Ark shell

Akagai (arche)

What it is

Ark shells live in oxygen-poor mud and carry haemoglobin in their blood, which almost no other bivalve does; that iron compound is what turns the foot crimson and leaves the faint note of blood. At the counter the scored slice is slapped once against the board — the muscle contracts and curls, which is at once a texture and a proof the shell was alive a moment earlier.

In the kitchen

Score the foot with fine parallel cuts three-quarters through before the slap, or it curls unevenly. Rub the frill in salt and rinse twice — the grit sits there, and no amount of purging in water will move it.

Goes with

Wasabi Soy sauce Rice vinegar Shiso Ginger Sudachi Kombu Salt

In season alongside

Abalone Salt marsh lamb Clam Common prawn Duck Gurnard

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