【Reading】あかSea Urchin

【English Name】Aka Uni (Red Sea Urchin)

Aka-uni (red sea urchin, Pseudocentrotus depressus) is a sea urchin of the family Strongylocentrotidae, named for the reddish tint of its spines. It was once also called hirata-uni. A species endemic to Japan, it is distributed from southern Kyushu to the northern tip of Honshu and also inhabits Jeju Island in South Korea. Mainly eaten in western Japan, it is served as a gunkan roll in sushi. Its gonads are characterized by rich sweetness and a smooth melt-in-the-mouth quality. Note that the "aka-uni" at restaurants often refers to bafun-uni or ezo bafun-uni, which are different from this species, so caution is needed.