【Reading】たいらがい

【English Name】Pen Shell

The taira-gai, whose formal Japanese name is "tairagi," is a large bivalve classified in the family Pinnidae. Its shell can exceed 30cm in length and is characterized by a black to greenish-brown shell. Because it lives with its pointed tip thrust into the sandy-muddy seabed, it is also known by the alternative name "tachigai" (standing shellfish).

As a sushi topping, mainly its large adductor muscle is used, and it often circulates under the name "hira-gai" (tairagai). Its flavor is characterized by a sweetness peculiar to shellfish combined with a faint astringency in the finish. Compared with the scallop (hotate-gai), it has a light, crisp bite, and is an ingredient prized at high-end sushi restaurants.

Its main production areas are inner-bay regions centered on western Japan, such as the Seto Inland Sea, the Ariake Sea, Mikawa Bay, and the Iyo-nada, and it is also distributed along the Pacific coast south of the Boso Peninsula and the central Sea of Japan southward. In recent years, imported products from Korea have also been widely circulated. The fishing season is mainly around December to April, when the adductor muscle becomes thick and the flavor is at its fullest.

Ways of eating it include sashimi and nigiri-zushi, as well as lightly searing it (aburi), which increases its sweetness and enhances its flavor. Aside from the adductor muscle, the himo (mantle) and small adductors (kobashira) are also edible, and in Kyushu there are regions where it is sold under the name "bira."