Sea urchins?

[llvllagical_llkook]

While watching Iron Chef America, Iron Chef Flay cooked a very nice-looking plate. I thought I'd give it a try. The secret ingrediant was bacon. He made some sort of bacon with vegetables and put it on a clam and oyster. He then used a sea urchin, scooped out its flesh, believe it was called uni or something along those lines and made a similar thing with bacon, tossed it back into the sea urchin and baked it.

I then thought, where does he get the edible sea urchins from? I want to make them, just since they are rather exotic but am a little worried. I know they can be poisonous so I want to know how to tell if they're good and good places to get them. Also, has anybody had them? If so, how did they taste and what where they cooked with? I've never cooked them so I'm dying to find out.

 

[auntdot]

When I used to live in CA, many years ago, would collect them from the beach and we would eat the roe, the orange stuff. Am not aware of any parts that are poisonous, but most of the other stuff, including the intestines, you just don't want to eat.

 

[grumblebee]

Uni is kind of expensive and I dont know how practical it is to prepare it yourself.

Uni isnt ever cooked really as far as I know. its always eaten raw, like sashimi.

I've only ever had uni at sushi restaurants. It tastes interesting... like nothing else. It's creamy in texture and has a bit of an earthy taste to it. I quite like it but some people are very put off by the flavour/texture.

If you want to try it, I;d suggest trying it in a sushi restaurant. Its a safe bet that it will be fairly fresh and prepared/handled properly. To purchase it yourself, you would have to go to an asian market. I've seen it sold at my local asian market (a bigger one) but like i said, it's not cheap.

Good luck.

 

[auntdot]

No, you do not cook the roe.

have never seen sea urchins anywhere except on the west coast. There we found them in the intertidal areas or diving.

Have never tried to buy them here on the east coast.

 

[ironchef]

I've eaten many things, and I've cooked many things, but one thing that I cannot stand is uni. I've tried uber-fresh uni at high end sushi bars and I still don't like it. I've had it as a risotto, royale, sabayon, chawan mushi, mousse, butter sauce (okay, it was alright as a butter sauce), topping for oysters, with caviar, with lobster, and it's one of those things that just doesn't appeal to my palate. And I've tried very, very hard to like it.

 

[Chopstix]

I've had both cooked and raw uni at Japanese restaurants. Raw uni is so much better. I just love uni! It's taste is creamy, sweetish and unique.

 

[Jeekinz]

They're all over the beaches in the Bahamas too.

You can buy it here.

 

[kitchenelf]

To say the texture is like none other I've ever experienced is an understatement! The ones I have had have been deliciously sweet but I just can't "do" the texture.

I have never seen it sold in a market though. I'm sure someplace right on the ocean would stand a better chance of carrying them.

 

[llvllagical_llkook]

The Californiaop website sounds excellent. Does it ship to Canada?

 

[kitchenelf]

The Californiaop website sounds excellent. Does it ship to Canada?

This sounds like a question you need to look up on the site. I would say they do not ship to Canada for several reasons.

OK - I did search the site and this is what they say:

Do you ship to my country?
We can currently only ship within the United States because small packages of perishable items will most likely be stopped and delayed in customs, causing the seafood to spoil. Also, it is more likely for international orders to be mishandled. Catalina Offshore Products, Inc. is unable to accept international credit cards because our credit card service provider cannot guarantee the funds. If you really want to make an international order with that risk or by another method, you must call us at (619) 297-9797 (Monday-Saturday 8:00 AM-5:00 PM PST) to make your order

 

[Almost]

I've had uni at a sushi bar. It definitely wasn't cooked but I don't think it was completely raw. I'm pretty sure it was boiled. Either way, I didn't like it very much.

 

[grumblebee]

The Californiaop website sounds excellent. Does it ship to Canada?

You don't have to order it online to get uni. I'm in Canada too and there are at least 6 or 7 fisheries that provide uni to various retailers across the country. I know there are some in Nova Scotia as well as a few in Vancouver.

I'm in Calgary and have seen uni sold in the big asian supermarkets. I've seen it both pre-packaged (and vacuumed sealed) into trays (which is the usual way it is sold) and on the rare occasion, have seen actual, whole, live, green sea urchins for sale as well. I am pretty sure most major, urban places across the country you'd be able to get it (at least in trays, usually frozen) at an asian supermarket. Have a look around if you are really interested.

As I mentioned before though... it's not cheap!