1. Uni, uni, and more uni
According to John Susman, seafood consultant and director for Fishtales, “it seems the entire Western world woke up one morning and said – I’ve got to eat uni.”
He predicts an increase in the demand for uni - Japanese for sea urchin - of a known species, provenance, and season.
Sea urchin has been a delicacy in many Asian countries for centuries, often prized for aphrodisiacal properties and health benefits. But over the years, it has been making its way onto menus in America, Australia, and the United Kingdom. California has emerged as a leading supplier throughout the U.S.
Chef Masaharu Morimoto shared an uni dish with SeafoodSource as one of his most popular dishes to serve with a cocktail. In this dish, Uni Carbonara, the chef adds uni to udon noodles, with smoked bacon, fresh English peas, and a final garnish of quail egg yolk.
The increase in demand for uni highlights another trend: the return of a passion for luxury seafood items, including lobster, abalone, scarlet prawns, caviarm, and uni, according to John Susman, a seafood consultant and director of Fishtales, and the author of The Australian Seafood Cookbook.
“These are becoming more mainstream as consumers are prepared to splash out for a super-premium feed of seafood,” Susman said
In a recent interview with Financial Review, Susman listed a dish of Sea Urchin, Spanner Crab and Avocado at Fujisaki as one of his top three dishes being served in Australia.
