Strange Seafood
If you looked at a sea urchin, you would wonder how anyone. Despite its thorny and painful appearance though, the Japanese have been having them as dinner for the past several thousands of years. In order to get to the soft, yellow flesh of the sea urchins or ‘uni’, the spiny needles are clipped off, and then the core is cracked open. Uni flesh is then dug out and eaten raw as a sashimi, or placed on rice and eaten as sushi. Koreans sometimes place the flesh into stews. The gonads of both male and female sea urchins are culinary delicacies in many parts of the world. In Mediteranean cuisines sea urchins are often eaten raw or with lemon and known as ricci on Italian menus where it is sometimes used in pasta sauces. It can also flavor omelettes, scrambled eggs, fish soup, and mayonnaise. In Chilean cuisine, it is served raw with lemon, onions, and olive oil. I would be interested in trying sea urchin cooked but probably not raw because the texture doesn't seem appealing.
Sannakji is not technically a fish but an octopus cut into pieces when still alive, the fact that the octopus’ legs may still be moving when served makes this dish truly bizarre. Because of its complex nerve cords the legs can still have reflex actions without brain input. People eating this dish also find suckers stick to their mouth, tongue, and teeth. It is seasoned with sesame oil and toasted sesame seeds. I definitely could not eat this knowing that it could suction to my mouth or was moving on my plate even though it is not alive.
From the outside, Sea Squirts of Piure look exactly like rocks. However, the outer shell is actually soft and it’s slowly cut off to harvest the bright red flesh inside. Piure are specific to Chile however, some of it is exported to Sweden and Japan. Harvesting Piure requires great skill because to the untrained eye, a block of Piure can look like bleeding rocks. It is usually cut into small pieces, and flavored with chopped onions, cilantro, and lemon. Mince and boiled, it serves as an element in many dishes particularly arroz con pollo picado (rice with minced picture). It can also be fried and eaten with bread. There are concerns about the safety of eating given its high concentration of vanadium found in dry blood plasma. It can cause liver damage. I would not try this dish for fear of liver damage and other possible dangers of eating it.
In Alaska you can find sea cucumbers that have poky spikes. But just like other regular sea cucumbers, these sea cucumbers can be dried out and reboiled to cook it. These sea cucumbers have a chewy texture and are very versatile in the kitchen. Without a spine or many body structures it makes it easy to handle. There are many commercially important species of sea cucumber that are harvested and dried for export for use in Chinese cuisine. I would be interested in possibly trying this dish, the texture might bother me but I believe I could try it.
Sannakji is not technically a fish but an octopus cut into pieces when still alive, the fact that the octopus’ legs may still be moving when served makes this dish truly bizarre. Because of its complex nerve cords the legs can still have reflex actions without brain input. People eating this dish also find suckers stick to their mouth, tongue, and teeth. It is seasoned with sesame oil and toasted sesame seeds. I definitely could not eat this knowing that it could suction to my mouth or was moving on my plate even though it is not alive.
From the outside, Sea Squirts of Piure look exactly like rocks. However, the outer shell is actually soft and it’s slowly cut off to harvest the bright red flesh inside. Piure are specific to Chile however, some of it is exported to Sweden and Japan. Harvesting Piure requires great skill because to the untrained eye, a block of Piure can look like bleeding rocks. It is usually cut into small pieces, and flavored with chopped onions, cilantro, and lemon. Mince and boiled, it serves as an element in many dishes particularly arroz con pollo picado (rice with minced picture). It can also be fried and eaten with bread. There are concerns about the safety of eating given its high concentration of vanadium found in dry blood plasma. It can cause liver damage. I would not try this dish for fear of liver damage and other possible dangers of eating it.
In Alaska you can find sea cucumbers that have poky spikes. But just like other regular sea cucumbers, these sea cucumbers can be dried out and reboiled to cook it. These sea cucumbers have a chewy texture and are very versatile in the kitchen. Without a spine or many body structures it makes it easy to handle. There are many commercially important species of sea cucumber that are harvested and dried for export for use in Chinese cuisine. I would be interested in possibly trying this dish, the texture might bother me but I believe I could try it.