Cooking a Sea Cucumber

#Repost///@sooziethefoodie: Today I had the absolute honor of getting fresh sea cucumbers shipped to me fresh from @bluewateralaskanseafoods 🌊 it was a really exciting experience because I had to pick up the sea cucumbers from the airport! This is my first ingredient I’ve ever cooked that had to be picked up officially like that so I was already having a blast before I even started to cook these!I first saw sea cucumbers on the show Meat Eater and I have been obsessed with trying them fresh ever since! A few months ago, I was able to get them frozen, but the experience was nothing like what I had today.The sea cucumbers were huge! And believe it or not, they are really easy to prep. Getting them from a supplier that specializes in these definitely made it much easier. I didn’t have to clean out the rocks and such like the first time I cooked the frozen sea cucumbers. The first step into making these is cutting off each and then splitting the sea cucumber in half. You will see the pale pinkish meat in the center. It was surprisingly really easy to remove. Just not glamorous. I decided to keep it simple and add salted buttermilk then dredge the sea cucumbers in a seasoned karaage flour. I fried basil in the oil before adding the sea cucumbers for extra flavor! I learned through trial and error that when cooking the big pieces you need to score the bottom so that it doesn’t curl up when frying! These cook pretty quick and hot oil once they are golden brown they are ready!I added fleur de sal on top and a piece of that crispy fried basil! The flavor of sea cucumbers is absolutely incredible. It’s like a tender juicy clam! I did save the outer part of the sea cucumbers to do a soup with later and the smaller pieces. I’m going to cook with my friends come over tomorrow for dinner 😍