Mirugai – [Sushi|Foodlore]

Description

• Mirugai – 海松貝 – (Giant Clam, Geoduk; “Shiroumiru” “Mirukai” “Namigai”) 

• About this fish: “Mirugai” used to refer to ‘Giant Clams’ which were once very collected in tokyo bay and served as a popular sushi ingredient;  like other types of Japanese clams (see: Hamaguri) their natural habitat was harmed during the 2011 earthquakes.  – So; since then Crafty chefs decided to instead offer a substitute; imported Giant Pacific Geoduks! (Which to their credit are far more sustainable & supposedly they do taste just about the same!) However; most restaurants did not change the name on their menus! (The proper name would be “Namigai” or “Shiromiru”!) – Perhaps the reason is aesthetics, as eating something phallic as a ‘geoduk’ just doesn’t sound very appetizing (especially if you know what they look like.)  Regardless: This large, Phalliac looking clam’s long, tender neck meat when prepared as nigiri, tastes Sweet and Briny, Chewy yet Crisp! – Because this Substitute is a bit more recent to the modern menus; The following folklore & legends are only tangentially related and are mainly have to do with actual “Mirugai”; Giant Yokai Clams called ‘Shinkiro’ which were once said to cause mirages to sailors out at sea! – Curiously, this myth’s origins seem to trace back to Dragon Legends from Ancient China; Supposedly, people were confused about why seashell fossils were found up in the mountains; and so a myth eventually arose that dragons were perhaps born from clams, tritons & other seasnails!

[Below: Toriyama Sekien’s Konjaku Hyakki Shui’s ‘Shinkiro’ Shows The breath of a giant clam showing a mirage of the dragon king’s palace.]

[Sticker art by @Samkalensky, Part of my Nigiri Sushi/Foodlore collections.]