Seafood Dishes

Sea foods are the richest sources of natural iodine, protein, calcium, phosphorus, and omega. Sea foods are fin fish and
shellfish. They come from the oceans, lakes and rivers. Their favourable nutritional value and varied forms offer a wide variety for
menu planning. They are used as entrée dishes, appetizers and accompaniments.

Types of Sea foods

 Shellfish may be crustaceans and mollusks. Most shellfish are lean and contain little fat.
Crustaceans are shellfish with hard shells over the back and along the clams but have softer shells covering the
lower part of the body and legs, soft enough to be edible. Examples are crabs, lobsters and shrimps.
1. Crabs are decapod crustaceans of the infraorder Brachyuran, which typically have a very short projecting
"tail", usually entirely hidden under the thorax. They live in all the world's oceans, in fresh water, and on
land, are generally covered with a thick exoskeleton and have a single pair of claws.
Types of Crab
Japanese Spider Crab
The largest crab in the world is the giant Japanese Spider Crab. This giant crab can be found In Suruga Bay
off of the coast of Japan. This species of marine crab named the Japanese Spider Crab that has the largest
leg span of any arthropod known to exist.
Red King Crab
The mighty red king crab is dubbed the most prized species of crab in the world. Found in the waters of
Alaska Bristol Bay and Norton Sound, the red variety of king crab is by far the best tasting of the species.
Pea Crab
The pea crab is the smallest crab in the world. Female pea crabs measure half an inch across at their largest,
and male pea crabs are significantly smaller at less than a third of an inch wide. Pea crabs are parasitic, and
spend their lives infesting mollusks, using oysters, mussels and clams to provide safety, oxygen and food.
2. Lobster a large marine crustacean with a cylindrical body, stalked eyes, and the first of its five pairs of
limbs modified as pincers. Expensive and marketed mainly for export.
3. Shrimps a small free-swimming crustacean with an elongated body, typically marine and frequently
harvested for food. Commonly eaten than lobster.
 Mollusks an invertebrate of a large phylum that includes snails, slugs, mussels, and octopuses. They have a soft,
unsegmented body and live in aquatic or damp habitats, and most kinds have an external calcareous shell.
Univalve consist of one shell. Ex. Escargot, suso, and other land snail.
Bivalve consists of two shells. Ex. Clams, oyster, and muscles.

Market Form of Shellfish

 Live shell fish are marketed live and in shell.
 Shucked shellfish are removed from their shell, such as scallops, oysters and clam meat.
 Headless shellfish, the head and the thorax are removed being the source of bacterial storage. This applies lobsters and
prawns.
 Cooked form the edible of shellfish sold, cooked, ready to eat, either or canned.
 Whole shellfish served in the form they are caught but no longer alive. Their head and thorax are intact.

Characteristics of Fresh Shellfis

Shrimps
 They have intact heads and have uniform color.
 The odor is seaweedy, if not odourless.
Bivalves
 Fresh bivalves open up when place in water for a while.
Crabs
 Crabs and lobsters will not very active if they not been refrigerated, but they should move a little bit.
 The shell of a soft-shelled crab should be soft while the shell of crabs and lobsters should be hard.
 They are heavy for their size and are odourless or have seaweedy odor .

Finfish
Finfish are covered with scales and with fins. They came from both salt and freshwater. Fish are classified as fatty and as lean
according to the amount of fat they contain. Fatty fish has yellow or pink flesh. Salmon, mackerel and tuna are fatty fish. White fish is
less fatty who include cod, haddock, halibut and sea bass. They are lean fish.

Varieties of Fish
Fishes vary widely in different localities and they include both saltwater and freshwater varieties. Saltwater fish comes from
the sea and freshwater fish comes from lakes and rivers. They differ in flavor and quality depending on the water in which they are
grown. Most fishes are caught in the open seas and their availability is not dependent on men productive effort but on their ability to
detect schools of fishes.

CHARACTERISTICS OF FISH
Criteria Fresh Stale
Eyes Bright, full, bulging Dull, sunken, wrinkled
Gills Bright red, covered with clean slime, fresh odor Dull brown or grey, slime cloudy with offensive
odor
Flesh Firm, elastic, springs back when pressed gently Soft and flabby, finger impression remains
with the finger
Odor Fresh and seaweedy Sour and putrid
Body Firm Soft
Color Shiny and bright Faded
Slime Clear Opaque
Belly walls Intact Often ruptured, viscera protruding
Muscle tissue Light, white Pinkish, tainted with blood especially around
backbone
Vent Pink not protruding Brown, protruding
Scales Complete, adhere tightly Loosely attached
Taste sweet Biting, itchy
Test Sinks in basin of water Floats in basin of water

Market Forms and Cuts of Fish

Cut/ Market Forms of Fish Discriptions
Live Fish These are fish which can be marketed alive because they live longer after catch.
Whole Fish This is the form in which most fresh fish is distributed in local market fish stalls.
Shortly after catch they are mixed with ice to prevent spoilage.
Drawn Fish This is the whole fish with only the entrails removed.
Dressed Fish Fish which has been scaled and eviscerated.
This is usually ready to cook.
Butterfly Cut Cut and spread open, as in preparation from cooking.
Steak Cut These are cross section slices of fish which are relatively of large size. Tanigue and
tambakol are usually cut into steak cuts.
These are ready to cook but may require quick washing prior to cooking.
Fillet These are the two meaty sides of the fish.
Cut lengthwise away from the backbone.
Deboned Bones of the fish are removed.
Flaked Fish meat separated from the whole fish.
Chunks A compact mass of fish meat cut into cubes.

Steps on how to do butterfly cut of fish

1. Lay the fish flat on the chopping board with the head towards you.
2. Using a sharp fillet knife, make an incision from the tail going to the head, while the left forefinger or palm support the fish
to prevent it from moving.
3. Pass the knife through cutting the backbone up to the head.
4. Using the kitchen scissors, remove the entrails and the gills.
5. Wash or clean the butterfly fish.

Preparing Fish and shellfish for cooking

Kitchen tools and equipment in preparing fish and shellfish for cooking
 Chopping board. Used when cutting meat of fish and when slicing it
 Fish scaler. Used for removing scales of fish
 Kitchen scissors. Used for trimming off the fins, removing gills and entrails and the byssus threads of the mussels.
 Kitchen knife. Used for cutting the head and tail of the fish, in scaling and slicing.
 Paring knife. Used for scraping the shells.
 Kitchen scrubbing brush. Used for cleaning mussels, clams and oysters. It should be stiff to remove dirt from shells.
 Filleting knife. Used for filleting meat of fish and preparing a butterfly cut of fish.

Preparing for fish cooking

1. Scaling. Scaling whole fish is a necessary chore as the scales are unpleasant to eat.
Method
 Use a fish scaler or the back of a knife
 Hold the fish firmly by the tail and scrape the knife from the tail to the head of the fish removing the scales in a
stroking motion – they should flake off quite easily
 Finish by washing the fish thoroughly
2. Cutting of tails and fins.
3. Eviscerating. To reduce bacterial process, fish should be immediately gutted. Remove gills first, then the entrails through the
flap of the head. Slit open the stomach and press the lower portion of the fish and push the entrails upward.
4. Cleansing. Rinse the fish inside out thoroughly.
Preparing Shellfish for cooking
1. In cooking shellfish, it should be cleaned with stiff kitchen brush to remove the dirt. The same thing is done before shucking.
2. Mussels and clams should be free from sand before cooking. Clean the shells. Remove the byssus of the mussels.
3. Crabs are cleaned with the use of a scrubbing brush. Wash them with running water. To get the dirt in the crabs carapace and
underside, remove the belt.

Handling fish and sea foods hygienically

Methods of Thawing Frozen Fish
1. Refrigerator thawing- the easiest thawing method but takes 18 to 36 hours process.
2. Cold water thawing method- place fish in a bowl of cold water and water is changed every 30 minutes until fish is
defrosted.
3. Microwave oven- the fastest thawing method, best for frozen fish that needs to be cooked immediately.

Handling and storing fish and sea foods

Fresh fish should be stored properly for the following reasons:
1. To prevent spoilage or decomposition
2. To prevent fish bad odors
3. To protect the flesh from being bruised or crushed
4. To keep the fish moist

Storing fish
 Fish should be stored at 30 to 34˚F for 1 to 2 days and wrapped properly.
 If kept longer, freeze immediately or cook and refrigerate it.
 Practice first in first out (FIFO)
 Make sure that the frozen sea foods are frozen and not thawed when bought.
 Look for fresh sweet odor or no odor at all
 Mussels, clams and oysters that are purchased in shell should be placed in shallow pan without water and covered with
moistened paper towel and refrigerated
 Shellfish should be in a sealed container