Mentaiko is a famous product of Fukuoka. There is an experience facility where you can not only eat it, but also season it yourself. How about experiencing the food culture unique to Fukuoka?

Let’s experience the mentaiko making!

We went to “Hakuhaku” operated by “Fukuya”, the maker of mentaiko. Let’s go to “Taiken Kobo” to make “my own unique mentaiko only found here in the world”!

As soon as you sit down, you start making mentaiko! First, they will explain how to make the basic set. Each person gets 100g of “tarako”. It is exciting!

They have explanation in English, Korean, and Chinese (original and simple characters) so no worries there.

Before making your mentaiko, you sample the “Aji no Mentaiko ” by Fukuya for seasoning sample. This is the basic flavor so check the spiciness and flavors!

Next, observe your tarako. The difference in colors depends on the feed that the cod ate.

First, you put the special red pepper blended by Fukuya. The standard amount is 3 pinches. If you want super spicy, give maximum of 8 pinches.

Next, I wanted to double the spiciness, so I put twice as much as the normal amount, 6 pinches! Then I put “white sesame” here!  Sesame makes it aromatic and make the spiciness milder.

Then, add the black pepper! If you put a lot of it, it turns in to “western mentaiko” that goes great with pasta and bread.

Then, here comes the “seasoning liquid”!

After pouring the seasoning liquid, rub it gently with you’re the ball of a finger and blend the liquid and spice evenly.

Close the bag, write down the date of manufacture and name (it can be your name, or name of your original mentaiko), and you are finished! After you take it home, put it in a refrigerator, let it rest for 2 days, and take it out of the seasoning liquid. Now your only mentaiko in the world is finished.

If you want to make it a souvenir, they have an original box (100 yen).

■Museum of Hakata’s food culture “Hakuhaku”
●Address： 2 Chome-14-28 Sharyo, Higashi-ku, Fukuoka
●Hours：10:00 to 17:00（Last admission at 16:30）
● Closed day：Tuesday (Closed the following day if Tuesday is a holiday)
●Fee：
Mentaiko making experience, 1,500 yen ※Reservation required（Free call: 0120-373-565）／Subject：Elementary school students or older / Admission accepted from 1 person to maximum of 200 people at one time
●Admission： 300 yen for adults (junior high school students or older), free for elementary school students or younger
●URL：http://117hakuhaku.com/
※Multi-language leaflet and guide sings available (English, Chinese (simple and original characters), and Korean)
※Some staff can speak other languages (English and Chinese (simple and original characters).


There are others! Facility where you can experience Mentaiko making.
■Chikumaya Cooking Stadium
This is the only place where you can experience making shiotarako, which is the first step of making mentaiko.

●Address：2 Chome-7-20 Higashinaka, Hakata-ku, Fukuoka
●TEL：092-434-2600（Reservation must be made by 17:00 the day before）
●Hours：9:00～17:00
Class time：10:30/12:00/13:30/15:00
●Fee： 2,200円（Tax included）
●URL：http://www.chikumaya.co.jp/