What is this?

[Daniel]

Found these on the Tokyo fish market. Can anyone tell me what animal these are?

http://hjem.tele2adsl.dk/pznaty/underligt%20japansk%20fyr%203.JPG


http://hjem.tele2adsl.dk/pznaty/underligt%20dyr2.JPG

[RockLee]

They look like they escaped from an Aliens-set !

[fugue]

that's hoya, sea squirt.

[GoldCoinLover]

Ewww......... what are they fried in the second picture? Or is that a level of decomposition?

sea squirt? Heh, you mean sea squid?

[Lina Inverse]

That clearly belongs to the most gross things I've seen this far :mad:
"It came from outer space"
http://www.monstersinmotion.com/dvd/itcame.jpg

[Daniel]

They aren't fried,that's just another variation of the species. So it is a sea-squirt, I never heard of this animal before.How do you eat it?

[fugue]

Hoya sashimi.

http://www.ukemochi.com/menu/menu1/hoya/01.jpg

http://www.ukemochi.com/menu/menu1/hoya/hoya.html

[Daniel]

Doesn't look too bad. Does it taste good? What is the texture of the meat? It looks kind of slimey.

[fugue]

It's also known as sea pineapple.
Tastes like frute.
Rare delicacy.

[RockLee]

Well...sounds like I have to try sometime !!!!

[lexico]

I love this 'hoya' 保夜, 海鞘. 老海鼠 sea squirt (1850) or ascidian (1856); they make one of the best chasers *slurrrps* :liplick:
As for looks and texture (yellow part) somewhat close to yellow peach with a heavenly scent ! Best eaten fresh & raw.
As for the sinuous shell, it's as tough as cow hide, so you can enjoy it for a good 30 min before swallowing ! Can be eaten raw or boiled.

MW 10th Collegiate on ascidian:

etymology [New Latin Ascidia, group comprising turnicates < Ascidium, genus name < Greek askidion, diminutive of askos wineskin, bladder]
definition: any of a class (Ascidacea) of solitary or colonial sessile turnicates that have an oral and an atrial siphon -- called also sea squirt.

http://bio.classes.ucsc.edu/bio136/urochordata/urochordata.html

Google img search for Ascidian 'large img' (http://images.google.com/images?q=ascidian&imgsz=xxlarge&svnum=20&hl=en&lr=&safe=off&start=0&sa=N&filter=0)

Google img searh for Sea Squirt 'large img' (http://images.google.com/images?q=%27sea+squirt%27&imgsz=xxlarge&svnum=20&hl=en&lr=&safe=off&start=0&sa=N&filter=0)

Does anyone have the species identification ?

[Apollo]

Sea squirts are an animal species with many characteristics of plants.

These two Latin names are commonly found among popular sea squirts found in Japan:
“Styela clava” (leathery sea squirt) and “Styela Plicata”.
A solitary sea squirt has a long club-shaped body tapering to a slender and tough stalk. 12 cm tall, the stalk can be a third of the total length. The surface of the sea squirt can be leathery with folds and swellings. The two openings (siphons) at the top end are close together.
The sea squirt, is a small slug-like creature that was previously best known for eating its own brain: once it has found an appropriate rock to set up home on it has no further use for its brain, and digests it. (!!!)
WHERE ARE THEY? Found in shallow water on hard surfaces.
Often found in sheltered warm water docks and harbours.
What do they eat?
They feed on plankton.

[Kamakiri]

I had these at my friend's house last month, and I was surprised how good they were! Being a biology major I knew what these were right away, and was rather loth to try them, but I'll try anything once, so I ate one....and then a few more. The texture is reeeally weird, like someone else said it's like a peach, but with a coarse/paste-like inner layer. At least I can say I've eaten them...

[ralian]

I've never seen it before.
There are so many weird creatures in the ocean!
Fascinating! :emblaugh:

[Hiroyuki Nagashima]

Hoya is not eaten in Kansai and Kyushu.
I have eaten in Iwate. :relief:
I have respect toward courage of the person who ate a sea squirt first in the world. :bravo:

[nanda]

how do u cook that sea pineapple?

[pipokun]

it is usually dressed in a sweet sour miso sauce, Sumiso.
sumiso: vineger, sugar, mirin, white miso, and mustard
In spring rape blossoms are also dressed in it.

[Apollo]

Imagine eating something which has digested its own brain..... :souka:

[lexico]

Not having eaten someone else's brain, might I say it shall be free of Mad Cow Disease, BSE, or CJD ?
And also, no pain, nor struggle, nor competition, no stress, no sad memories to anguish over; all this would give it a very heatlhy chemistry, happy meat so to speak. :-)
I would say sea squirts can be rightfully called the Buddha of the sea.

[Pararousia]

[QUOTE=Miss_apollo7]
The sea squirt, is a small slug-like creature that was previously best known for eating its own brain [QUOTE]

Reminds me of some occupational hazard, say, TV news. :D