Spicy Seafood Chowder

Spicy seafood chowder – hearty and spicy, loaded with fresh fish and seafood…

Who remembers the old Superman quote “ It’s a bird! It’s a plane! It’s Superman!”? You do? Congratulations, you win a prize! Unfortunately, it’s only my undying gratitude, though in fact most of that is just for reading this blog.

However, that quote has little to do with this post apart from introducing the idea of identity confusion.

You see, I had the hardest time deciding what to name this dish. Is it a fish stew? No…how about a soup? Or maybe a chowder?

It contains pieces of fish and seafood, but is it too watery to be considered a stew? Yet is it too chunky to be called a soup? The idea of a chowder fits the bill, but surely a chowder is cream or milk-based? Then what about tomato-based chowders like Manhattan clam or Cioppino?

We could debate it for hours, but we won’t because we’re sensible and have better things to do. However, it did start me thinking a little about our relationships with food – here a link to an interesting study on the impact of perception when it comes to how we look at what we eat.

Perhaps there is no easy answer, and it simply boils down to what we make of our own preconceived ideas. In the end though, I’ve opted to name this a chowder for no other reason than just to be a little contrary.

Inspiration for this struck while on a trip to Tasmania, and a pit stop along the east coast at Binalong Bay. Our only food option turned out to be the Moresco restaurant, but as luck would have it it turned out to be a good “choice”.

On a whim, I abandoned my initial selection of fish and chips for the restaurant’s signature seafood broth (arrggh…another naming option, but I do draw the line at “broth”), and was rewarded with plenty of seafood in a chilli and tomato-based stock. Very tasty, and heartily recommended.

So, taking that idea, I was curious to see whether I could spice things up a little and see how well the flavours of Asia might marry with a more European-style approach, like a French Bouillabaisse (which incidentally is referred to as both a stew or soup depending on the source…)

This spicy seafood chowder starts with a vegetable medley as a base (a mirepoix or soffrito), to which a hint of spice is added. The attempt here is for subtlety – enough to provide a mild spicing and complexity without overpowering the flavours from the vegetables and the seafood. Likewise aromatics like the ginger and lemongrass are added whole to infuse their flavour before being removed at the end.

The mussels are cooked off in advance, and the cooking liquor is used to bulk up the fish stock. Depending on how juicy the mussels are, you may have to top up with some water or more stock. I like to break the mussels shells in half, leaving the meat attached to just one side for ease of serving and eating, but the choice is yours.

A few other quintessential Asian ingredients like fish sauce and tamarind are added for that sweet-sour-salty balance, and the base is left to simmer for a while before the fish is added at the last minute to finish cooking.

Garnish with the obligatory coriander and spring onion, and serve with lots of crusty bread for mopping up the juices.

Spicy Seafood Chowder

Print Recipe

A hearty, spicy, tomato and vegetable based stock loaded with fish and seafood

Servings

2 - 3 Servings

Servings 2 - 3 Servings

Spicy Seafood Chowder Print Recipe A hearty, spicy, tomato and vegetable based stock loaded with fish and seafood Servings 2 - 3 Servings Servings 2 - 3 Servings

Ingredients

• 200 grams firm white fish (cut into large chunks)
• 200 grams raw peeled prawns
• 500 grams live mussels (cleaned)
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 125 grams shallot (about 4 medium shallots)
• 15 grams garlic (about 3 small cloves)
• 50 grams celery (one small stalk)
• 50 grams carrot (about half a carrot)
• 50 grams fennel (about a quarter of a bulb)
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon ground tumeric
• 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1/4 teaspoon chilli powder
• 1 tin chopped tomato
• 250 milimeters fish stock
• 1 tablespoon tamarind puree
• 1 tablespoon fish sauce
• 15 grams ginger (a thumb-sized piece, peeled but left whole)
• 1 stalk lemongrass (bruised but left whole)
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• salt and pepper to taste
• chopped coriander (for garnish)
• Chopped spring onion (for garnish)
• Crusty bread to serve

Servings: Servings

Instructions

1. Heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil in a large pot, and when nice and hot add the mussels and fish stock. The stock should steam up immediately, so cover the pan and give it a shake and let the mussels steam for 3 - 4 minutes until they open. Drain the mussels, reserving the stock and mussel liquor. Measure the resulting stock, and make it up to half a litre (500ml) with water or extra stock and set aside. If desired, you can separate the mussel shells, leaving the half-shell with meat attached for serving.
2. Finely dice the shallot, garlic, celery, carrot and fennel. Heat the remaining olive oil in a pan and fry the diced vegetables over medium heat for 8 - 10 minutes till soft but not browned. Add the spices to the vegetables and continue to cook for a further two minutes.
3. Add in the tomato, reserved fish stock, sugar and fish sauce and a good pinch of pepper. Stir well, then add the bruised lemongrass stalk and and ginger and bring to a boil. Simmer for 20 minutes till the vegetables are starting to soften. At this point, season to taste and adjust with more fish sauce, sugar or tamarind - it should taste well balanced between sweet and sour.
4. Simmer for a further 10 minutes, then return the mussels to the pot. This will drop the heat in the pot, so let it come back to a simmer then add the fish and prawns and cook for a further 5 minutes or until the fish and prawns are just cooked through.
5. Taste for final seasoning and top with the coriander and spring onion and serve with crusty bread.

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