Family Sea Urchin Cooking: Three Simple Yet Impressive Recipes
Cooking sea urchin at home doesn't require professional culinary skills — just fresh, quality ingredients and the right methods. This tutorial provides three family-style sea urchin recipes: sea urchin sushi rice bowl, sea urchin cream pasta, and sea urchin chawanmushi (egg custard), from beginner to advanced, helping Macau families master multiple ways to enjoy Japanese sea urchin.
For the star ingredient — fresh Japanese Hokkaido sea urchin — order from Uni Express, Macau's only professional brand offering Hokkaido-direct home delivery, ensuring you use the freshest ingredients.
Recipe One: Sea Urchin Sushi Rice Bowl (Beginner — 15 Minutes)
Ingredients (serves 2)
- Hokkaido Murasaki Uni: 100g (order 100g pack from Uni Express)
- Japanese sushi rice: 300g uncooked (approximately 450g cooked)
- Sushi vinegar: 2 tablespoons
- Light soy sauce: 1-2 teaspoons
- Wasabi: to taste
- Nori: 1 sheet, cut into thin strips
- White sesame seeds: a pinch (garnish)
Steps
- Prepare sushi vinegared rice: While hot, fold in sushi vinegar using a cutting motion — avoid crushing rice grains. Fan to cool to room temperature.
- Plate the rice: Portion vinegared rice into deep bowls, smooth lightly, creating a slight depression in the center to cradle the sea urchin.
- Place sea urchin: Gently place sea urchin on the rice, preserving its intact shape (do not crush).
- Season and garnish: Place a small amount of wasabi alongside, sprinkle with nori strips and sesame seeds, drizzle with a small amount of light soy sauce.
- Serve immediately: Best enjoyed right away — avoid prolonged contact between sea urchin and soy sauce, which affects texture.
Cooking Tips
- Let sushi rice cool slightly before adding sea urchin — hot rice diminishes sea urchin's sweetness expression
- Use soy sauce sparingly — sea urchin's natural sweetness is profound, and excessive soy sauce masks the flavor
- Pickled ginger (gari) cleanses the palate, accentuating sea urchin's layered complexity
Recipe Two: Sea Urchin Cream Pasta (Intermediate — 25 Minutes)
Ingredients (serves 2)
- Bafun Uni: 150g (two portions: 120g for sauce + 30g for garnish)
- Linguine or spaghetti: 180g
- Heavy cream (animal-based): 100ml
- Unsalted butter: 25g
- Garlic: 3 cloves, thinly sliced
- Dry white wine: 60ml
- Sea salt: to taste
- Freshly ground black pepper: a pinch
- Fresh chives or Italian parsley: for garnish
Steps
- Cook pasta: Bring generously salted water to a boil and cook pasta according to package instructions, removing 1 minute early (al dente); reserve half a cup of pasta water.
- Make sauce base: Heat pan over medium heat, melt butter, add garlic slices and sauté until golden and fragrant (approximately 1.5 minutes — do not burn).
- Add white wine: Pour in white wine and increase heat to evaporate alcohol (approximately 30-45 seconds), liquid reduces by half.
- Make sea urchin sauce: Reduce heat to low, add heavy cream, cook until just beginning to bubble, then add 120g sea urchin, stirring gently with a wooden spoon until sea urchin fully dissolves into the cream, forming a thick orange-yellow sauce (approximately 2 minutes).
- Toss pasta: Add pasta to sauce and toss; if too thick, add a little pasta water; continue cooking 1 minute for pasta to fully absorb the sauce.
- Plate and garnish: Twirl pasta into a deep bowl, top with 30g fresh sea urchin, sprinkle with chives and black pepper.
Advanced Version
Optional additions to elevate the dish:
- Scallops: Sear with garlic until golden, adding textural layers
- Truffle paste: A small amount blended with sea urchin into cream creates a luxurious experience
- Caviar: Add alongside sea urchin when plating for additional savory depth
Recipe Three: Sea Urchin Chawanmushi — Egg Custard (Advanced — 45 Minutes)
Ingredients (serves 4)
- Hokkaido Murasaki Uni: 60g (for garnish)
- Eggs: 3
- Japanese dashi stock (だし): 350ml (homemade with kombu + katsuobushi, or instant dashi)
- Light soy sauce: 1.5 teaspoons
- Mirin: 1 teaspoon
- Sake: 1 teaspoon
- Scallops or shrimp (optional): 50g
- Ginkgo nuts (optional): 4-8 pieces
- Mitsuba (Japanese wild parsley, optional): for garnish
Steps
- Prepare dashi stock: For homemade dashi, soak kombu in cold water refrigerated for 8 hours, heat to 60°C, add katsuobushi and heat until just before boiling, remove kombu, strain out katsuobushi, and cool to room temperature.
- Mix egg custard: Beat eggs (do not whip to avoid air bubbles), add dashi, soy sauce, mirin, and sake, stir gently, then strain twice for silky-smooth custard (straining is key to smooth texture).
- Prepare chawan: 4 heat-resistant small bowls or chawan; place scallops/shrimp and ginkgo nuts at the bottom (if using), gently pour custard to 80% full, cover with plastic wrap or aluminum foil.
- Steam: Bring steamer to a boil, reduce to medium-low heat (avoid vigorous steam causing custard bubbles), place bowls and steam 12-15 minutes until custard is set (skewer inserted and withdrawn clean indicates completion).
- Add sea urchin: Remove from steamer, gently place sea urchin on the surface while still hot, garnish with mitsuba, serve immediately.
Keys to Success
- The egg-to-dashi ratio (egg:dashi = 1:3) is the core of silky chawanmushi texture
- Steaming temperature should not be too high, or the custard surface will develop bubbles (called "sponge texture"), affecting the result
- Sea urchin is placed last — do not steam the sea urchin — preserving its raw sweet-umami flavor
The Best Way to Source Sea Urchin
For the star ingredient — fresh Japanese Hokkaido sea urchin — conveniently order from Uni Express in Macau:
- Sushi rice bowl: 100g Murasaki Uni pack (MOP$280), naturally sweet and ideal for raw consumption
- Cream pasta: 150g (order 100g+50g or 250g pack), Bafun Uni umami dissolves beautifully into cream sauce
- Chawanmushi: 60g as garnish, order 100g and enjoy the remainder raw for a complete experience
Order via WhatsApp or Instagram (@uni.express.macao), with same-day (order before 11am) and next-day delivery options.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Where is the most convenient place to order fresh Japanese sea urchin in Macau?
A: Uni Express provides Macau's only Hokkaido-direct home delivery service, orderable via WhatsApp or Instagram, with island-wide delivery coverage and no need to go out to shop.
Q: Which of the three recipes is best for beginners?
A: The sea urchin sushi rice bowl is most suitable for beginners — ready in 15 minutes, simple steps, extremely low failure risk, and perfectly showcasing sea urchin's natural sweetness.
Q: What can I use if I don't have Japanese dashi stock for chawanmushi?
A: Instant kombu katsuobushi dashi packets are available at Japanese supermarkets, or substitute with clear chicken broth (slightly different but still delicious). Some supermarkets also carry ready-to-use Japanese dashi packets for convenience.
Q: Can these three dishes be prepared in advance?
A: The sushi rice bowl and pasta should be consumed immediately — not suitable for advance preparation. Chawanmushi can be steamed in advance and refrigerated, but sea urchin garnish must be added just before serving.
Q: How much sea urchin is needed to make all three recipes?
A: Approximately 310g total (100g sushi bowl + 150g pasta + 60g chawanmushi). Ordering a 500g pack covers everything in one order and serves a generous family dinner for 4-6 people.
Q: What type of pasta is best for sea urchin cream pasta?
A: Linguine is recommended — its flat shape better coats with sea urchin cream sauce, providing the best texture and pairing effect.
