Lukot / Sea Hare Secretions
They looked like really cool noodles, and in varying shades of green. Sort of like sea soba. But lukot, a Visayan ingredient, is something that I had NEVER seen before. So I asked the vendor at the Bogo market what it was… They smiled and said it was sea cucumber poop, or what appeared to be translated as sea cucumber poop. Omigod is right! Perhaps something was lost in translation, so I asked several others what it was… and roughly translated, they said “it comes out of a sea cucumber, they leave it in piles on the sea floor…” well, that didn’t help. So I took the photos and figured I could do some research later. Then just hours later, I saw the same ingredient on the island of Malapascua, and they said it was sea cucumber eggs, but they couldn’t explain why it came in so many shades of green and yellow brown, nor why a sea cucumber would just lay them on the seabed, for all the predators to scoop up with ease. And I admit I have bad eyesight, but I looked at these “noodles” really closely and couldn’t discern any individual eggs so I was a bit concerned… A little more googling back home yielded some alarming results. Was it actually sea cucumber poop? Bunches of sea cucumber eggs? Some other unusual stuff??? Some writers or bloggers simply ignored or avoided mentioning what it actually was altogether, choosing to call it marine spaghetti, spaghettini look-alike, seaweed, etc.
But this very helpful forum seems to be reasonably logical and it identifies this as the secretions of a sea hare (dolabella auricularia) or dongsul/donsol/sometimes b’at, not exactly the sea cucumber I had in mind, the long black things from my childhood that we used to viciously (as some kids can be vicious) step on them in shallow waters to watch them shoot out a milky liquid on trips to the Batangas sea shore. The secretions include strings of eggs of the sea hare (scroll down the link to find sea hare), and the various shades of green are driven by the types of algae the sea hare has consumed in the recent past. They counsel that the color of the lukot is irrelevant, and that despite no other sea creature finding these low hanging fruit, or should I say easily munched on eggs, appetizing, us humans find them tasty and a great addition to various dishes… hmmm… A little bit more research convinced me that sea cucumber poop would have a lot of sand in it, and these green noodle like things didn’t seem to have any sand in them… So I personally prefer to describe them as Sea Hare Secretions…
Some folks enjoy this kilawin style, fresh from the sea, with some coconut vinegar, chillies and chopped shallots. Others enjoy this added to tinowa, a staple soup in Cebu and the surrounding islands in the Visayas (though called by different names throughout the region). The lukot cooks up like noodles and has a distinct taste, though most can’t describe the actual taste. I was actually wracking my brain for some other food item anywhere on the planet made up of the poop of an animal but I couldn’t, so I thought we were unique… In fact, the closest I could think of was kopi luwak, the beans that had been munched on and passed through the intestinal tract of a civet, then roasted and enjoyed in your fine china coffee cup… But actually, this lukot isn’t poop at all. In fact, maybe I should re-brand it as “Sea Hare Caviar” and start charging an arm and a leg for it from visiting foodies looking for something new and exciting to taste… :)
i learn so much from your blog| thanks lots
April 28th, 2008The link you supplied for “sea hare” opens into a completely unknown and fascinating world. Farther down the forum, they called this lukot marine spaghetti which it resembles most. It turns out that these are actually casings for the sea hare’s eggs which are arranged inside the strands like strings of pearls and are visible as such in some of the pictures.
Yes, you can promote this as a new taste sensation just like coffee Luwak which btw took me by surprise. Never suspected that it would happen in my lifetime, this convergence of the age-old adage “a fool and his money are soon parted,” with the equally ancient quest for a scam for fobbing off excrement for its weight in gold and I reckon that there won’t be any shortage of takers anytime soon since P T Barnum clocked their entry into this crazy world at one every minute.
April 28th, 2008From the way you describe lukot, I think it’s not actually sea cucumber “poop”. A sea cucumber shoots out a sticky net to catch prey or if it’s threatened it eviscerates (shoots out) its internal organs which are then quickly regenerated. The stuff that comes out does resemble noodles and comes in different colours (yellow, powder blue). I didn’t know it’s edible. Thanks for the info.
April 28th, 2008That is a fascinating link, I don’t recall ever seeing sea hares/dolabella’s on a dive, but after looking at those pictures they remind me of nudibranches (but not as pretty).
April 28th, 2008Never tasted lukot, but is the flavor briney like caviar? or fishy? or bitter?
Mila, I didn’t get a chance to taste it… and eating it raw before I knew what it was would be a real stretch for me… but my crew says it is perhaps closer to mildly briney, not bitter at all. And they have never tasted caviar so couldn’t compare… :) Will try it the next time I get a chance… Nina, I think this is different from the stuff that it squirts out. This is purposefully laid on the sea bed, not a stressed out eviscerate caused by a nasty twelve year old stepping on the sea cucumber…
April 28th, 2008yuck, is all i can say..,because i always thought lukot was some kind of seaweed. and the only time i tried them was when they a few strands were floating some wonderful clam soup that i had in mactan. here in davao, i often see it presented as salad, topped by some slivered ginger, chopped tomatoes, and probably vinegar. never tried the salad, never will after the poop story :-)
April 28th, 2008can this be added in the cold cuts platter–i mean does it taste the same as the seaweed that is traditionally placed with the meat and eggs?
April 28th, 2008no. . . it couldn’t be sea cucumber poop, as far as i know, sea cucumber eats sand and poops them out, kinda like cleaning it, like earthworms they eat soil and poops it out. This is why sea cucumbers are important because they filter sand. . . I haven’t seen this noodle like things before. . .
April 28th, 2008I don’t think its poop either, hehe but I hear that “lukot” is good for people with diabetes, it brings down blood sugar.
April 28th, 2008In our barrio north of Leyte, lukot is a common fare as ingredient in tinowa or kinilaw. It is commonly known as donsol poop. Come to think of its, it never occured to us that it was gross. Perhaps because it doesnt really look like poop. Am not sure if donsol is sea cucumber in english but its color is purple, different from the usual sea cucumber we know of.
April 28th, 2008MM,
April 28th, 2008Its really poop from donsol. Its a variety of a sea cucumber that eats seaweeds. This kind of sea cucumber is also a delicacy. You can find sea cucumber where there are lots of “lusay”,(seagrass). If there are lots of lukot, it means that portion of the sea is very clean.The variety of color depends on the color of the seaweeds they are taking. I’ll bring one for you.
I love lukot! We ate this when we lived in Bohol and Cebu. We make it like kinilaw. It’s good to eat coz it kind of slides thru your throat, no need to chew for a long time. hehe
April 28th, 2008I grew up eating this in tinowa or in salads - it’s about the thickness of capellini, kinda slippery and easy to swallow. Briny and not gross-tasting at all. I love guso and lato much more though :)
April 28th, 2008I was just thinking of lukot this morning. Like Millet I thought it was seaweed of some sort. After the Poop, secretions etc. I have completely lost my appetite for it. I had it cooked in a superb fish soup in a restaurant here in davao, now im so thankful everytime I order they ran out of the lukot and just had the fish soup instead.
April 28th, 2008So MarketMan, would you actually eat lukot?
April 28th, 2008Blaise, I defnitely want to try it in a tinowa, but with some trepidation. After all the vast majority of people don’t balk at eating natural sausage casings from pigs, and we all know what passed through those on hundreds of occasions before they were used on the sausages! :)
April 28th, 2008Sea Hare Secretions = “Noodle of the Sea”? :-)
April 28th, 2008these lukots are worth trying. you can add them in your tinowa or just eat them like salad, with vinegar, tomatoes and chopped onions and of course siling labuyo. yuummyy! i guess you have to be bisaya to know these sea weeds. i miss seaweeds like lukot, guso or latu. i miss the crunchy ba’t or sea cucumber too.
April 28th, 2008Mardie, they aren’t seaweeds at all… :)
April 28th, 2008Thanks for clearing that up, MM! When I first saw the picture, I immediately assumed they were sea cucumber secretions, because, just like you, I remember seeing them on the beach as a kid, and jokingly calling the white stuff they sprayed out as “misua.” I’d never heard of nor seen sea hare/donsol before! I’d like to try lukot. If it’s anything like seaweed or lato, I think I’d like it.
And thanks for the link to the nudibranch site. I find nudibranchs beautiful and enjoy seeing pictures of them. The writer’s descriptions of them are funny. :-)
April 28th, 2008hi mm,
i am a certified cebuano too and indeed on my part i love lukot in tinowa.yummy truly very visayan.mwah!!!!yummy!!!specially if the fish is fresh and you put it like pancit then hot soup ahhhhhhh…..
April 28th, 2008I would tried it without hesitation if someone gave me a serving, but now…. Poop or not this is a very interesting post.
April 28th, 2008I’ll give it a try. Coke Zero on the side.
April 28th, 2008So that’s what that is! One of my favorite restaurants in the whole country is “Konting Kuskos” in Bacolod, and they serve this kinilaw-style there. The first time I saw it, I asked my friend, “Bakit ang itim ng pansit bihon niyo dito?” With all that vinegar, I couldn’t really discern a strong taste; I sort of thought, “lasang dagat,” but it had a nice, slightly chewy texture. Not at all slimy, quite good, and the restaurant runs out of it all the time.
April 28th, 2008to naghihingalo…
Konting Kuskos at Rizal Lacson.. yeah!
April 28th, 2008But why, why, why would you even want to pick it up, let alone eat it?
April 29th, 2008it’s delish as the main ingredient in salad. in negros we just added sliced tomatoes, onions and vinegar mix a bit then serve. haven’t tried the version where it’s cooked as tinowa though. its real good. i will still eat it even after reading this.
April 29th, 2008Very interesting post I must admit. but I’ll be to “chicken” to try it out! :)
April 29th, 2008What is “tinowa”?
April 29th, 2008is that the same as “wakame,” usually served in korean or japanese restaurants, with some sesame seeds, shredded cucumber and light dressing? The flavor is like having a dose of salt water direct from the sea.
April 29th, 2008we’d often have lukot at home and it never occured that it could be poop.. i always just thought it was like lukot and guso. they’re prepared and served the same way.
April 29th, 2008Lukot is actually the poop of the donsol. I saw it on tv (Discovery Channel). I originally came from Manila and the first time I encountered lukot, I don’t want to have anything to do with it. (Biro mo, pancit na itim!). But now, its a must have ingredient when I cook fish tinola. You should try it with fish tinola or simply kinilaw. You’d love it.
April 30th, 2008ziquatte, it is NOT POOP. If you read the entire post above and or followed the links to other sites, it appears it is precisely a secretion with eggs, NOT waste matter with sand. Perhaps the Discovery channel needs to do a bit more research?? :) shaz, I don’t think this is wakame. dhayL, tinowa is a Cebuano soup with veggies and often some fish.
April 30th, 2008Sorry MM. I made a mistake. What I meant was a kind of fish that eats corals locally known as Pakol and not Donsol, the whale shark. Anyway, I will check out the links. Thanks.
April 30th, 2008I never tasted lukot. Thanks for the info. When I looked at the link— there was an “a-ha!” moment- Nudibranch!!! (pronounced as nu-di-branks)I love seeing them while diving. We actually look for them when we dive! a bit difficult to find as they are small.
kakatuwa naman to see these here!
May 1st, 2008