Unusual Ingredients - Beche De Mer / Sea Cucumber

What a tasty looking critter, I hear you say.  

Well, apparently, it is considered to be.  The sea cucumber, or beche de mer in French (does sound a little more appetising, I suppose) is an ingredient that can be found in Chinese cookery.

Known as 'Hai Sen' or 'sea ginseng', the humble sea cucumber has been prized for its gelatinous texture since antiquity and was often served up at banquets.  Quite the treat, I'm sure.  It is most usually found dried, when it becomes hard and must therefore be onerously prepared before you get to scoff it.

Firstly, comes the soaking phase.  How long this takes depends on the sea cucumber's size, grade and type - in some recipes I've read, it often mentions between 4-6 days as an average.  During that time, the water has to be changed every day and the sea cucumber must be completely submerged.  By about day 2-3, it should start to soften and you can use a sharp knife to cut the cucumber open and clean out the internal organs (mainly intestines).  You might not get all of the innards out in one go, but repeat until the cavity is clean.  By the time the soaking is over, the sea cucumber will have about doubled its original size.

Next, the boiling phase.  Again, depending on the sea cucumber, this takes about an hour.  Some recipes seem to suggest infuisng the water at this time with things like ginger, and others advocate just plain water.  Either way, chuck the water when you're done.

So, how do you cook with it?  Well, sea cucumber is a foil to other ingredients, it would seem, without much flavour of its own.  Not surprising, really, since there's not a whole lot to a sea cucumber.  Global Gourmet has what sounds like a palatable recipe here.

Would I give it a go?  I'll be honest, probably not after watching a YouTube video where a guy guts and prepares fresh sea cucumbers.  Grim is the only word and although the Chinese believe sea cucumber to be an aphrodisiac, I'm not convinced.  I also watched the BBC's series about the Great Barrier Reef, and from memory, I think there is a fascinating but nevertheless heave-worthy set of scenes where a fish makes its home inside the anus and intestinal tract of a sea cucumber.  Again, this hasn't warmed me to beche de mer as a delicacy.

I can certainly say, therefore, that I'd give them a whirl only if they were dried and prepped and preferably already in a dish.  You can view the gutting and preparation video here, but I strongly advise that those of you who are squeamish, just move on to happier things rather than watch this.

And here's an image of some prepared ones.