Tai – [Sushi|Foodlore]

Description

Tai. – (Red Seabream.) aka: Red-Snapper, Madai.  – Hiragana: たい, Katakana: タイ Kanji:鯛

• About: A very popular, large, mild flavored,  sea bream with bright red skin on the outside and fatty white flesh on the inside. – Also Popularly known as the “Red Snapper.”  Fish labelled as ‘Tai’ or ‘Dai’ are considered synonymous with good luck and an abundant fishing haul, they are also said to be the favored catch of the lucky god of fishermen: Ebisu. As such they are revered as a lucky fish, so much so, that the name is even included in the word for “Auspicious”; 愛でたい (“Me-de-tai”) As such you’ll often see these fish decorating Trinkets, Lucky Charms, Toys, Festival Floats & on fishermen’s “BIG CATCH” flags (known as “Tairyō-bata” used to signal a big haul!) of course they’re also the name sake for the iconic shape of Taiyaki (Waffle Cakes, often served with ice cream or Anko inside, Yum!) – Tai are iconic, served on holidays and special occasions; especially around new years celebrations; A cooked Tai fish is about as important as a Turkey is on thanksgiving across the Americas. – Tai fish also frequently appear as samurai in various tales related to the dragon kings palace!

[tai fish samurai among others. Recovering the Stolen Jewel from the Palace of the Dragon King – print by Utagawa Kuniyoshi]

[ebisu wrestles with a taifish]

see also: Taiyaki, Kinmedai, Ebisudai.

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