frying pan over medium high heat and add 2 teaspoons of oil and the eggs (I find it better to crack the eggs into a bowl first so you are guaranteed an intact yolk.). Cook the eggs for one minute and then cover with a lid, cooking for an additional 45 seconds to 1 minute. This yields eggs with a crispy bottom and a very runny yolk.

Transfer the rice to a deep plate and top with the eggs and more scallions if desired. You can also serve the rice in two bowls, topping each with a fried egg.

Serve Tarako Fried Rice immediately.

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Notes

*If you have any leftovers, you can store it in the fridge and re-heat for a couple minutes in the microwave.

*If you are unable to find tarako, you can substitute mentaiko, which is essentially a spicy version of tarako. I do not recommend using other forms of fish eggs like ikura (salmon roe) or masago (capelin roe). If you cannot find tarako or mentaiko, dried shrimp is a good substitute. Look for the tiny whole shrimp, which have a similar, briny salty flavor. Use several tablespoons, adding it in at the same point in the recipe that the Tarako is added.

Keywords: tarako, roe, fried rice, rice bowls, tarako gohan

There’s something magical about a steaming bowl of noodle soup on a chilly day—comforting, aromatic, and brimming with flavor. This Lemongrass Shrimp Noodle Soup is no exception. It draws inspiration from both Vietnamese and Thai cuisines, blending the bright, citrusy notes of lemongrass with the creamy richness of coconut milk. The broth is infused with ginger, garlic, and a hint of spice, creating a broth that’s equal parts soothing and invigorating. Tender, plump shrimp and silky rice noodles make it a satisfying meal, while fresh garnishes like crunchy bean sprouts, fragrant herbs, and a squeeze of lime take it to the next level. Whether you’re looking to chase away the chill or just craving a light yet satisfying meal, this soup is the perfect bowl of comfort so let’s get into it!

My Lemongrass Shrimp Noodle Soup is having a bit of an identity crisis. Is she a pho? The fresh herb garnishes and rice noodles certainly seem to think so. But then her creamy coconut milk brings it squarely back into Thai soup territory. No worries, she manages to balance both identities beautifully!

One of the secrets to this soup’s incredible depth of flavor lies in the aromatic paste. By grinding up the shrimp shells with onion, ginger, garlic, kaffir lime leaves and lemongrass, you extract every bit of that rich, briny essence. The shells might seem like an unlikely ingredient, but trust me—they’re packed with flavor. Shrimp pastes are used in lots of Southeast Asian dishes, like in this Gado Gado. When sautéed, the paste transforms into a fragrant base that infuses the broth with savory, aromatic goodness. It’s a little extra effort that pays off big time in the final dish! The broth will get strained so you won’t actually be eating the shrimp shells, they will just add loads of umami to the finished dish. Pro-tip: I like to save shrimp shells in a sealed baggie in the freezer. This way they are always available if I need a quick seafood stock.

You can finely chop all the aromatic ingredients by hand, or you can do what I do and use your blender or food processor to chop them into a paste.

You will need to stop and scrape down the sides of the bowl a couple times while chopping, as the ingredients are light and they tend to fly around. When it’s done you’ll have a deeply fragrant paste that looks like this:

Once my flavor bomb paste is ready, I heat a heavy pot and then add a neutral oil (I like avocado!) and add the paste to the pot. This gets sautéed until it softens and gets super fragrant and darkens in color.

Once the paste starts to take on a golden color I add the sugar:

And the fish sauce:

And the chicken stock:

Then I bring the broth to a boil, lower the heat, cover and let simmer for 15 minutes.

Now that the aromatic paste has done its job of making an intensely delicious broth, it’s time to strain it and discard the solids:

I like to press down on the solids to ensure I’m getting every last drop of their savory goodness:

Next I add the coconut milk and return to a gentle simmer:

Now that the broth is ready the only things left to do for our lemongrass shrimp noodle soup is make the noodles and cook the shrimp.  I use thin rice vermicelli for this because I like the thin noodles with the shrimp, but your mileage may vary. If you have thicker rice noodles in the pantry, or you just prefer a thicker noodle, use that! Whichever you choose follow the cooking times on the package because there are many different brands and thicknesses and we won’t want mushy noodles.

With any rice noodle you use, soak them first in tap water for 30 mins before boiling. This allows the noodles to rehydrate and cook more evenly.

Cook the noodle until they are fully cooked through but still have a little bite (al dente). When the noodles are cooked and drained, add the shrimp to the lemongrass broth. They only need about a minute to cook through.

I like to set out a tray of all the garnishes so folks can choose their own adventure; lots of fresh herbs if they like it really bright, lots of jalapeno slices if they want it hot, or lots of everything if you’re like me! You can prep the garnish tray ahead of time and either leave it in the in the fridge (covered) if you’re eating later in the day or just set it on the table before you start boiling the noodles.

I hope my Lemongrass Shrimp Noodle Soup helps chase away these endless February days for you. Try serving it with some of my Quick Mochi as a reminder that brighter, spring like days are coming. Let me know what you think and remember to tag us in your pics @funkyasiankitchen, we love hearing from you!

Lemongrass Shrimp Noodle Soup

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• Author: Funky Asian Kitchen
• Prep Time: 15 minutes
• Cook Time: 20 minutes
• Total Time: 35 minutes
• Yield: serves 2
• Category: soup
• Cuisine: pan-Asian

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Ingredients

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For the soup:

• 2 large shallots or ¼ onion, roughly chopped
• 1 inch piece fresh ginger (about 1 oz.), peeled and sliced into disks
• 5 large cloves garlic, crushed
• 1 stalk lemongrass, trimmed and roughly sliced or 2 Tablespoons chopped lemongrass
• 2 kaffir lime leaves
• ¼ teaspoon ground coriander
• ¼ teaspoon ground cumin
• 3 Tablespoons fish sauce
• 2 Tablespoons light brown sugar
• 3 Tablespoons neutral oil
• 3 cups chicken broth 
• 1 can (13.5 oz.) coconut milk 
• Salt to taste 

For Noodles:

• 6 oz. dry rice noodles soaked in water for 30 mins and then drained (I used the thin rice vermicelli)
• 8 ounces large, deveined shrimp (21/25 size), any shells removed and reserved

Garnishes:

• 1 cup mung bean sprouts, rinsed and dried
• 1 fresh jalapeno, stemmed and sliced into paper thin rounds
• 1 handful fresh cilantro leaves
• 1 handful fresh mint leaves
• 4 lime wedges

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Instructions

1. Chop the onion, ginger, garlic, shrimp shells, and lemongrass finely by hand or add to a blender or food processor. Purée to make a paste, scraping down the sides as needed.
2. Heat a heavy soup pot or Dutch oven over medium heat for a couple minutes until hot. Add the oil and then the paste mixture along with the coriander and cumin and sauté, stirring often, until it softens, becomes very aromatic, and deepens in color, about 5 minutes. 
3. Add the chicken broth, sugar, and fish sauce and bring to a boil. Lower the heat to medium low, and cover with a lid. Simmer gently for 15 minutes. Strain the broth through a fine sieve, pressing on the solids to extract as much liquid as possible. Discard the solids.
4. Rinse the pot and return the broth to the pot. Add the coconut milk, season with salt to taste, and return to a simmer. (The soup should be somewhat salty. Once you add the noodles and veggie garnishes, it will taste balanced).

Arrange the garnish plate:
1. Place the bean sprouts, sliced chiles, limes, and herbs onto a plate and set aside.

Make the noodles:

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add the rice noodles and cook for about 2 mins. until cooked through but still firm (but follow package instructions to be sure. There are many different thicknesses of rice noodles). Drain, rinse, and distribute among two large soup bowls.
2. Just before serving, add the shrimp to the broth and gently simmer until they’re just cooked through, about 1 minute. Ladle the hot soup and shrimp over the noodles.
3. You can either garnish the bowls with the herbs, or let people do it themselves at the table. .
4. Serve lemongrass shrimp noodle soup immediately.

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Notes

*You can make this dish in stages if you prefer. Make the soup completely. Then refrigerate the soup until ready to serve. The soup will keep for several days.

Keywords: lemongrass, noodles, noodle soup, shrimp, fast,