Preparing Fresh Sea Cucumber - Step 1
Elmo, a San Diego commercial diver, displays the remarkable creature that he hand-harvests from the ocean floor, and has learned how to cook and enjoy. Photo Credit: Jake Stein
Materials
Medium-sized pot
Tongs
Ingredients
Water
1-2 pounds of fresh sea cucumbers
1 teaspoon salt
4 slices ginger (optional)
The boiled sea cucumbers darken, shrink, and become quite firm.
Photo Credit: Emily Miller
As sea cucumber available in stores is most often sold in a pre-processed form, working with a fresh sea cucumber is a unique and unusual experience.
Captain Elmo, a commercial fisherman who dives for sea cucumber, appreciates this seafood for its versatility in cooking, and amazing nutritional properties. He has shared his method with us - it’s simple and effective! After this preparation method is complete, the sea cucumber can used immediately or frozen for later. It will have a bouncy, firm texture like clams or octopus.
If you prefer extremely tender sea cucumber, you may perform a second step of braising for at least an hour, or pressure cooking for 30 minutes.
How to Prepare:
Fill pot with water to the half-way point. Add salt, and a few slices of ginger, if using. Heat pot over high flame to boil.
Give the fresh sea cucumbers an extra scrub and rinse, inspecting them inside and out to make sure they do not have any grit or remaining entrails.
Once water is boiling, add sea cucumbers and wait for it to reach a boil again. Turn heat down to a simmer immediately (or the contents may boil over).
After 30-45 minutes of simmering, sea cucumbers shrink and become dense and bouncy in texture.
Remove from heat and use tongs to transfer sea cucumbers to a bowl to cool. Discard liquid. Sea cucumbers are now ready to freeze and store, or ready to use in a dish.
