Make the meal: uni (yes, sea urchin!)

Last in a limited series on unique dishes for the holidays

Thanks again for reading another subscriber-only story. If you are feeling the slightest bit adventurous, give uni a try. You won’t be disappointed. Well, you might be if it’s not your thing. But you won’t know until you give it a shot! ~JRC

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Yes, you can eat that.

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I've never been to Japan, but it is definitely on my life list of places to visit. The culture, sites, and of course - the food - all intrigue me. And while I've never toured this diverse island nation, I have had the pleasure of learning a bit about their remarkable cuisine.*

I first tried "sushi" years ago, and like many here in the US, it was not as authentic nor as adventurous as I thought at the time.** We commonly consider sushi to be fish and rice rolled in seaweed (nori). But this is only a tiny fraction of the fantastic variety of styles and preparations from Japan that center on raw fish and other seafood.

My actual emersion into Japanese food was a decade later, on my first trip to West Los Angeles in the early 2000s. There, I met a man named So-Yeng Chen (no, it's not a Japanese name, but that's a story for another time).*** The father of my good friend, Janet, So-Yeng was a bonified expert on many things, including Japanese food. Amidst the rich Asian culture of LA, So-Yeng introduced me to the flavors and rituals that make Japan’s star cuisine - sushi - so incredible. And it is here in LA I first tasted that most remarkable of all remarkable foods: uni (commonly known as sea urchin).

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Sea urchins are spiny echinoderms abundant in the warm coastal waters of the world's oceans. These scavengers comb the seafloor eating the detritus of their marine environment. They are quite common and, in fact, are environmentally friendly to harvest and consume. This everyday nature of sea urchins belies the extraordinary culinary experience of eating them.

We don't consume the whole animal when we eat sea urchins; instead, we eat the "roe" - what the Japanese call "uni.” More precisely, it's the gold-orange gonads of these hermaphroditic creatures that are edible. I won't belabor what this biologically means because it could easily dissuade the less adventurous out there. Suffice it to say, uni is one food you need not overthink before trying. Just eat it!

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Uni, for lack of a better description, tastes of the ocean. Alone, it is slightly briny and sweet; the texture is buttery but somewhat firm. Pairing uni with a dab of wasabi and a dip in soy sauce, it hits almost all the high points of flavor. It is a remarkable experience trying uni for the first time. I've never had anything like it - before or since.

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So-Yeng taught me the ultimate way to eat uni. First, you dip your chopsticks in wasabi, getting a tiny dab of this spicy green paste on each stick. Grabbing a piece of uni with these primed sticks, you quickly dunk it in soy sauce - but not too much! Uni is distinctive but subtle and can be easily overwhelmed. Once your morsel is prepped and secured, place it on the tongue and allow it to melt in your mouth. 

For many, this is where the uni journey ends. But So-Yeng knew how to kick the flavor experience into hyper-drive. It goes like this.