sea urchin

[Fort Point]

Where can I find it and how do I eat it?

[trufflehound]

Any sushi bar worth it's gills will have it, called Uni. Try it. You will either love it or proclaim it's the worst thing you ever put in your mouth.

[barleywino]

try to hold out for Santa Barbara uni if you can, you might be turned off if Maine uni is the first that you try (just ask the chef where its from)

[crowdingthepan]

Does Santa Barbara uni have a milder flavor? I find that uni is one of those foods that is MUCH better when it's super fresh. I never new just how much I liked it until I had it at a sushi bar where they kept live sea urchin in a bucket behind the bar. He'd crack 'em open and scoop out the good stuff for each order. Awesome.

[hotoynoodle]

yes,those from sb have a milder flavor than those from maine. the texture also seems looser, and as somebody who could uni everyday, i prefer the local variety. if it's more than 24 hours old, it can start to taste like iodine and can be off-putting for many.

the season in maine is drawing to a close. the local stuff is best during cooler months. urchins spawn during the summer and the product is simply not as good in june-july-august. because the weather was so bad, we may get a few extra weeks though, this year.

buying it retail may be more of an adventure than you'd like if you've never had it, because even the small trays contain quite a few pieces. go to a busy sushi bar that has quick turn-over of product -- it should look shiny and firm. it slides down your throat like cool briny custard.

neptune oyster also has it frequently and shucks it live from the raw bar.

[emannths]

But then once you know you like it, buying one of those $8 trays feels like larceny when you realize how much you're getting, and then gluttony when you realize you have to eat it all that evening.

[9lives]

you;ve done tht too?..:)

[hotoynoodle]

oh, lol, i only offered that warning since it's such a love-hate kinda food.

[barleywino]

if you want to ease into it, ask the sushi chef to put in on rice and then to use hamachi instead of nori to wrap around it (in a vertical cylinder). make sure they give you whole pieces from the tray instead of scraping little bits and pieces

[Fishegg]

You can buy it in quantity at Hmart.

[emannths]

Also at Reliable Market and Ebisuya. Just make sure you get the stuff on trays and not the (processed? pasteurized?) stuff in jars. But if you've never tried it before, head to a reliable sushi place and try it there first before coming home with 100g of the stuff.

[galka]

Two weeks ago I got a sushi tray at Sakanaya in Brighton and Yoshi puts some amazing uni on it. It was really fabulous but I do not know if it was from Maine or California.

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Sakanaya
75 Linden St, Boston, MA 02134

[9lives]

Yoshi is selling both in trays. The Maine was very good. The SB ws much more expensive abd in too large a tray for me to use..but pricier per serving.

I;ve bought it t at new Deal; fresh in the shell...real treat!

To the OP, any sushi bar should serve it by the piece, usually rolled in nori on a piece some rice. Eat it like you'd eat anything else. Put it in your mouth...:)

Somepeople like me love it and look to buy in a little more size and some people hate it..so try it with a piece or 2. No need to buy it in trays or shells..SB is "better" than Maine and commands a higher price; but if you don't like ME, you're not likely to like SB.

As to European style, I've had it a # of times in the French Caribbean. I like it of course but the flavor was nowhere near as pronounced s ME or SB...great for a sauce, but not for what most of us think of as the Japanese style uni. No USmarket for it and it was all eaten on island or shipped to France.

[keith]

Everyone is talking about Maine or SB uni, but my understanding was always that Hokkaido Uni was the best in terms of flavor and texture (even given the transport time it takes to get here from Japan).

Is there anywhere to get this in the Boston area? I think I've had it at Oishi, but it was a while back so I'm not certain.

[9lives]

I've never had Hokkaido so can't speak from personal experience. Maybe it's intrinsically better than ME or SB and maybe it's just fresher if you live in Japan?? Somene who's had it in Japan and US uni in the US could give you a better answer.

I used to have a link to selling prices at the Tsukiji Market and it was always priced at a considerable multiple to imported..US

I'd think your best shot would be Oya or Oishii..not sure how the tsunami affected the catch.

http://www.minato-tsukiji.com/news_de...

.

[cambridgedoctpr]

agree with Sakanaya; i had some, too, he gets uni from Maine and Cali

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Sakanaya
75 Linden St, Boston, MA 02134

[cambridgedoctpr]

last saturday the uni at Sakayana was from Maine.

[emannths]

In addition to eating it Japanese style, either as sushi or tempura, you can also eat it European style. It's often added to pasta, bread, or custards to take advantage of it's richness--a stroll around the internet will give you a number of examples.

[nasilemak]

Tempura uni - Is that being offered in any local spots?

[joebloe]

Oishii got uni wrapped with oba oba leaves and deep fried lightly battered. Quite good.

[yumyum]

I was going to say the uni carbonara at Coppa is a delightful use of the little buggers. Lots of recipes on the web.

Picture of the Coppa dish below:

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Coppa
253 Shawmut Ave, Boston, MA 02118

[RoyRon]

For a real treat the next time you are in a good sushi bar ask for the uni topped with the yolk of raw quali egg. Decadently delicious.