Off the southern tip of South Korea lies the island of Jeju-Do. It is a favorite tourist destination in Northern Asia and in my view one of those “undiscovered” places, so says Mr Paradox. Once I watched women divers bringing up sea urchins in small buoyed net bags and place them on the rocks. These divers are the haenyo and have carried on this tradition for generations. They really dive for all types of shellfish, but on this day it was mostly spiny black sea urchins. I watch in queasy fascination as they cracked open the hard shell, scooped out the insides (uni), dipped it into hot sauce and ate them then and there. Those with more sophisticated palates than mine will understand that eating these puppies raw is the ONLY way to eat uni. What does raw uni taste like? Call me a coward, but I have no idea.
whoisfenton 