Urchins... it's not what you think!

[lordroad]

This is more of a lounge related post, but I thought it would be more fun here, seeing as how a lot of us keep these critters in our tanks.

After watching the Sopranos season 6 premier Sunday night, my wife and I went to our favorite sushi place and I was feeling more daring than usual so I ordered two pieces of sashimi. Sashimi differs from sushi because most of it is raw fish and invertebrates, or very lightly blanched.

Anyway, I ordered eel and sea urchin. Both were great and I think I'll stick with sashimi from now on (more taste, plus I don't care for the nori in sushi rolls), but damn, that urchin was incredible.

It was served on a layer of radish strings with some scallions and placed atop some kind of Japanese mint leaf. With a dab of wasabi, the urchin was delicious... I can't even begin to describe the taste. But when you bite off some of the leaf it's even better because the minty tang of the leaf combines perfectly with the urchin flavor and helps go down the throat.

So if you like sushi and aren't afraid of eating fish or invertebrates raw, try out the urchin sometime... but only at a high quality sushi place... I don't think I'd trust it if a Japanese "express" hibachi and sushi joint offered it!

 

[Shaunna]

I saw a thing on my home page a few days back about "sushi may not be good for you"... who the hell would think it was good for you?!!!!! Hmmm, who would have thought that RAW FISH was bad for you! DUH! Blah, I never eat the stuff!

 

[SALTY WATERS]

Aaah, so that is what happened to my last urchin...lordroad ate it!!!

LOL

MFT WARNING!!!

WANTED

NAME: lordroad

CRIME: Uncontrolable appitite for SW inhabitants

If you see this person keep him away from your SW tank at all costs; lordroad's appitite for our SW friends, has been known to devour whole tank inhabitants in only minutes.

 

[lordroad]

lmao, salty waters.

You gotta be careful flipping the things. The tasty part is on the underside.

I've also found they are tastier when they feed solely on coraline algae. Adds a crunch to the slimy taste, lol

 

[cinlnk]

No Sir Not gonna do it ....I am not a fan of fish period... let me rephrase that ....I love Fish...just dont care to eat it

 

[seastaar88]

LMAO -- salty, i almost pee'd my pants

 

[ram man]

the only see food i will eat is lobster and crab, i have tried eel, not good, tried octopus, O.K. and who started the whole sushi craze?

 

[Limi310]

For some reason the thought of urchin doesn't gross me out and I would probably try it..............if someone else ordered it. I don't mind raw fish like tuna and salmon, but I don't really understand the whole craze.... I just personally prefer the cooked flavor over raw. After I am done eating it I feel like I am missing something and I'm not really satisfied. Give me a grill any day! As far as eel..........that does gross me out and I won't eat it, maybe it has something to do with the shape of the eel, I don't know .

 

[seastaar88]

i ate a glass eel last summer just after we euthanized a bunch (for research).. it was kind of a bonding experience between me and two other coworkers..... also ate fresh (and i do mean fresh) salmon eggs that same summer.

 

[fish outa wata]

that was funny. I agree with Limi, about the urchin and eel? I've never been a fan of raw food, especially seafood. The funny thing is that its not like it's cheap, salmon eggs is caviar and that's really expensive.

 

[JNevaril]

i've had um....squid before, and octopus or something like it. It was at a Malaysian culture thingy.


interesting stuff.

kinda rubbery, in my opinion....

 

[bigredspecial]

Good choice on the sashimi Lordroad, welcome to the dark side....

I've never tried urchin... but only because I havn't had the opportunity. I have tried eel, octopus, and all the common stuff. The only thing I've tried to date which I didn't like is surf clam(The red and white ones).

Man I love sushi!

I saw a thing on my home page a few days back about "sushi may not be good for you"... who the hell would think it was good for you?!!!!! Hmmm, who would have thought that RAW FISH was bad for you! DUH! Blah, I never eat the stuff!

Actually, sushi is extremely good for you. The bad press surrounding it in the past few weeks is simply concerns over elevated murcury levels in seafood. The thing is, that that applies to ALL seafood. The media chose to pick on sushi, because it's more sensational.

 

[Fishckabibble]

salmon eggs is caviar and that's really expensive.

salmon eegs are caviar, but not the expensive kind, the expensive stuff is called beluga, although it's not from the whale it is from the sturgeon fish. sorry hubby is a fine dining chef i gotta hear this stuff all day lol

 

[bigredspecial]

Most sushi uses a different type of caviar though... At least at my favorite resturaunt they do. Not sure if it is salmon or not, but it looks like it; the eggs are transparent orange.

 

[Lorna]

The small orange roe used in mako rolls is flying fish roe. They sort of pop in your mouth and are my favourite. Having spent many years in Vancouver and with the Japanese influence I actually acquired a taste for sushi and still miss the great sushi bars and Japanese restaurants in Van. I still can't get my husband to eat it though.....I have gotten him into a Japanese restaurant though.

 

[bigredspecial]

^^^That's them!

That's interesting; the last species I would have thought of was flying fish!

 

[Limi310]

I though it was Smelt roe..............................? Are they orange too?

 

[lordroad]

The roe I feed my mandarin is "capelin" roe, whatever that is. Also salmon roe appears on sushi...

Roe can be orange, red, and yellow, though the bright colors come from food dye, not the eggs themselves.

Here's some more roe info about mandarins
http://reefcentral.com/forums/archive/1/2002/05/4/83544

PS: We went to the sushi place the other week and they didn't have urchin. I was not pleased, lol

 

[bigredspecial]

Lordroad, Capelin is a small schooling fish... think marine minnow. They come in to the shore once a year, there are litterally millions of them, rolling in with the waves; they are caught in dip nets.

 

[VirgoWolf]

LOL I was just about to leave this thread when I noticed that throughout the whole thing my face went from this to this *laughingc to this *SICK* LOL

Let me translate...

= Sushi, meh.
*laughingc = OMG! That wanted ad was great! LOL
There is a missing step here, but there was no smiley to repressent the slow decline from laughing to this:
*SICK* = I think I need to look at some Pizza or something before I completely loose my appetite all together! LOL