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Sea urchin

Sea urchin is a marine echinoderm valued for its creamy roe, which is commonly served raw or used in sushi, pasta, and sauces.

Sea urchin — illustrative ingredient image

About Sea urchin

Sea urchin is a spiny marine echinoderm sold as a whole animal or opened for its edible internal gonads, commonly called roe or uni. The shell is round and covered with movable spines, while the edible lobes are delicate and range from yellow to orange or reddish depending on the animal and handling.

The edible portion has a rich marine flavour that may be sweet, briny, buttery, or slightly bitter, with a soft, creamy texture. It is commonly served raw, especially in sushi and sashimi, or folded into pasta, sauces, rice dishes, and other preparations.

Whole sea urchins retain their round, spiny shells, while opened products present the fragile coloured gonads. Gentle handling helps preserve their soft texture; folding them into pasta, sauces, rice dishes, or other preparations distributes the roe and changes how its texture is experienced.

Ingredient type
whole food

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Where sea urchin appears

2 linked foods

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Soups

Ingredient connections awaiting review · Coverage is still growing, including packaged snacks.

Name examples awaiting language review. Confirm the specific food or product.

Local names for sea urchin

Names and romanised forms to recognise on menus and labels.

English

Sea urchin

English

Sea urchin edible offal, Roe, Salt-fermented

Search alias · Not a confirmed translation

English

Sea urchin, Canned

Search alias · Not a confirmed translation

English

Sea urchin, Raw

Search alias · Not a confirmed translation

English

Sea urchin, Salt-fermented

Search alias · Not a confirmed translation

Available names only. Languages may be spoken in other countries; a name alone does not identify every ingredient in a dish.

Sea urchin nutrition & diet

Sea urchin nutritional value

Sea urchin, raw gonads — MEXT 10365

Per 100 g of the edible portion in the explicitly named reference form.

Calories
109kcal
Protein
16.0g
Carbs
3.3g
Fat
4.8g

Per 100 g edible portion. Values use MEXT 2023 with March 2026 corrections; the English food name is matched by food code from the official English edition. Carbohydrate is total carbohydrate by difference. Values in parentheses in the source are estimates reported by MEXT. This reference does not cover other preparations or brands.

Portions & preparation

Clarify whether “sea urchin” means whole animal, cleaned gonad, or a prepared seafood dish; these are different edible portions. Match the serving’s raw, cooked, frozen, or preserved state. Shell, spines, and other discarded parts should not be counted, and sauces or pasta require separate accounting.

Compare the right form: Match references to whole sea urchin only when appropriate; otherwise use the identified edible gonad in its exact raw, cooked, frozen, or preserved form.

Diet considerations

Sea urchin is an animal-derived marine echinoderm, and its edible gonad is not vegetarian or vegan. Raw servings differ from cooked or preserved products, while sushi, pasta, sauces, and spreads may add cereals, eggs, dairy, alcohol, or other seafood. Review the complete preparation and portion.

AI-authored reading notes · Awaiting editorial review. Measured values, where available, have a separate source above.

Dietary compatibility

  • Vegan
    Not established
  • Vegetarian
    Not established
  • Pescatarian
    Not established
  • Keto
    Not established
  • Paleo
    Not established
  • Low-carb
    Not established
  • Halal
    Not established
  • Kosher
    Not established
What these diet assessments mean
Vegan · Not established
The available profile does not establish the full composition or processing for this dietary pattern.
Vegetarian · Not established
The available profile does not establish the full composition or processing for this dietary pattern.
Pescatarian · Not established
The available profile does not establish the full composition or processing for this dietary pattern.
Keto · Not established
A defined serving and sourced carbohydrate data are needed before assessing this dietary pattern.
Paleo · Not established
The ingredient form and processing have not been assessed against this dietary pattern.
Low-carb · Not established
A defined serving and sourced carbohydrate data are needed before assessing this dietary pattern.
Halal · Not established
Sourcing, processing and any applicable certification have not been verified. A food name alone does not establish halal status.
Kosher · Not established
Sourcing, processing and any applicable certification have not been verified. A food name alone does not establish kosher status.

For the plain ingredient · Awaiting review. Diet compatibility is not allergy suitability or halal/kosher certification. Keto and low-carb depend on the portion.

Reviewed ingredient entryIngredient reference · Preparations vary

AI-generated illustration for visual context. It does not identify a particular product or establish allergen content.

Sources & review

Nutrition reference: MEXT Standard Tables of Food Composition in Japan, 2023 supplement, corrected March 2026 ↗. Values are scaled from 100 g of the recorded edible form. Individual portions have no assumed fixed weight.

Expanded overview, name examples and nutrition notes are database drafts awaiting editorial review. Numeric nutrition values, where shown, have their own source and food-form reference.

The ingredient description and dish connections come from the draft catalogue and may change after review.

Last recorded verification: .