Food of the Season: Hotaru Ika
04/16/2008 @ 12:00 pm
These hotaru ika are so called because they supposedly glow in the dark (hotaru means firefly). I couldn’t get anyone to tell me which part of the hotaru ika glowed and certainly they weren’t glowing while dead and on a plate. But nearly every meal I had last week included hotaru ika.
I ate these little squid nearly every way possible: as sushi, baked, steamed. Several times they were served with bamboo shoots, which are also “in season” in that they are young and fresh and very tasty right now.
Later, I found this photo which answered my question as to which part of the squid actually glows. It would be something to see these in the sea.
Anyone else enjoying foods of the season?
Hotaru Ika is actually one of the smallest (3-5 cm) in the group of squid. I grew up in Toyama city where you can see millions of little hotaru Ika in the spring time in Toyama Bay. I personally haven’t seen it with my eyes but only on TV. They come near the surface from the deep waters off the coast to mate. In the process they glow, illuminating the sea like a field of lightning bugs. (You know fireflies glow also for mating.)
As a kid I didn’t like a strong taste of Hotaru Ika, but now I understand how costly this spring seasonal portion is.
April 16th, 2008 at 12:48 pmI love hotaru ika. Living in Toyama, we always have hotaru ika at our various dinners at the end of March/start of April. If you’re ever in Toyama during the season, and are up for an early morning boat trip, you can go on a tour where fisherman will catch firefly squid and throw them up in the air in the bay, which I understand is quite a sight.
In Namerikawa, in the eastern part of the prefecture, there is a Firefly Squid museum, open from mid-March to the end of May, where you can see and learn about them.
April 16th, 2008 at 2:21 pmGreat pictures, Marie!
April 16th, 2008 at 2:47 pmOh, wow. You never know who is reading Japundit–or what they will know! Thanks for the tip about Toyama. That would be something to see–the glow in the dark squid, though as you say, the hour would be early. Ed, I had more photos but Wordpress was rejecting them. But fortunately, this gives people some sense of the diversity of preparation.
April 16th, 2008 at 3:34 pmOh yeah, that takes me back. I remember a couple of years ago, I was in a little izakaya in a low class suburb of Tokyo, there were a bunch of off-duty cab drivers hanging out, drinking shochu, and watching the TV news. A story on the TV came on, showing fishermen in Hakodate hauling in nets full of hotaru ika.
April 17th, 2008 at 1:37 amA few minutes later, as I sat there drinking my sake, the waitress delivered a beautiful plate of hotaru ika to me, courtesy of the cab drivers. I just stared at it in shock, contemplating the beauty of the presentation, and the unexpected gift. The cabbies roared with laughter. Then I started eating it, and the cabbies went silent. Obviously they thought that crazy gaijin wouldn’t eat it. But then they all came over and sat with me, giving me advice on which condiments would suit it best, they were even more surprised when they saw I had already put the appropriate karaimono on it. They roared with laughter, asking me where I learned to eat ika like that. I said, “oh, well I used to live in Hakodate!”
From that point on, the cabbies adopted me as their pet gaijin, every time I visited the izakaya they would send over sake and the weirdest sashimi on the menu, and I ate it all, much to their amusement. I didn’t want to take on too much obligation, so I always tried to buy them a round of shochu, but they wouldn’t hear of it.
@Chas - that’s a great story! Cabbies are so nice in Japan, as are most other people.
April 17th, 2008 at 2:13 amYes Chas, that’s a really great story. Thanks!
April 17th, 2008 at 11:20 am