After arriving in the village of Calibishie on the northeastern coast of Dominica, I set out with some local cooks and fishmongers to prepare and enjoy an exotic sea urchin dinner!
Right on the water was the restaurant’s fisherman, who was pulling sea urchins from the water and cutting them open. These spiny sea creatures are a delicacy in different parts of the world. I’d first tried it in Japan, but I didn’t love it at the time. I watched as the fisherman ate some of the sea urchin eggs raw and gave me some to try as well! The eggs were nice and briny, with a bit of sweetness!
He goes into the water and retrieves the sea urchins. Then, he cuts the open and cuts out the eggs. They were so sweet, I couldn’t help but keep trying them. It was a delicious delicacy!
The cook, Naz, takes the sea urchin to the restaurant in its de-spined shell. Then, we watched our guy wash off an octopus, tenderize it by beating it, and then they took it to the kitchen as well. In the kitchen, Naz also had shrimp, and she was already tenderizing the octopus.
She removed meat from the shell and rinsed it. Then, she went through the meat and cleaned it. After that, she diced peppers, green onion, celery, and garlic. While she prepped everything, we enjoyed a refreshing Kubuli lager.
She added everything to a pan, including dried parsley and cumin. Then, she added some green seasoning and, finally, the sea urchin. She placed the shells in the oven to warm them up and dry them out. I sampled some of the sea urchin, which was great!
Then, it was time to eat! We ate outside with a view of the water. I loved it. The sea urchin was buttery and meaty and had a bit of heat as well. It was briny and tasty, and one of my favorite dishes I’d had on the island so far.
Then, we followed that with some curry octopus made with fresh coconut milk, celery, onions, garlic, peppers, green seasoning, and herbs. It was so fresh and tasty, and the octopus had a tender texture. I love this restaurant. The food is delicious and the people are amazing!
Finally, I met with the bartender, Jordan, who invited me to have a Steel Donkey, which is a local cocktail that comes in two glasses: a shot in a glass and a beer in a glass. It was powerful and needed the chaser!
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