Seafood ── Shellfish and cephalopods
Shako
a flat-bodied crustacean known for its punch-like strike
A flat, elongated crustacean known for punching prey with its powerful forelimbs. Shelled, its flesh is delicate and mildly sweet. In Edo-style sushi it is typically brushed with a sweet-savory glaze, in season through spring.
- Shrimp and crab
What it's made of
A flat, elongated crustacean whose shell hides soft white flesh. Known for using its powerful forelimbs like a hammer to smash open prey, it carries a delicate sweetness once shelled, perhaps as a byproduct of the power stored in those legs. In Edo-style sushi it is usually brushed with a sweet-savory glaze, and egg-bearing females are said to add a popping texture and extra richness between the flesh. Its thin skin is said to peel away easily from the meat.
How it's made
It burrows into the sandy mud of shallow bay-head flats and is caught by bottom trawl. Because it spoils quickly, the catch is typically boiled and shelled soon after landing for use as sushi topping. It grows by repeated molting, thin-shelled and sparse in flesh right after each molt, while its legs are said to fill out best in spring, just before spawning, marking its season.
Why it took this shape
The shallow tidal flats at the head of Tokyo Bay have long been a traditional fishing ground, and this crustacean became a familiar Edo-mae catch there. Because it lives burrowed in sandy mud, its numbers are said to be sensitive to landfill and water-quality change, making annual catches swing widely.
Before You Go
- How to shop at a supermarketHow to choose prepared foods, sashimi, and packaged sushi, when discount stickers tend to appear, region-only specialties, buying by weight, the checkout and bagging flow, and sampling etiquette at a local supermarket.
- Roadside stations, direct-sale stands, and marketsHow to enjoy buying food near where it's produced, visiting and shopping at morning markets and fish markets, what to expect at farm stands, and finding local food at roadside stations (michi-no-eki).
- Foods to look for in winterA guide to foods often seen in Japan around winter — nabe hot pot, fugu, oysters, crab, year-end soba, and osechi — with rough pointers for finding them.
Dishes in the same style
- AmaebiFormally the northern shrimp, it lives in cold water 200-700m deep. Raw, it carries a pronounced sweetness and a melting texture, which gives it this everyday name. Sold year-round for sashimi and sushi.
- Botan EbiA large shrimp said to be named for the peony-like red markings on its shell. Prized for a sticky, dense texture and strong sweetness, most often eaten raw as sashimi or sushi.
Ingredients and dishes from this land
Known source
- Known source: Chiba, Funabashi
The shallow tidal flats at the head of Tokyo Bay are a traditional fishing ground.
Contrast
- AmaebiFormally the northern shrimp, it lives in cold water 200-700m deep. Raw, it carries a pronounced sweetness and a melting texture, which gives it this everyday name. Sold year-round for sashimi and sushi.
- Sakura EbiA small, translucent red shrimp about 4cm long, named for its cherry-blossom hue. Eaten shell and all, fried into fritters or briefly boiled for a toasty crunch. Commercial fishing for it is licensed in only one bay in Japan.