Japanese Food Shirako (白子)

[thomas]

Shirako (白子) is a Japanese delicacy served both raw or fried, on rice, as tempura, sushi, or as a side dish. As weird as it sounds, it is the sperm sacs and the seminal fluids of fish and molluscs. Rich in proteins and slightly fatty, it is a savoury speciality with an interesting texture. In Japan, the most commonly found fish semen are those of cod (鱈 tara), anglerfish (鮟鱇 ankō), salmon (しゃけ sake), squid (烏賊 ika) and pufferfish (河豚 fugu).

Shirako translates to "milt" or "soft roe" ("Fischmilch", fish milk in German; "laitance" in French). It is also used in Korean, Indonesian, Russian, and other European cuisines. It contains about 75% water, up to 5% fat, and many essential proteins, such as protamine (histone), nucleoprotein, and polyamines. Rich in amino acids, phosphorus, and B vitamins, milt is sometimes administered as a food supplement.

I had two plates (one pictured above) in an izakaya yesterday. It's outstanding!

 

[nice gaijin]

Having tried shirako, this is one of those cases where

 

[Majestic]

LOL.
This is a bit of exotica that I have had. This one didn't bother me. Would prefer this over shimeji or asari in my soup any day.

 

[Majestic]

Edit: shimeji > should be shijimi

Shimeji are OK in my book. Shijimi...not so much.

 

[thomas]

By the way, the picture above shows cod milt (tara).

Edit: shimeji > should be shijimi

Shimeji are OK in my book. Shijimi...not so much.

Although there's plenty of Japanese food that I find bland and not particularly exciting (asari, shijimi, konbu, sazae, food rice on a daily basis, etc.) I have yet to find something that's utterly revolting. One thing I have never tried is なまこ (sea cucumber).

Sea Cucumber | UMAIMONO AOMORI

This page is about “Sea Cucumber” in the Specialty Reference Book on “UMAIMONO AOMORI” Aomori Product Information website.

www.umai-aomori.com

 

[johnnyG]

shirako -- we have it fried sometimes

くらげ／クラゲ -- jellyfish (at minshuku somewhere)

One we've had a couple times up on noto-jima is しらうお. These are tiny noodle-like fish, maybe up to 2cm long, and you 'eat' them out of a bowl with liquid/soup, like you'd be slurping up noodles.

Except that they're alive and swimming about in your bowl. As you eat (drink?) them, you have the option to chew or not before swallowing....

Uni is extremely common, not sure if it'd still be called odd/unusual or not.

 

[mdchachi]

Shirako (白子) is a Japanese delicacy served both raw or fried, on rice, as tempura, sushi, or as a side dish. As weird as it sounds, it is the sperm sacs and the seminal fluids of fish and molluscs. Rich in proteins and slightly fatty, it is a savoury speciality with an interesting texture. In Japan, the most commonly found fish semen are those of cod (鱈 tara), anglerfish (鮟鱇 ankō), salmon (しゃけ sake), squid (烏賊 ika) and pufferfish (河豚 fugu).

View attachment 90693​

Shirako translates to "milt" or "soft roe" ("Fischmilch", fish milk in German; "laitance" in French). It is also used in Korean, Indonesian, Russian, and other European cuisines. It contains about 75% water, up to 5% fat, and many essential proteins, such as protamine (histone), nucleoprotein, and polyamines. Rich in amino acids, phosphorus, and B vitamins, milt is sometimes administered as a food supplement.

I had two plates (one pictured above) in an izakaya yesterday. It's outstanding!

I ordered shirako once by mistake. I was trying stuff and didn't know what it was when I ordered off the board.
I didn't enjoy it. Maybe because I was looking for something more fulfilling than a pile of fish semen.

 

[Majestic]

Anybody try kusaya? Its a dried fish that's supposed to be revoltingly stinky. Never had it, and have never even come across it in my travels. But its kind of legendary in its stinkyness.

Kusaya - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[thomas]

Anybody try kusaya? Its a dried fish that's supposed to be revoltingly stinky. Never had it, and have never even come across it in my travels. But its kind of legendary in its stinkyness.

I had it twice years ago. Once a student brought it for omiyage from Izu-Oshima. It was still "fresh" when I opened the jar, and, yes, the odour was something, but - just like nattou - it tasted nice. I had it in an izakaya the second time, fried with mayonnaise. I'd love to try it again, but it does not seem easy to find.

 

[johnnyG]

A fair number of packs of this at the store the other day, and not even expensive. Even tho this supermarket is part of a chain, my wife has said that the place used to be a fish market/store, I'm not sure how long ago that was, but it has carried over since their fish is better than most any other store around. Not that I'm an expert, but it's the only place my wife shops for fish.

 

[Majestic]

Shirako with a bit of sake a couple of nights ago. The taste: not so bad.

The mental image as I was eating it - well, see @nice gaijin 's post above.

 

[Uncle Frank]

I spent a fortune eating at American style restaurants in Fukuoka. I was a super fussy eater who hated fish , vegetables , noodles , soups . Getting married later in life cured that habit , LOL.