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E_Snap t1_j6hfgp2 wrote

Reply to comment by Randomthought5678 in This Sashimi platter by PhillyPhresh

Uni forager here— hate to burst your bubble but the uni that you can get in restaurants is red urchin, not purple urchin. Purple urchin is the invasive species that is destroying kelp forests and eating away the coastal rock. It is much smaller than red urchin, which is a highly-sought-after and overfished find that is exported worldwide from San Diego. Red urchin has a more briny flavor and the gonads are far larger, whereas purple urchin has a really creamy (better) flavor. Unfortunately its gonads are so small that they are an enormous pain to clean, so sushi restaurant don’t use them.

Every time I go purple urchin foraging, I wind up getting home to clean them at like 6PM and eating at like 10 or later.

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nancylafancy t1_j6hlzwq wrote

You forage it? That’s frikkin cool!!!

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E_Snap t1_j6hnn6s wrote

Lol it’s almost like an extreme sport. You’re clinging for dear life to the edge of tide pool rocks where they meet the surf, working in the time between the waves swamping you, and trying to dig the urchins out of the sockets in the rock that they’ve eaten themselves into. Highly recommended. You do need a fishing license though.

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Randomthought5678 t1_j6iddoo wrote

Have you ever heard of gooseneck barnacles? I've always wanted to go forwarding for them but it's pretty dangerous as well. Supposed to be one of the best flavors in the sea though.

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nancylafancy t1_j6ler2d wrote

That would be pretty cool to watch! You should start a YouTube channel. Seriously!

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Randomthought5678 t1_j6ibhku wrote

I'm not certain but when I get uni that comes in small little strips it's not the invasive species?

Usually uni come in pieces that are maybe an inch across but they started coming in much smaller quarter inch pieces. A serving used to be maybe one or two pieces now they come as many little ones?

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E_Snap t1_j6jpsrp wrote

If the restaurant you’re going to specifically calls it “purple urchin,” then you can be sure they are going out of their way to acquire the invasive species. But there is no commercial market for that variety and they are not considered a delicacy commercially, so it would still be surprising to find.

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Randomthought5678 t1_j6k3ytr wrote

Yup. It was a big cluster f*** of a dinner party and I don't remember what it said on the menu but I did comment on the pieces being smaller than regular uni. The waitress went into a pretty long description of why it was different while she served us an entire ecosystem.

Umi Sake House in Seattle which is the cat's meow and bougie enough to go to the extra steps.

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