Moalboal food: sea urchins

Dining on freshly harvested sea urchin is my new favorite way to start a day at the beach.

Why Moalboal?

Moalboal is a town in the southwestern part of Cebu. It faces Tañon Strait, which separates the islands of Negros and Cebu. It is an important habitat for several species of sharks, whales, and dolphins passing by. Home to many reefs and aquatic creatures, it is the largest marine-protected area in the Philippines.

That is why Moalboal offers one of the better seawater experiences in Cebu. There are two popular beaches found here: Basdaku and Panagsama.

Basdaku (bas = sand, daku = big) has a long stretch of fine white sand and reefs teeming with fish.

Panagsama, also known as Basdiot (bas = sand, diot = small) is famous for its sea turtles, sardine run, diving ops, and bars and nightlife.

We had our club’s summer outing on Basdaku, at Barefoot White Beach Resort. Another thing I love here is that vendors pass by the beach, selling pails of sea urchin (swaki in the local dialect) and other local snacks like steamed saba (Philippine plantain) bananas and kamote (sweet potatoes).

How to beach

I was sitting on the beach that morning, watching my kids play on the sand, when a vendor we shall call nanay (means “mother” but is generally used to address elderly women) came along.

“Swaki, ‘day!” she offered me.

Swaki is a term for the common sea urchin.

‘Day is a contraction of inday, a Visayan term of endearment for a “little girl”, but also used in the Visayas to address any lady (which, of course, I was). *Bats eyelashes*

Nanay showed me a pail filled with sea urchins and said I could have all for PHP 150 (roughly USD 3). I bought two pails.

She hauled some seawater. One by one, she cracked the sea urchins, removed the black membranes and rinsed the roe (gonads?), called uni in Japanese, with the seawater.

She then offered each swaki to us (me, my hubby, and our eldest child). All we had to do was scoop out the uni using a spoon.

Nanay also had some vinegar, which she offered me. I declined.

As much as possible, I don’t use condiments on my food. Same goes with seasoning. I’m a purist (most of the time). If you really have to season, salt and freshly ground black pepper often does the job.

With sea urchin roe, I believe nothing else is needed.

Two more girls bringing more pails of sea urchin came along. I couldn’t buy any more, but someone else from our group bought from them. They also helped nanay crack and clean the sea urchins for us.

The girls offered their pailful of sea urchins at PHP 100 each (around USD 2). What a bargain!

Nanay, as she told me, was sending three kids to school and the money I paid her would help a lot. It wasn’t that much, but I was glad to be able to help even in a small way.

How sea urchin tastes

I remember hating uni whenever my dad would buy sushi and sashimi when I was younger. I thought it was slimy and disgusting.

I guess it was an acquired taste for me, because I love it now. My eldest, however, was hooked the first time he tried it.

It had a salty taste at first, but I realized it was only because of the seawater. The uni itself was actually sweet!

Maybe when it’s really fresh like this, you can really taste the sweetness. The girls said they harvested the sea urchins just before they peddled them.

It was such as fine way to start a day at the beach – munching on freshly harvested sea urchin roe while gazing at the beautiful waters sparkling in the hot unforgiving summer sun.

Good to know

Moalboal is located in the southwest of Cebu. Pass by Carcar, Barili and Ronda for a few great stopovers.

Tourists (local and foreign) entering the beaches pay an environmental fee of PHP 5 per person.

The middle part of Basdaku has the widest shoreline and the most people. It also has the finest sand on the beach. However, we like staying on the northernmost part, away from the crowd and noise. It has rocky parts, but the sand is still good.

Buy from the vendors passing by to help the locals. Some of them are students trying to earn their allowance. They offer several kinds of food to fill your stomach at cheap prices.

Try swaki (uni) without vinegar, lemon, lime or calamansi – if only to see what it really tastes like.