Samuel Pan Know that you are loved every day. You can express yourself in the way you want to, Sam. Don’t let others judgments dictate your life. Peace.
Hey anyone know how to harvest sea urchins? I mean I know you gotta disconnect them from the rock with a knife then pick them up, but are they dangerous aside from the stingers? I'm sure I can clean them up and split them in two etc, take the meat, but do they have parasites or anything? If so, how can I tell??
Man.. Taku I remember stumbling across your videos when you had less than 10k, you have absolutely blown up. You are approaching UA-cam so well, between the content you produce, the collaborations you partake in, and the quality and expertise of the videos and what you show.. it all shines. You are a true expert in your craft, and it's a breath of fresh air coming across a channel like this. I can't wait to see how fast you hit 1 Million!!!
Sorry for the late reply guys. If you are trying to hit tide pools in a negative tide anywhere in south orange county like Laguna. Now if you are willing to get into the water like i will be doing, any jeti or rocky area will have a lot.
@@greyziedaddy9853 Along Pescadero is fairly decent. There is also a nice spot near Bean hollow as well. Think i'll go out this weekend and try using some Urchin as bait, not sure how well thats gonna work out though (I believe just smashing or trashing the Urchin, or any wildlife, is illegal).
I love that your channel has a focus on sustainability and ethical foraging etc. It's really cool, because generally the sound of "ethical ____" sounds like it'd be a hassle, but you show us directly that it is not a hassle.
I would love if you could list the CA beaches where you forage purple sea urchins, because I also live in the Bay Area and would love more resources for where I can forage them, especially because a lot of tide pools are purportedly protected so it's confusing to know if it's okay to take anything from those preserves, even under the guise of helping a fragile ecosystem. Your videos inspired me to get a fishing license a month ago so I can forage stuff!! I took a bucket of purple sea urchins from Bean Hallow State Park about 3 weeks ago and even though I knew the yield wouldn't be great for February, I'm taking this time to just scout out locations, get used to harvesting and be prepared for the fall when the yield is gonna be good.
What an awesome video! I'm from Aotearoa NZ and we eat sea urchin, kina here! My community don't usually cook with it but I'm really inspired to make many yummy dishes with it because I'm not so into it raw but can appreciate the sweet flavour it has, and our need to eat it to help bring our ecosystem back into balance here too! Love your content Taku and Joselin, ngā mihi
Hey Taku, just wanted to say that I love your channel. I moved out to the west coast (BC, Canada) Last year and have been watching your videos for the past 6-9 months. I went crabbing for the first time this weekend and it was awesome!! Thanks for making awesome and educational content
Yummy!! ❤❤❤❤ I'm from NZ and that's a maori delicacy!! We call sea urchin Kina!! It's my favourite seafood along with Paua (Abalone), I also go diving for em myself too, its rare to see girl divers..... but when I'm hungry for em, I dive for em ❤❤❤❤
Nice Taku! I've been waiting for this video! Both recipes look fire, but chawanmushi is the one I would pick. I like that you used the shell instead of a chawan, too. Something like that would be awesome in a kaiseki lineup! Now, on to the main body of the vid. The purple sea urchin problem is huge. Far bigger than most people realize. They are like locust, having a devastating effect on the algae around them. Removing the algae (kelp included) is like removing the foundation of a skyscraper. The food chain is broken at the most fundamental level, and everything on the web upwards of the primary trophic level (plants and such) slowly dies out from starvation. ...Which leads us to another problem. Purple sea urchins can live for over 60 years, and when they run out of food, they can go dormant until food is available again. Red urchins, abalone, etc. can't. The only way I can see making a dent in this (at least until starfish populations hopefully recover) is to make purple uni more profitable for the fishermen and companies that harvest them. CenCal uni is some of the best in the world! Maybe a tax break for the producers by weight? Might lower cost and increase value to restaurants, too. Everyone wins. TLDR? Short version: Purple sea urchin overpopulation = bad for EVERYTHING. Solution: Eat your problems away!
Well put! I'm currently working with owners from another restaurant to try to put local purple urchin on the menu. If they commercialize them, our problem would probably be solved but since purple urchin are small, it takes a lot more labor than red urchin. Thats why only red urchin are used commercially. I'll keep trying my best to fix the issue!
@@OutdoorChefLife That would be really cool if it works out! The quality is there, but I can definitely see the point of labor weighed against the volume of the uni yield. Reds are where the money is. I, for one, would be more than happy to buy purple if it becomes more commercially available. If I can't sell it, I'll eat it myself! It's a good thing our problem is as delicious as it is.
As I think I mentioned before, the only uni I have eaten a few times was on French bread (baguette) cultured French butter and a squeeze of lemon. Always delicious. I imagine that in a way, it is loosely similar to the French presentation that looked delicious. The Japanese presentation looked fabulous and I am going to speak to the chef at my local up market Sushi restaurant “Kibo” to see if he knows the recipe and if he will consider making it. Both presentations are tantalizing, to say the least and by presenting them, you just might have begun to save the precious kelp forests. Thank you all for this. Cheers, Colin.
It’s amazing how slight changes in the coast = major changes in the life that’s found there. It’s good that your telling people if I lived in your part of the world I’d be picking them daily 😁
Here in the Philppines, there are two types of sea urchin. that urchin similar to Taku's harvesting is called here as "Swaki" that has not so sharp barbs and those who have the needle-like barbs is called "Tuyom". we don't usually do dishes with urchin it's all straight-up breaking the urchin and adding vinegar fermented with spices and herbs in the inside and slurp! nice to hear you doing awareness Taku. hope I was there to help.
Growing up in Seattle in the 90’s, I remember seeing purple sea stars everywhere along the beaches. It’s pretty sad and astonishing to see how few there are now, only 10-15 years later. 😔
Anyone else starting to get hungry when ever they see outdoorcheflifes face. Like you see him and you already know he is gonna make something good and you just think about delicious fresh sea food
Incredible video! Not only was the cooking great, but the first part (mini doco) was so informative! I wish I could try uni sometime now. Thanks for an excellent video!
Loved this video Taku. The amount of useful information you provide reminds me why I subscribed to your channel after watching your informational video on harvesting mussels. No matter how big you get, please don't lose touch with what makes you unique!
Taku my buddy harvests on the coast with a bunch of divers named jack Kim but he showed me something cool.....you bleach a shell and then shere are a bunch of holes where the spikes were and pit a little candle in it.....cool design on the wall at night
I know it's not supposed to be a competition, but Taku outcooked the hell out of the other guy... silky soft, complex Japanese dish with beautiful presentation vs. what amounts to a breakfast sandwich served on a napkin.
Pinochet's Helicopter aren’t you a hateful creep. I am a women who had long natural nails it was a type O. I better you would squeal like a girl if you got a knee full of Uni spikes.
@@kristeelrod3367 they are harvested via rod/hook into a mesh bag. You crack them at the beak and expose the uni which is the gonads, only edible part, some dislike them but I love them
Yo that other chef is professional and serious haha. When everyone is commenting on his french style dish, he is thinking about it. After trying the japanese style dish, he says" that's good chef" acknowledging other chef's work with respect.
Yeeaaaaa nice videos I like what you doing man your are a really good chef an a great fisherman you also know alot about sea life a lot great info we always enjoy watching your videos really Kool I sub to your channel I'm Rich Rod and we going to keep on fishing alright Catch you next time!
The ones with no yield are also no dead. They are just waiting for kelp to get a hold, before they move in. Making them even more difficult to keep their numbers in check.
Great video. I never heard of cooked uni. I didn't realize the yield was so good from the small ones. In Northern Calif. we just take the big ones. In Humboldt very few people harvest them.
4:41 "you'll get washed right out.....and die" mean girls reference? I hope so! Another great vid dude. FYI the seasonal variation in yield is also strongly linked to their reproductive cycle as the part we harvest for food are merely the gonads. But as with many species, the reproductive yield (or amount of harvestable gonad in this case) is reduced under conditions of stress, ie. competition for resources, so you're right in the sense that overpopulation will reduce individual yield too.
I don't live in CA but vacation in orange county so the next time we're at Laguna beach or one of the neighboring beaches for some snorkeling, I now know it's uni time en mass.
Emma Madgini I’m not sure because I don’t live near the coast, but I’m sure there is some foraging somewhere, I know Scotland has a lot of uni so perhaps some happens there
I have always wanted to try chawanmushi. The one time I tried making it, it came out way too liquidy. I LOVE that you made it in the urchin shell. Real chawanmushi cups are so expensive. This way they come with the uni and it is beautiful!
Thank you for exposing the condition of California's coastline. The environmentalists are worried about co2 in the air and ignoring the dumping of sewage from cities and overheated water from power plants into the ocean. Why are cities and power company's exempt from environmental standards?
Great video man, I love me some Kina (sea urchin) over hear in New Zealand the best time to harvest Kina is in the summer time around Christmas, because it's a delicacy here, in some parts of the country you won't find any or if you do they won't have fat, creamy rows in them, keep up the work bro, love learning things from you
Thanks for all the info! Im headed to Rhode Island next week. I'll be sure to investigate the Urchin population on the East coast in that area with this new knowledge.
TAKU, SOOO glad you're doing this video and raising awareness about this issue!!!
Samuel Pan move on then
Samuel Pan why even act like a dick on such a calm channel?
Samuel Pan Know that you are loved every day. You can express yourself in the way you want to, Sam. Don’t let others judgments dictate your life. Peace.
Hey anyone know how to harvest sea urchins? I mean I know you gotta disconnect them from the rock with a knife then pick them up, but are they dangerous aside from the stingers? I'm sure I can clean them up and split them in two etc, take the meat, but do they have parasites or anything? If so, how can I tell??
P
there's something so drawing about his calm and kind personality, make me really want to listen and watch his vids all the way thru. keep it up!
Man.. Taku I remember stumbling across your videos when you had less than 10k, you have absolutely blown up. You are approaching UA-cam so well, between the content you produce, the collaborations you partake in, and the quality and expertise of the videos and what you show.. it all shines. You are a true expert in your craft, and it's a breath of fresh air coming across a channel like this. I can't wait to see how fast you hit 1 Million!!!
So many purple urchins down here in so cal. Ill do my part Taku. 🤙🏾
Mind sharing some good spots?
Where you at in So Cal? I'm down for an uni trip.
TheFaded Fisherman yeah any good spots?
Sorry for the late reply guys. If you are trying to hit tide pools in a negative tide anywhere in south orange county like Laguna. Now if you are willing to get into the water like i will be doing, any jeti or rocky area will have a lot.
@@greyziedaddy9853 Along Pescadero is fairly decent. There is also a nice spot near Bean hollow as well. Think i'll go out this weekend and try using some Urchin as bait, not sure how well thats gonna work out though (I believe just smashing or trashing the Urchin, or any wildlife, is illegal).
I love that your channel has a focus on sustainability and ethical foraging etc. It's really cool, because generally the sound of "ethical ____" sounds like it'd be a hassle, but you show us directly that it is not a hassle.
Dropping that urchin into the anemone was the best! Thanks for the education! Great video as always.
Good example of what happenes when you lose an important member of the ecosystem! Everything is connected!
Or shifts in factors that cause massive bloom/boom of a species population.
The Guy with the glasses seems so Nice. And he actually commented on how it tastet. Nice to see him. Get him in another video :)
love outdoor chef life!! keep em coming bro!!! i learn so much from you and your channel!!
Good Afternoon
Absolutely our own of the best Iron Chefs we have in California!!💎💎👍👍👍
And raising awareness of our ecosystem in California🙌🙌
Invasive urchin plagues usa. Urchin also the most expensive seafood in usa. Go figure.
capitalism
Nobody wants Purple Urchin. They only want the Red Urchin & they are getting rare now.
Looks like some enterprising people should start a purple sea urchin harvesting company and start a price war with delicious results.
Straddllw the Problem is that the purple ones have not enough yield
@@J_W_R_I yep gotta love it
I would love if you could list the CA beaches where you forage purple sea urchins, because I also live in the Bay Area and would love more resources for where I can forage them, especially because a lot of tide pools are purportedly protected so it's confusing to know if it's okay to take anything from those preserves, even under the guise of helping a fragile ecosystem.
Your videos inspired me to get a fishing license a month ago so I can forage stuff!! I took a bucket of purple sea urchins from Bean Hallow State Park about 3 weeks ago and even though I knew the yield wouldn't be great for February, I'm taking this time to just scout out locations, get used to harvesting and be prepared for the fall when the yield is gonna be good.
13:40 that fist bump was so in-sync and precise. i keep replaying that. also, amazing video (so educational!)
What an awesome video! I'm from Aotearoa NZ and we eat sea urchin, kina here! My community don't usually cook with it but I'm really inspired to make many yummy dishes with it because I'm not so into it raw but can appreciate the sweet flavour it has, and our need to eat it to help bring our ecosystem back into balance here too! Love your content Taku and Joselin, ngā mihi
Hey Taku, just wanted to say that I love your channel. I moved out to the west coast (BC, Canada) Last year and have been watching your videos for the past 6-9 months. I went crabbing for the first time this weekend and it was awesome!! Thanks for making awesome and educational content
Chef richard: Puts one uni on each bread
Taku: Puts a generous amount of uni in the chawamushi
Nice :)
Puts one, then puts a lot haha
Feels like he wants to put more
Yummy!! ❤❤❤❤ I'm from NZ and that's a maori delicacy!! We call sea urchin Kina!! It's my favourite seafood along with Paua (Abalone), I also go diving for em myself too, its rare to see girl divers..... but when I'm hungry for em, I dive for em ❤❤❤❤
That anemone shot was really cool. Never seen that before.
This guy is so humble you just want to hug him
Thanks for making this video to make people aware of the major problems they are causing I have seen the damage they are doing
Oh bravo, the amount of skills displayed here is amazing.
ty Taku, ty Chef Richard, pretty awesome. I especially like the discussion on harvesting sea urchins. I had no idea that the kelp beds were depleted.
You gotta love this guy. Helps the species survive
Nice Taku! I've been waiting for this video! Both recipes look fire, but chawanmushi is the one I would pick. I like that you used the shell instead of a chawan, too. Something like that would be awesome in a kaiseki lineup!
Now, on to the main body of the vid.
The purple sea urchin problem is huge. Far bigger than most people realize. They are like locust, having a devastating effect on the algae around them. Removing the algae (kelp included) is like removing the foundation of a skyscraper. The food chain is broken at the most fundamental level, and everything on the web upwards of the primary trophic level (plants and such) slowly dies out from starvation. ...Which leads us to another problem. Purple sea urchins can live for over 60 years, and when they run out of food, they can go dormant until food is available again. Red urchins, abalone, etc. can't.
The only way I can see making a dent in this (at least until starfish populations hopefully recover) is to make purple uni more profitable for the fishermen and companies that harvest them. CenCal uni is some of the best in the world! Maybe a tax break for the producers by weight? Might lower cost and increase value to restaurants, too. Everyone wins.
TLDR? Short version: Purple sea urchin overpopulation = bad for EVERYTHING. Solution: Eat your problems away!
Well put! I'm currently working with owners from another restaurant to try to put local purple urchin on the menu. If they commercialize them, our problem would probably be solved but since purple urchin are small, it takes a lot more labor than red urchin. Thats why only red urchin are used commercially. I'll keep trying my best to fix the issue!
@@OutdoorChefLife That would be really cool if it works out! The quality is there, but I can definitely see the point of labor weighed against the volume of the uni yield. Reds are where the money is.
I, for one, would be more than happy to buy purple if it becomes more commercially available. If I can't sell it, I'll eat it myself! It's a good thing our problem is as delicious as it is.
One of my favorite videos of yours of all time. Thank you!
Very informative, love foraging! Keep up the hard work!
taku looks and sounds so excited about the merch being released! That's hype, I'll see if I can cop myself an apron. :)
As I think I mentioned before, the only uni I have eaten a few times was on French bread (baguette) cultured French butter and a squeeze of lemon. Always delicious. I imagine that in a way, it is loosely similar to the French presentation that looked delicious. The Japanese presentation looked fabulous and I am going to speak to the chef at my local up market Sushi restaurant “Kibo” to see if he knows the recipe and if he will consider making it. Both presentations are tantalizing, to say the least and by presenting them, you just might have begun to save the precious kelp forests. Thank you all for this. Cheers, Colin.
Something about the combination of eggs & uni. So flippin good. I give you the win in this cook off! Very original and cool to use & prep the uni!!
1:40 dat hat in the light. the hat of uni enlightenment
The little omelette folds on toasted bread got me. That's genius!
Something sorta sublime about the preparation they put in along to that cool space music at 10:01. Kuriboh is a nice jam by Kavi.
You need to bring the guy on right back some more. He knows his food haha
OMG!! u just gave me the recipe and magic ratio for chawamushi!! Nice.
Ive been absolutely LOVING the chef collabs! I dont know how easy or hard it is to set up something like this, but I would love to see more!
It’s amazing how slight changes in the coast = major changes in the life that’s found there. It’s good that your telling people if I lived in your part of the world I’d be picking them daily 😁
Here in the Philppines, there are two types of sea urchin. that urchin similar to Taku's harvesting is called here as "Swaki" that has not so sharp barbs and those who have the needle-like barbs is called "Tuyom". we don't usually do dishes with urchin it's all straight-up breaking the urchin and adding vinegar fermented with spices and herbs in the inside and slurp! nice to hear you doing awareness Taku. hope I was there to help.
Growing up in Seattle in the 90’s, I remember seeing purple sea stars everywhere along the beaches. It’s pretty sad and astonishing to see how few there are now, only 10-15 years later. 😔
Yay another uni video!! Love your work!
Anyone else starting to get hungry when ever they see outdoorcheflifes face. Like you see him and you already know he is gonna make something good and you just think about delicious fresh sea food
14:22 “ultra creamy”
Asian chef “gangggg”
Your contents are great Chef, Love how you collab with other chefs. Keep it up!
HAHA!! Thought about Fisherman’s Life channel when I saw that melted butter!
Incredible video! Not only was the cooking great, but the first part (mini doco) was so informative! I wish I could try uni sometime now. Thanks for an excellent video!
Man, I love harvesting urchin on the Sonoma coast! The explosion is huge and sad but I'm glad we have an excuse to eat so many!
How are you not at 1milli scribers yet ? You are the man!!!!! YBS and OCL colab!!!!!!
Wana (uni/urchin) & ʻŌpihi (limpet) dining seaside. Thank you Taku for highlighting the delicacies of the sea. Aloha from Oʻahu.
This right here is what high quality youtube content looks like. Keep hustlin Taku.
Love your channel, fisherman's life with good afternoon mixed in one!
Loved this video Taku. The amount of useful information you provide reminds me why I subscribed to your channel after watching your informational video on harvesting mussels. No matter how big you get, please don't lose touch with what makes you unique!
Wish I lived on the west coast 😭😭😭
Living through you taku!!! Keep it up
ian ngan me too
Nice job connecting the dots, Taku!
Love your videos!
I won’t lie the French one looks more appetising to me! It looks so good!
I've learn something new everytime I watch your videos Taku.
Taku my buddy harvests on the coast with a bunch of divers named jack Kim but he showed me something cool.....you bleach a shell and then shere are a bunch of holes where the spikes were and pit a little candle in it.....cool design on the wall at night
We used to do urchin population control at deer creek for that reason. The fish loved it.
Binge watching these videos, they are all SO DAMN GOOD. Man and your knife bag is on my list... super quality
I like how you were pointing out the dishes and your boi thought you were going in for a fist bump, but then you adapted and gave him a bump anyways.
Probaly the first time I've ever seen great merch from a youtuber
Should Alain try to get together with silver stag knives. Would be an awesome kit!
You are so awesome bringing other chefs to cook what they know best..
I know it's not supposed to be a competition, but Taku outcooked the hell out of the other guy... silky soft, complex Japanese dish with beautiful presentation vs. what amounts to a breakfast sandwich served on a napkin.
Love the channel... the food and the respect you give to others.
Cook book anytime soon?????
At least five years
I never knew you could eat Uci! I have had many stings from my snorkeling days when I lived in Jamaica.
Pinochet's Helicopter aren’t you a hateful creep. I am a women who had long natural nails it was a type O. I better you would squeal like a girl if you got a knee full of Uni spikes.
@@kristeelrod3367 they are harvested via rod/hook into a mesh bag. You crack them at the beak and expose the uni which is the gonads, only edible part, some dislike them but I love them
@@kristeelrod3367 And we tend to wear a padded wetsuit with Kevlar gloves, all spikes are scrapped off, cracked at the beak to get to the uni/gonads
Taku has said before that these don't sting. My father had one in a saltwater tank and it was the stinging variety. Looked nothing like these ones.
Yo that other chef is professional and serious haha. When everyone is commenting on his french style dish, he is thinking about it. After trying the japanese style dish, he says" that's good chef" acknowledging other chef's work with respect.
Both dishes look so delicious, great job.
Yeeaaaaa nice videos I like what you doing man your are a really good chef an a great fisherman you also know alot about sea life a lot great info we always enjoy watching your videos really Kool I sub to your channel I'm Rich Rod and we going to keep on fishing alright Catch you next time!
One of your best episodes yet.
Here since the 10K, So glad your channel is getting bigger! Much deserved for all the good food you make.
That Chawamuchi thing look 👀 just amazing love it 😍
That is super delicious
You guys are the best on UA-cam
Thanx for the great video
Jim
San Jose, CA
Thanks for spreading the news
"Knife is Life''
I'm commenting on this cause this was the first video I saw of yours and I was hooked!! Keep up the awesome content sir!!
one of the best memory i have is eating uni in Irikacho, Shakotan. Uni is sweet and creamy and not enough :)
Very informational!
Camera manager said it best-that’s beautiful!
The ones with no yield are also no dead. They are just waiting for kelp to get a hold, before they move in. Making them even more difficult to keep their numbers in check.
Great video. I never heard of cooked uni.
I didn't realize the yield was so good from the small ones. In Northern Calif. we just take the big ones. In Humboldt very few people harvest them.
that anemone thingy was coooool!!
Really enjoyed the lesson! I just figured the abalone were over fished, didnt know about the starfish die off. Great video!
4:41 "you'll get washed right out.....and die" mean girls reference? I hope so! Another great vid dude. FYI the seasonal variation in yield is also strongly linked to their reproductive cycle as the part we harvest for food are merely the gonads. But as with many species, the reproductive yield (or amount of harvestable gonad in this case) is reduced under conditions of stress, ie. competition for resources, so you're right in the sense that overpopulation will reduce individual yield too.
I don't live in CA but vacation in orange county so the next time we're at Laguna beach or one of the neighboring beaches for some snorkeling, I now know it's uni time en mass.
The quick editing cuts are so funny for some reason
I just recently found your channel.. Subscribed & have been binge watching.. Love the content all the way from New Zealand..
Awesomeeee video! Loved seeing two very different cooking styles. Mad respect
Nice videos Taku! Hello from Norway :)
Send over some extra UNI to the UK, this thing is way too expensive here :)
Why soo expensive? Is there no sea urchin fisherman foraging or diving for it in the UK sea😕
Yes it really is, I want to try uni but the only place I can find it where I live is online at ‘thefishsociety’. Even then it’s about £30.
@@Challenges4u2614 I was wondering if in your country are allowed to do foraging like Taku does in his vedeos
Emma Madgini I’m not sure because I don’t live near the coast, but I’m sure there is some foraging somewhere, I know Scotland has a lot of uni so perhaps some happens there
I have the exact same pair of scissors. Impressive i know.
OMG! I am drooling watching this video
We eat the uni fresh from the shell. Where I’m from it’s called Kina and it’s pretty much a staple👍🏽
I was wondering if these Sea Urchins had a limit of harvest, it seems now that the limit is YOUR IMAGINATION! Thanks for the information, Taku!
Awesome show. What a life.
I have always wanted to try chawanmushi. The one time I tried making it, it came out way too liquidy. I LOVE that you made it in the urchin shell. Real chawanmushi cups are so expensive. This way they come with the uni and it is beautiful!
Thank you for exposing the condition of California's coastline. The environmentalists are worried about co2 in the air and ignoring the dumping of sewage from cities and overheated water from power plants into the ocean. Why are cities and power company's exempt from environmental standards?
Taku killed it with the plating
Great video man, I love me some Kina (sea urchin) over hear in New Zealand the best time to harvest Kina is in the summer time around Christmas, because it's a delicacy here, in some parts of the country you won't find any or if you do they won't have fat, creamy rows in them, keep up the work bro, love learning things from you
Thanks for all the info! Im headed to Rhode Island next week. I'll be sure to investigate the Urchin population on the East coast in that area with this new knowledge.
almost dies from hot dish... directly goes in for seconds ^^ Looks amazing dude!