[Uzu no Oka Kaisen Uni Shabu (Uzu no Oka seafood sea urchin shabu)" was introduced in "Nikkei Shimbun" (Nikkei Newspaper).

Local Food Trip

Sea urchin shabu-shabu (fish fillet city in golden broth)

Many people may think of sea urchin bowls in Hokkaido, but in the Kansai region, Awaji Island in Hyogo Prefecture (Minami-Awaji City, etc.) is a hidden sea urchin production center. I visited Awaji Island because I heard that there is an unusual sea urchin dish there.

Restaurant Uzu no Oka is located in the southernmost part of Awaji Island, just before the Onaruto Bridge, which leads into Tokushima Prefecture on Shikoku Island.

At the restaurant, which was crowded with customers even on weekdays, we were brought a pot of soup that was more golden than brown, sea urchins, fish fillets on skewers, noodles, and rice.

This soup is based on Japanese dashi broth with sea urchin in it," explains the restaurant's executive chef, Yasuyuki Fujimi. The fish fillet is dipped into the broth and boiled like shabu-shabu. The sea urchin broth soaks into the fish, creating a sea urchin flavor different from that of ordinary nabe dishes. On this day, three types of fish were prepared: sea bream, Spanish mackerel, and swordfish.

Dipping sea urchin in this broth gives it a richer sea urchin flavor. You can eat sea urchin in shabu-shabu or on rice," said Fujimi. I was too lazy to try it, so I enjoyed both the shabu-shabu and the rice on top.

The ultimate dish is porridge in sea urchin soup. When the rice is blended with the broth, the rice absorbs most of the broth and the sea urchin rice is ready to eat. The taste of the sea urchin soaked into the rice, making it the richest sea urchin rice I have ever tasted.

The black sea urchin with a black thorny shell we had that day will be replaced by the purple "red sea urchin" in mid-July. The red sea urchin is larger and more robust, and is said to be more popular than the black sea urchin. The black sea urchin is in season from December to May, while the red sea urchin is rare and scarce from July to September.

Porridge soaked in umami and thick

The "Kaisen Uni Shiyabu" (pictured above), which uses black sea urchin, costs 4,400 yen, and when it switches to red sea urchin in mid-July, it costs about 5,720 yen.
Mr. Fujimi invented this sea urchin shabu-shabu. Born and raised on Awaji Island, he had taken sea urchin for granted since childhood. However, when he compared it to sea urchin from outside the island, he rediscovered the deliciousness of Awaji Island-grown sea urchin.

According to Mr. Fujimi, rainwater pours minerals and other soil nutrients from Awaji Island into the sea, and the flow of the Akashi Strait, Kitan Strait, and Naruto Strait, which Awaji Island borders, spreads them evenly around the island, creating a rich fishing ground that includes sea urchins as well as sea eel and other species.

After working for the restaurant management company, Mr. Fujimi became in charge of cooking after working in other positions, and began to think of an unprecedented menu that made the most of sea urchin. At first, he tried sea urchin nabe, but the sea urchin dissolved in the broth and the unique smell of the sea made it unappealing. Uni-meshi (sea urchin rice) is already available in other parts of the world.

After much trial and error, he came up with the sea urchin shabu, which has been a long-seller for more than eight years since it was first offered in 2014. Mr. Fujimi has since expanded the ingredients for the sea urchin shabu, starting last year with Awaji beef, and this year he has added hamo, abalone, and red leg shrimps to the menu.

Sea urchin is a high-end foodstuff, and the quantity of sea urchin becomes expensive. At Uzu no Oka, the umami of sea urchin is brought out by using a variety of ways to eat it while keeping the quantity of sea urchin low.

Thank you very much for sharing this wonderful article with us!