Myeongran Jeot Pasta (Cod Roe Spaghetti)

This Korean-style pasta is made with a spicy and garlicky cod roe sauce, topped with tons of parmesan. It’s simple and so delicious!

What is Myeongran Jeot?

Myeongran jeot 명란젓 (or mentaiko in Japanese) are whole sacs of cod or pollack roe that have been cured and preserved with salt.

Jeot (젓) or Jeotgal (젓갈) in Korean means salted/preserved kinds of seafood, such as shrimp, clams, squid, fish, and roe. These are usually eaten as a banchan (side dish) along with rice and other main dishes.

Myeong (명) comes from myeongtae (명태), which means Alaskan Pollack, and ran (란) means roe in Korean.

What you’ll need to make Myeongran Jeot Pasta:

• Cod roe: the star ingredient for this dish, it’s salty, savory, and has tons of umami flavor.
• Garlic: for an extra boost in flavor, garlic is amazing in everything in my opinion 🙂
• Spaghetti noodles: I chose to use spaghetti noodles, but any other noodle choice such as pappardelle, angel hair, rice noodles, or fettuccine, will work great with this recipe.
• Olive oil: to help bind everything together to create a delicious sauce, along with a bit of pasta water too.
• Red pepper flakes: for a bit of heat, but feel free to add more or omit completely.
• Parmesan cheese: to add some creaminess to the pasta and it pairs really well with the other flavors of the dish.
• Shallots: I personally love the sharp but delicate flavor of shallots, but onions will work great too!

How to make Myeongran Jeot Pasta:

You’ll be surprised how easy it is to make this pasta, it can literally be done in less than 15 minutes (start to finish!!)

1. Bring a pot of water to a boil and cook your pasta to the package directions.
2. Let’s make pasta sauce. Remove the sac lining from the cod roe and add JUST the roe into a saucepan. Add your olive oil, garlic, shallot, and red pepper flakes to the saucepan and cook just until fragrant, about 2 minutes.
3. Drain the cooked pasta, reserving about 4 tablespoons of pasta water.
4. Add the cooked pasta to the saucepan and toss to combine. Feel free to add as much or little pasta water depending on how saucy you like your pasta. (You can season the pasta with salt at this time if you’d like, the cod roe + parmesan cheese adds enough saltiness for my taste).
5. Top with parsley and parmesan cheese. Enjoy!

Watch how to make this myeongran jeot pasta

Myeongran Jeot Pasta (Cod Roe Spaghetti)

Serves: 2 Prep Time: 5 Cooking Time: 10 10

Rating: 5.0/5

( 1 voted )

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Ingredients

• 4 tablespoons cod roe, sac lining removed
• 6 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
• 4 tablespoons shallots, diced
• 4 oz spaghetti noodles
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 tablespoon red pepper flakes
• 1 tablespoon parmesan cheese, grated 
• ½ tablespoon parsley, chopped

Instructions

1. Bring a pot of water to a boil and cook your pasta to al dente or follow your package directions. 
2. To make the pasta sauce, remove the sac lining from the cod roe and add JUST the roe into a saucepan. Add your olive oil, garlic, shallot, and red pepper flakes to the saucepan and cook on medium heat just until fragrant, about 2 minutes.
3. Drain the cooked pasta, reserving about 4 tablespoons of pasta water (to help bind the sauce). 
4. Add the cooked pasta to the saucepan and toss to combine. Feel free to add as much or little pasta water depending on how saucy you like your pasta. (You can season the pasta with salt at this time if you'd like, the cod roe + parmesan cheese adds enough saltiness for my taste).
5. Top with parsley and parmesan cheese. Enjoy!