Sea Cucumbers

Sea Cucumbers

[bẾhe-de-mer, order Holothuroidea]

Sea cucumbers are known from the Silurian 400 million years ago, but may be even more ancient. Today they live in every marine environment from tidal to the deepest trenches, but not in fresh water or on land. They should not be called "sea slugs" because they are not mollusks.

Most sea cucumbers are less than 12 inches long, but there is one that can grow to more than 7 feet. They are of pharmaceutical interest (interesting toxins, mostly) and are a popular food item in the Orient. They are exported to China from all over the Indo-Pacific region and have been badly overfished in some areas, particularly Pacific islands.

The photo specimens were recruited from markets in San Gabriel serving a mostly Vietnamese community. The big ones were labeled "U.S.A wild grown" but no provenance was given for the others. The largest was 9 inches and weighed 8.6 ounces. The black ones are firmest and have the most flavor. Photo © cg1.

In the past almost all sea cucumber was dried but today frozen ones are easily available in Asian markets. The texture is gelatenous and the flavor mild. Their main function in most recipes is textural and to absorb flavors. Raw sea cucumber can also be ordered in some of the better stocked sushi bars and I find it good that way.

Dried sea cucumber consists only of the outer tube wall. The samples of frozen ones I have purchased appear to have had the digestive system pulled out but the ribbon-like "resperatory trees" left in. They have about the same flavor as the tube wall.

Frozen sea cucumber should be thawed and washed under running water inside and out to remove sand and any internals that weren't removed in processing.

All the sea cucumbers in the photo (and others in the packages) got sliced up used in soup. I'd just cut off a length of frozen cuke, thaw it, wash it and slice it. I find it best to add sea cucumber slices at a point where they'll be cooked for only a couple of minutes so they don't get too soft. The black ones and the big red one were best.