Uni
Draft. Written from the catalogue and shipment notes; not yet fact-checked by James or Tony. Do not publish until it is.
What it is
Uni is the gonad of the sea urchin, eaten raw. Japan grades it, boxes it and ships it with a precision no other seafood gets, which is why the same word covers a $40 tray and a $750 one.
The two species that matter
| Bafun (馬糞雲丹) | Murasaki (紫雲丹) | |
|---|---|---|
| Colour | Deep orange | Pale yellow to cream |
| Flavour | Rich, sweet, concentrated | Clean, delicate, lighter |
| Texture | Dense, firm | Softer, melts faster |
| Where | Hokkaido, especially the east coast (Hamanaka, Nemuro) and Rishiri | Hokkaido and northern Honshu |
| Peak | Summer to early autumn wild; farm-raised brands run most of the year | Late autumn to winter |
| Use | The showpiece: nigiri, gunkan, served on its own | Volume and pairing: hand rolls, pasta, sauces, chirashi |
Aka uni (赤雲丹) from western Japan is a third species, rarer and seasonal; ask.
The four grades
Grades describe shape, colour consistency and how the tongues hold together, not safety or freshness. Every grade is the same day’s urchin.
| Grade | Japanese | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| A | Nami (並) | Standard. Broken and uneven tongues, same flavour. Right for sauces, pasta, rolls. |
| AA | Jo (上) | Premium. Mostly whole tongues, some variation in colour. Everyday nigiri. |
| AAA | Tokujo (特上) | Superior. Whole, even tongues, uniform colour. Omakase counters. |
| A4 | Gokujo (極上) | Exceptional. The top of the auction, limited. Allocated, not ordered. |
Formats
- Wooden tray (木箱), 250 g. The classic. About 50 to 60 tongues laid in rows on a wooden board, lightly treated with alum or in a saltwater pack depending on the brand. 100 g and 300 g exist for some brands.
- 5-slot and 10-slot trays, about 100 g and 200 g. Local BC uni, five or ten tongues each in a plastic tray. Good for a home table or a bar that needs a few pieces at a time.
- Brands. Hamanaka (浜中), Ogawa (小川), Yoneta (米田), Marutatsu, Ginjiro, Sato: these are packers and auction houses, and a chef who knows them orders by name.
Handling
- Keep at 0 to 2 °C, in the tray, lid on, flat. Do not freeze.
- Best within 2 to 3 days of landing for AAA and A4, 3 to 4 for A and AA in saltwater packs. The tongues sag and weep as they age; flavour is still good a day after the look goes.
- Do not rinse. Lift each tongue with a flat spoon or chopsticks, never fingers.
- Serve cold on warm rice; the contrast is the point.
- Alum-treated uni holds its shape longer and can carry a faint bitterness; saltwater (塩水) uni is softer and cleaner but keeps a day less.