Guide to Uni: Japanese Sea Urchin

While there are thousands of different varieties of sea urchin, or uni in Japanese, only a small number of these are safe to be eaten. Japan is by far the biggest consumer of uni in the world, with around 50,000 tons of uni consumed each year in the country, which is more than eighty percent of global production! However, many other countries are beginning to welcome the delicious tastes of this seafood treat. We take a look at what uni is, and how it can be incorporated into a number of yummy Japanese dishes!

What is Uni?

Uni is something of a luxury food, even in Japan where it is popular. The edible part of a sea urchin is its roe, and this can be taken from both male and female sea urchins. Each sea urchin only produces five edible roe bites, so uni is fairly rare and is treated as a delicacy. Presenting a creamy texture with a custardy consistency, uni is described as tasting ‘like the ocean’, but without tasting fishy. While uni can be found in many places in Japan, it is widely agreed that the best fresh uni in Japan can be found in Hokkaido, as uni produced in this prefecture typically presents incredible umami flavours.

Types of Uni

There are two main types of uni available in Japan: murasaki uni and bafun uni.

Murasaki Uni

Murasaki is the most commonly available type of uni in Japan. As a sea urchin, it looks dark purple with long spines. The edible uni within it is yellow and offers a slightly sweet taste. This type of uni is typically used for sushi or sashimi, as the more delicate flavours of murasaki uni would be masked by more intense ingredients in most other dishes.

Bafun Uni

Smaller in size than murasaki uni, bafun uni can be found deeper in the sea, which affords them a much bolder taste. They are more umami and bitter tasting than the sweeter notes of the murasaki uni. Due to this stronger flavour, bafun uni is best served in sauces and other cooked dishes, where it can add to a flavour, as alone it may be slightly overwhelming. Bafun uni has a dark orange colour, and because of this, it is sometimes known as aka uni, which means ‘red uni’.

How is Uni Served?

There are a number of ways in which uni can be enjoyed:

Sushi

Sushi dishes offer some of the most common uses for uni, and it is also often enjoyed raw as sashimi. In sushi, uni can act as a topping for a nigiri sushi, or as a topping for gunkan-maki, a long, boat-shaped sushi wrapped in nori seaweed.

Uni Chawanmushi

Uni can also be enjoyed as an addition to the traditional steamed egg dish Chawanmushi. The dish itself is already custard-like, as the egg mixes with a dashi broth, presenting a creamy texture, yet with an umami flavour, so the flavours of uni really work well with this.

Uni Zosui

Zosui is a type of porridge dish, made from rice, eggs and broth. It is a fairly simple dish that is enjoyed at the end of the meal, as the leftover broth is used up from a hotpot. The addition of uni topping can quickly transform this dish from a hearty and homely meal to something a lot more decadent.

Uni Donburi

A speciality dish in Japan, which sees an assortment of fresh seafood topping a bowl of steamed rice. While uni does not always have to be included in this dish, it will be found in the most luxurious dishes of this kind. In the best dishes, this can be found alongside other seafood delicacies such as salmon roe and buttery scallops.

Uni Pasta

In Japan, wafu pasta is their answer to spaghetti, with strips of pasta or noodles served with a dashi broth. For uni pasta, the sauce becomes creamier and richer, with bafun uni mixed in for a truly enhanced flavour. Many recipes will also see the dish topped with whole uni.

Would you want to try uni, or have you sampled this delicacy before? Let us know what you think by getting in touch via our social media channels! For more Japanese food in the UK to try, check out our oriental supermarket online!

Image Credit: City Foodsters