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24 votes
Accepted

I cannot understand how to properly fry seafood

Given your picture, I think the correct term here is saute; that is, to quickly fry in a little bit of hot fat. Pan frying uses more fat, and a lower temperature, to create a deeper crust. Probably an ...
  • 69.2k
23 votes

Can a fish living in fresh water be called seafood?

Don't read too much into the "sea"; there's no rule that every word in the language has to stick precisely to its etymological roots. Seafood just means edible aquatic life, i.e. fish and shellfish ...
  • 57.9k
20 votes

Why boil octopus with wine cork?

The muscle fibers of octopus are very thin compared to other species, arranged in multiple layers and alternating rings, which are then even further reinforced with collagen, 3-5 times more than ...
  • 3,094
20 votes
Accepted

Could I possibly tell imitation lobster from real lobster?

If it is high quality imitation lobster and you are not amongst the highest skilled tasters (few of us are), you won't be able to tell the difference by yourself. Imitation seafood is made from ...
  • 2,762
15 votes

I cannot understand how to properly fry seafood

You say In the advertisements the chefs just swirl the mussels, shrimps, and octopus pieces around and produce some tasty browned pieces That's like saying "When I watch Bob Ross, he just puts ...
  • 132k
15 votes

I cannot understand how to properly fry seafood

An important element to cooking fish is the quality of the fish itself. Many fish processors use sodium tripolyphosphate (STPP) to preserve the fish. Unfortunately this also makes the fish absorb ...
14 votes
Accepted

Why would mussels be gritty?

With regards to the grit, if they aren't farmed mussels (which generally are fairly clean) you may want to give them a soak for a while. This will give them the chance to expel any further sand/grid ...
  • 256
13 votes

Clams frozen before purging

There’s no way to make a dead clam purge sand etc. You can always try to cook a few and see how gritty they really are, then decide. You may be lucky and find that they have a good mouthfeel, or you ...
  • 56.5k
12 votes
Accepted

Meat alternative for tempura?

AFAIK, meat is not really used for Tempura. Do vegetables. (I assume you already do that). If you want to do fried battered meats, I would suggest cutting them as small as possible. Cut the meat ...
  • 20.3k
12 votes
Accepted

Why is it recommended to leave the last segment of shell on a shrimp?

The shells do have strong shrimp flavor that can contribute to a sauce, and are also left on for visual reasons. But personally, the choice of whether to leave it on depends on how I'm planning on ...
  • 8,322
10 votes
Accepted

Does the location of where an octopus was imported from determine the flavor/quality of the meat?

actually seafood's country origin does make a very relevant difference. Why? ocean floor type, water tempearture, tradewinds, upwelling and feed availability. Best octopus comes from Spain and ...
10 votes
Accepted

Is it safe to eat the clam that didn't open?

Before steaming the clams, they should all be closed. If any of your clams are open, give them a tap and if they stay open, then it is bad and you should take it out of your batch to prevent it from ...
  • 8,813
10 votes

Good Frozen Fish /seafood

I'd like to start with an analogy. Look at what you said in comments that some vegetables are actually better purchased frozen than purchased fresh. Let's take frozen peas vs fresh. Peas notoriously ...
  • 58.3k
10 votes

I cannot understand how to properly fry seafood

Squeeze it. This is frozen seafood. Freezing food creates tiny sharp ice crystals that break a lot of the cell walls, and releases trapped moisture. When you defrost you need to squeeze all that loose ...
  • 960
9 votes
Accepted

How do you barbeque a whole piece of fish?

I BBQ whole fish or fish filets with or without skin quite regularly. You suspect the BBQ was too hot, but usually BBQs are not hot enough (unless you were REALLY hot and over like 800F?). Make sure ...
  • 1,812
9 votes

What should I be aware of while eating raw oysters?

Usually for a business it's up to the oyster shucker to worry about the quality and you're to just enjoy. You can tell if the oyster is bad if it has an off smell. Much like fish, fresh oysters won'...
  • 1,311
8 votes

Does abalone have any unique nutritional value that justifies its lofty prices?

Short answer: no. Long answer: People eat abalone because of its taste, texture, and potential for gourmet preparation. Nutritional value isn't under consideration.
  • 54k
7 votes
Accepted

Accidentally killed my mussels

In order: No. It's possible, though not especially common, for a dead mussel to be stuck closed; they'll likely open with very little resistance. Most likely yes. The main issue with eating dead ...
  • 14.8k
7 votes
Accepted

Should I eat the head of an octopus?

The parts that are inedible in an octopus of any size are the "insides" and beak. If you got it frozen, no need to worry about the insides but if you caught it yourself, you need to turn its bag ...
  • 646
7 votes
Accepted

What is this seafood that I bought in a Chinese market?

That's abalone (鮑魚 bàoyú), a popular and expensive delicacy in Chinese cuisine.
  • 1,365
6 votes
Accepted

How do I prepare fresh clams for clam chowder?

Cook them first. I consulted few recipes including this very representative 5 star recipe from Anne Burrell, she uses one dozen little neck or cherry stone clams per serving. Scrub the clams and put ...
  • 58.3k
6 votes
Accepted

What is the English name of these sea snails?

Ốc bông = tiger moon snail (hotdeal.vn, Google images) or in Latin: Notocochlis tigrina (Wikipedia) Ốc tỏi = Japanese bonnet snail (Facebook, Wild Fact Sheets, images, more images) or in Latin: ...
  • 414
5 votes
Accepted

Do sprats need to be gutted?

It is safe to consume the guts. Many people do. More Info: After digging deeper into the above article I spotted it contains the answer. http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2006/oct/07/features....
5 votes
Accepted

Crab - brown meat looks grey

Did the shell on the grey-brown one seem heavier or look weathered? I have had this more with local caught when I was on the coast than commercial crabs, but, I have had occur something which sounds ...
  • 8,615
5 votes

Does soaking in saltwater for 20 mins help cleanse mussels?

Where I come from (Portugal) it is quite common to see in most restaurants and establishments shellfish being soaked several hours to even days long before consumption, especially sand dwelling ...
4 votes

Identify this seafood from the Black Sea known in Romanian as "rapane"?

The following method works better than a dictionary most of the time when you have to identify plants or animals. Open the Wikipedia home page, and search for "rapane" in Romanian. Result #1 is ...
4 votes

Meat alternative for tempura?

Tempura bacon is a thing. Par-cook the bacon and then finish as tempura. Tempura hot dogs are apparently also a thing. They have the advantage that they're fully cooked when you buy them. So you just ...
  • 1,370
4 votes

Meat alternative for tempura?

I've had chicken tempura at a couple different Japanese restaurants, and it was very tasty both times. As Max suggests in his answer, they cut breast meat into thin strips that I could pick up with my ...
4 votes

Should I eat the head of an octopus?

2kg is quite big. I would clean it and slice the 'head meat' and cook with the other parts. Bear in mind that the head meat is slightly thinner than the tentacles therefore maybe cook slightly less ...
  • 1,772
4 votes

How to cook scallops that will prevent them from becoming too rubbery?

It sounds like maybe you cooked them too long. Searing the perfect scallop requires a few steps, and some thought, but it is not difficult. ...and, a cast iron pan is very effective, so don't be put ...
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Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible