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What is uni?

Sea urchin. Specifically, the edible part inside the shell.

Uni is the edible part of the sea urchin: its gonads, which both males and females have, so it is not strictly roe. In Japan the two common kinds are bafun uni (smaller, deeper orange, richer) and murasaki uni (paler, larger, cleaner). Both are eaten raw.

Good uni is sweet and clean with a faint sea taste. Uni that has gone off tastes bitter or metallic. Some uni is treated with a preservative to hold its shape; some is sold untreated in salt water. Shops that sell the untreated kind usually say so.

Where it shows up in Tsukiji

On seafood bowls, on nigiri, and in small cups eaten standing. In the official directory, 20 shops mention uni in their product list.

If it is your first time

Order a small amount first. Uni is rich and expensive, and a whole bowl can be too much for a first taste.