East Coast Spawn

Butter Poached Shad Roe with Caramelized Onion

The weather has been in its peculiar mood this year. I do appreciate the normalcy of Spring arrival--spawning of the East Cost river herring from Shad and its Roe. There is a window of about 2 weeks when I keep my eyes peeled for this delicacy. Shad's spring ritual is to swim and spawn from ocean to river, along the East coast. Once the water gets warmer, they will come up north. Georgia, North Carolina will get them before Virginia, Maryland and New England

Fresh East Coast Shad Roe

Though, Shad has a bad reputation of being a bony fish. Trust me, it will never stop a true Thai-seafood eater. I can gently fry the fish until the bones are crunchy that you can consume the fish whole. My family and I became a fan several years back, not of the fish meat, but the roe. Properly cooked Shad roe can easily be called the Foie Gras of the sea. Unlike any other fish eggs I have had, salty cured or spicy curried, the sack needs to be cooked gently with subtle heat to produce a stately out come. I poached the whole sack in warm butter for about 10 min. After that, it's all about how you want to make it happen. 

One way is to have it as is with some whole-wheat toast, caramelized onion, caper and a squeeze of lemon.  I added some fresh baby arugula and fennel slice to bring aroma and contrast, highlighting the roe.  It was like butter.

Shad Roe with Chive Blossom

The second way is to stir fry (intense heat for less than 5 min.) the fresh roe with aromatics, like garlic and chive blossoms.  I love this green, sweet, crunchy, big volume in flavor.  It is a good paring with the roe.

Larb Shad Roe

My favorite so far is to "Larb" the roe. The term “Larb” is translated to a process in which one cooks half-raw meat salad with lemongrass, toasted rice powder, Thai herbs, seasoning and lots of lime to cut the richness of the roe and cook it further.  This is a traditional method of cooking meat in the Northeastern part of Thailand and Laos.

With a plate of steamed rice and a cold drink...This North American sea Foie Gras makes me feel so much at home.  You should give it a try.

Cheers!
Teera