Practice JLPTMeaning
海鞘 (ほや, Hoya / Maboya) is Sea pineapple — a Japanese food (water animals).
What is Sea pineapple?
The sea pineapple ( Halocynthia roretzi ) is an edible sea squirt (ascidian) consumed in Japan, where it is known as hoya (ホヤ) or maboya (マボヤ ). Hoya is most commonly eaten raw as sashimi , simply by slicing the animal vertically, removing the internal organs and serving them with vinegared soy sauce. It is also sometimes salted, smoked, grilled, deep-fried, or dried. Sea pineapples are known for both their peculiar appearance, described by journalist Nick Tosches as "something that could exist only in a purely hallucinatory eco-system" and their peculiar taste, described as "something like iodine" and "rubber dipped in ammonia". However, aficionados claim that the taste is well suited to serving with sake. The flavor has been attributed to an unsaturated alcohol called cynthiaol, which is present in minute quantities.