What does uni taste like?

Describing the taste of sea urchin is difficult, but it typically has a sweet, salty, and sea flavor with a creamy and smooth texture. However, the taste can vary depending on the type of sea urchin, where it was caught, and the season, with fresher ones being more flavorful and sweeter while older or poorly stored ones may taste bitter. When using sea urchin in dishes like pasta, affordable options work well since the difference in freshness is not as noticeable in cooked dishes compared to when eaten raw, such as in sushi.

What is uni pasta made of?

Uni pasta is made by tossing cooked pasta in a sauce made with sea urchin (uni), garlic, olive oil, butter, and sometimes cream, resulting in a rich and flavorful dish. For more details about the ingredients used in my recipe, please see the content in the article above.

Why is sea urchin so expensive?

Japanese sea urchins are expensive due to the labor-intensive process of hand-catching them from rocky habitats, their rapid loss of freshness challenging storage, limited supply from overfishing and catch restrictions, and the difficulty and time required for farming them, all of which fails to meet the high demand.

Uni pasta is a dish that uses sea urchin (called "uni" in Japanese) as the main ingredient. Characterized by its creamy, rich and uniquely sweet flavor, uni is typically combined with a cream or olive oil-based sauce and served with al dente cooked spaghetti.

Yes, uni is a common ingredient for sushi and raw sashimi bowls known as "kaisen don".

Uni Cream Pasta (Creamy Sea Urchin Pasta)

Name: Uni Cream Pasta (Creamy Sea Urchin Pasta)
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 25 min
Cuisine: Japanese
Ingredients: 2 portions of dry pasta (approx 200g); 2 liters of water; 2 tsp of salt; 2 tbsp olive oil; 2 garlic cloves sliced; 1/4 red onion thinly sliced; 1 anchovy fillet (jarred anchovy in oil); 3 tbsp canned tomato (crushed or diced); 3 tbsp white wine; 150ml cream (36% milk fat); 1/4 tsp salt; 50-100g uni; 1 tsp unsalted butter; 2 pinches freshly ground black pepper; Parsley to garnish

Description

How to make rich and flavourful Japanese Uni Cream Pasta. (Serves 2)

Ingredients

2 portions of dry pasta (approx 200g)
2 liters of water
2 tsp of salt
2 tbsp olive oil
2 garlic cloves sliced
1/4 red onion thinly sliced
1 anchovy fillet (jarred anchovy in oil)
3 tbsp canned tomato (crushed or diced)
3 tbsp white wine
150ml cream (36% milk fat)
1/4 tsp salt
50-100g uni
1 tsp unsalted butter
2 pinches freshly ground black pepper
Parsley to garnish

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Instructions

Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add the salt.
Add olive oil and garlic slices to a cold frying pan. Heat on low and fry until the garlic is lightly golden and fragrant. Remove the garlic pieces and eat them on their own or save them for another dish (great with salads etc!)
Add the sliced onion and anchovy. Fry until the onion is slightly softened.
Once the onion is softened, add the pasta to the boiling pot of water and cook until al dente (generally 1-2 minutes less than the packaging states).
Add the tinned tomato and white wine to the frying pan.
Mix well and then add the cream.
Once the cream is heated through and almost bubbling, add the salt and uni. Break up the uni and mix it into the sauce.
Allow the sauce to continue simmering while you wait for the pasta to finish cooking. If the sauce becomes too thick, add a small amount of pasta water to loosen it up and make it glossy.
Once the pasta is cooked, transfer it to the pan with the sauce and turn off the heat.
Add the butter and mix until the pasta is fully coated and the butter has melted into the sauce.
Transfer to serving plates and top with ground black pepper and parsley.
Enjoy!

Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Category: Pasta
Method: Boiling
Cuisine: Japanese

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