SEA URCHIN

Sea urchin, love it or hate it, but it's very unlikely you have feelings in between. This spiny deep ocean water creature is commonly featured on the menu of high-end Japanese restaurants, where you will likely find it under the name of 'uni,' typically served in the raw sushi format.

The flavor of uni is difficult to articulate and varies significantly depending on source, season and quality. For uni lovers, it can be sweet, musky, creamy and delicately rich. For the other half, the interpretation can be best described as low-tide. Isolating for flavor, the texture of uni, in my view, can be amazing. It's similar to a light fluffy but firm mousse that simply dissipates once it hits your tongue, leaving only the full delicate flavors in your mouth.

Photo by Vincent Ma

If you're curious about throwing some excitement to your dinner menu at home be prepared to have a thick pair of gloves to handle the spiny creatures. It may help to watch a few tutorials on YouTube to psych yourself out before taking the plunge to crack the shell, scoop out the roe, rinse - and then plop it into your mouth.