Tunicate on a plate

The Escaped Ape

The Escaped Ape

In The Canopy
No really. One of the benefits of living in Tokyo. ;)

Tonight my wife and I went to an izakaya (Japanese bar/restaurant) near our house. It turned out to be a real find. Real old school ambience, delicious food and excellent service. We ate the usual range of tasty Japanese food - aji tataki (horse mackerel sashimi with scallion and grated ginger), yakitori (charcoal grilled chicken skewers, nira gyoza (garlic shoot dumplings) etc. But then I saw something I had to have. Something I've never eaten before, but wanted to try once. Yes, hoya. Hoya is Halocynthia roretzi, an edible sea squirt. It looks like something out of a sci-fi/horror movie.

The internal organs are served raw inside the shell, as sashimi, in vinegar, with a touch of sugar and soy sauce. You then dip the pieces in soy sauce and wasabi. Surprisingly fresh and tasty, with a vague iodine taste.

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They're farmed here as they're so popular. Picture from the web:

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I should add that most Japanese people don't eat them - they're popular only in some places. It was the first time my wife (Japanese) had eaten one as well. She wasn't impressed!
 
aleonn said:
Eww, looks nasty! Did it taste fishy?
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The taste was closest maybe to squid sashimi, but maybe with a bit of something "odd" thrown in (maybe a little like raw oyster?). Not really like anything I've had before. But I was expecting it to taste really strong and for it to be hard to eat, but it was surprisingly fresh and clean tasting.

GhostCon1 said:
You win a pair... lol.

I would never try something like that, despite wanting to.
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Believe me, this is the second time I've lived here (I was here for four years last time) and this is the first time it's seemed like a good idea to me. ;)

I'm glad I tried it once, but I won't rush back to try it again. :hmm5:
 
just saw this picture searching tunicates... I love sashimi, but the look of this thing is a definite turnoff for me... pretty scary looking! haha. can't believe some of the weird looking stuff people eat, no matter the taste..
 
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