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Home » 30 Minute Recipes

The Best Fish Market Ever and Uni Toast

09/29/2016 Updated: 03/22/2022 By Karrie 8 Comments

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Made with just 4 simple ingredients, Uni Toast is a better way of buttering your bread!  Fresh sea urchin makes butter a little sweet and a little briny, perfect for crusty french bread. 

Two pieces of Uni Toast on a white plate

An easy sea urchin recipe

This Uni Toast recipe is super easy, so I thought I would tell you a little about my favorite fish market.  Keep reading below to find out where the best fish market is and where I purchased my fresh uni!

Pieces of fresh uni (sea urchin)in a small wooden box

What is uni?

The day we visited the fish market, they had fresh uni. Uni is the Japanese name for sea urchin.  I've bought it here before in the shell but this time, it was already shelled and ready to eat.  Winning!

Uni has a firm texture and is normally served raw.  Bite into it and it's smooth and creamy with a sweet, slightly briny flavor.  I love it. 

I ate at least half of the uni raw and decided to make a butter out of the rest.  My plan was to slather it on toasted slices of my homemade french bread with dinner that night.  YUM!

A ball of uni butter in a small white bowl

How to make uni butter for uni toast

Uni butter is simple and easy to make: basically you take butter, fresh uni, and a touch of sea salt.   Keep it covered in the refrigerator and use it in place of regular butter over the next-- days. 

I like to have small pieces of uni in the butter, so I don't mix it up too much.  The pieces just melt into the bread when toasting it under the broiler.

Ways to use uni butter

  • On scrambled eggs
  • Stir it into sautéed veggies
  • Top a grilled steak or seafood
  • Add a few tablespoons to cooked pasta, rice, and mashed potatoes
  • Spread it on a big piece of french bread for uni toast!!
Two pieces of bread spread with uni butter beofre placing in broiler

Ain't nobody got time for counting calories when eating bread, so be generous with the uni butter, my friends.

Uni butter just makes toast taste better.  I know uni is a little weird, but sometimes you have to try new and strange ingredients. 

The exterior front of Harbor Fish Market in Portland Maine

Harbor Fish Market for the BEST and freshest seafood

If you find yourself in the beautiful coastal city of Portland, Maine, you have to visit the Harbor Fish Market. This is fresh cold water seafood at it's best!

Even if you don't like seafood, I bet you'll find something here you do like.  If you are a seafood lover, well then, you just walked through the gates of heaven.

The wonderful city of Portland Maine

Portland is one of my favorite cities because:

  1.  Water is everywhere you look.  It's right on the Atlantic, so the views are to die for!
  2.  It's a fantastic walkable city
  3.  There are some of the best farm-to-table restaurants around
  4.  And some of the best breweries too!
  5.  Lastly, the Harbor Fish Market is there

With all that Portland has to offer, the Harbor Fish Market is pretty much the main reason why I go visit.  Yeah, it's all that or so much more. 

Their selection of oysters is astounding, the scallops are the size of your hand, and the fish is unbelievably fresh.  Like, right outta the water fresh. 

Most everything is local to Maine or the New England area and is labeled with the point of origin so you know exactly what you are getting.

Fresh whole bass fish on a bed of ice
Raw oysters in the shell in baskets and wooden boxes on cushed ice

Oysters galore!!!  We are huge oyster lovers so this is the frosting on the cake for us.

Raw oyster on the half shell ready to eat

At home, enjoying one of the oysters with with a homemade mignonette (red wine vinegar and shallots).

Fillets of salt cod in a wood box

Wild Atlantic salt cod and it makes the most unbelievably tasty fritters!

A large sea scallop in a person's hand
Raw sliced tuna on a plate

Huge scallop on the top (yes, that's my hand, not a child's) and fresh raw tuna on the bottom.  If all these pictures haven't convinced you at this point that this place is the best fish market ever, then it never will.

Pieces of uni toast with minced fresh chives on top

If you have a chance to pick up some fresh uni, try making some butter and this delicious Uni Toast.  Next time you are in Portland Maine, don't forget to visit the Harbor Fish Market or seek out the best fish market in your area!

The Best Fish Market Ever and Uni Toast

Uni Toast

Made with just 4 simple ingredients, Uni Toast is a better way of buttering your bread! Fresh sea urchin makes butter a little sweet and a little briny, perfect for crusty french bread.
5 from 4 votes
Print Pin Rate
Course: Appetizer
Cuisine: American
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 2 minutes
Total Time: 7 minutes
Servings: 8 servings
Calories: 1971kcal
Author: Karrie | Tasty Ever After

Ingredients

  • ½ cup unsalted grass-fed butter, softened
  • ¼ cup of fresh uni (sea urchin)
  • ½ teaspoon fresh lemon juice
  • ¼ teaspoon sea salt
  • ⅛ teaspoon Tabasco
  • 1 french bread baguette, cut into 1" slices
  • 1 tablespoon fresh chives, minced (optional)
US Customary - Metric

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven broiler on high. In a small bowl, mix together the softened butter, uni, lemon juice, sea salt, and Tabasco.
  • Spread the uni butter generously on the bread slices and broil until lightly brown (about 1-2 minutes). Sprinkle with chives and serve immediately.

Recipe Notes & Tips:

  • Makes ½ cup of uni butter.
  • Store leftover in a tightly covered container for up to 1 week in the refrigerator.
  • Butter can be frozen for up to 3 months. Wrap tightly in freezer proof plastic wrap or freezer storage bag. 
Nutrition Facts
Uni Toast
Amount Per Serving
Calories 1971 Calories from Fat 891
% Daily Value*
Fat 99g152%
Saturated Fat 60g300%
Cholesterol 244mg81%
Sodium 2659mg111%
Potassium 512mg15%
Carbohydrates 226g75%
Fiber 9g36%
Sugar 10g11%
Protein 48g96%
Vitamin A 2965IU59%
Vitamin C 2.7mg3%
Calcium 203mg20%
Iron 14.5mg81%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
Tried this recipe? Tag me today!Mention @tastyeverafter or tag #tastyeverafter

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 ©  Tasty Ever After  All images and content are copyright protected, so please do not copy or claim my work as your own.  Please do not use any images or republish this recipe without prior permission.  If you want to reference this recipe, link directly back to this post.  Thank you.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Heather

    October 11, 2021 at 3:34 pm

    5 stars
    First time making uni butter and I love it! Fantastic recipe!

    Reply
  2. Kathryn

    February 23, 2020 at 4:31 pm

    Haha. Me too! Just bought Uni at Harbor Fish Market, google uni recipes and your post came up! Can’t wait to try your uni butter on everything!

    Reply
    • karrie @ Tasty Ever After

      February 23, 2020 at 7:01 pm

      Put that butter on it all Kathryn!! Don't you just love Harbor? Their uni is always so fresh too. Please let me know how you like the butter and what you used it on 🙂

      Reply
  3. sara

    March 03, 2018 at 3:58 pm

    5 stars
    lol, i just came home from portland with my haul from harbor fish mkt, possibly my favorite place to visit besides disney. planning a dinner for friends tonight and googled "uni toast" and it brought me to this post. so new england! fish on!!

    Reply
  4. annie@ciaochowbambina

    October 14, 2016 at 8:48 am

    5 stars
    I never thought I'd be interested in trying uni..but you've convinced me! It'll try anything on toast! Great post! Love the photos and I can't believe the size of that scallop!

    Reply
  5. Kathleen | Hapa Nom Nom

    October 05, 2016 at 12:58 pm

    Omg, omg, omg!!!! I am in love! Seriously, I think my heart skipped a beat when I read the title! Uni is one of my all-time favorite foods - tastes like butta! Creating an uni butter for toast is pure genius! I HAVE TO try this! You just made my week girlfriend! xoxo!

    Reply
  6. Nelson

    October 02, 2016 at 6:31 pm

    I can attest the fresh squid statement, I've caught squid and cooked it right away and it is the best! I've never tried sea urchin before but the idea of uni butter on toast is pure genius.

    Reply
  7. Sophie

    September 30, 2016 at 10:21 am

    This place sounds like HEAVEN... that scallop! My jaw literally dropped!!
    Very intrigued by this uni butter... I have my doubts that I'll be able to find any uni here, but I'll keep my eyes peeled!

    Reply

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Thank you for visiting Tasty Ever After and I'm Karrie! I hope you enjoy spending some time here finding easy scratch made recipes for the home cook.

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