白魚 · シラウオ · shirauo

Shirauo

Shirauo is the Japanese icefish — a tiny, translucent whole fish eaten in early spring, often as gunkanmaki or, for the bold, alive. Not to be confused with shirasu.

Also known as

icefish, noodlefish

Species

Salangichthys microdon (Japanese icefish)

Category

Other & modern neta

Texture

soft, delicate — faintly sweet, clean, slippery

Peak season

Feb, Mar, Apr

Sustainability

unrated — A small seasonal estuary fish with no major sustainability assessment.

Mercury

Not in the FDA consumer table

Pregnancy

Eat in moderation

Price tier

$$

Three “shira-” foods, do not confuse

The names trip up everyone, so let’s settle it. Shirauo (白魚) is the icefish — a small, slender, near-transparent whole fish of the family Salangidae. It is not shirasu (the boiled-and-dried juveniles of sardine and anchovy), and not shirako (fish milt). Three different foods that sound almost identical.

Tiny, translucent, spring

Shirauo runs up estuaries to spawn in early spring, when it’s scooped up and eaten whole. It’s delicate and faintly sweet, usually served as gunkanmaki — a nori-wrapped bundle of the little fish over rice — sometimes crowned with a quail egg. Thrill-seekers take it as odorigui, “dancing eating,” while it’s still alive.

A historic Edo delicacy

Shirauo was a celebrated catch of old Edo Bay, turned up in ukiyo-e prints and haiku as a sign of spring. Today Lake Shinji and the Ariake Sea are the famous sources.

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