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Multi-Cultural Cuisine: West Coast Fish
Being a native of the West Coast, and the Island for 30 years, it is not surprising to have seen the evolution of seafood cuisine take leaps and bounds.
In the old days, the “Only” café on East Hastings in Vancouver was where one went to test their mettle. It was a low end dump in ambience but everything was prepared fresh, fresh…in fact the daily catch sat on ice in the window waiting for your order. It became so famous that Gourmet Magazine wrote an article about it in the B.C. and West Coast travel issue.
That café and about two other expensive Vancouver restaurants were known utterly for seafood.
The bar had been set, but took a while for ‘confusion’ cuisine to become a less heavy handed ‘fusion’ approach.
Good fish joints, who serve fish and chips, absolutely stand by the rule of keeping the fish and the chip deep fryers separate, with the one for fish at a different temperature than the fry oil for the chips, and, of keeping the oil changed.
One tasty innovation is sweet potato fries. And Tartar sauce should be home made, with capers, minced onions, dill pickle, garlic and homemade mayonnaise. The different taste is evident.
We can now get Cajun Blackened fish, ciopino, as well as the French Bouillabaisse, sushi, lemons and ginger feature in the dressings, and black bean sauce on steamed clams.
Here’s a wonderful taste -halibut picatta- the halibut fillet having been dipped in egg, then rolled in three cheeses (cheddar, farmer and parmesan) then pan fried until golden.
A ‘West Coast Tangle’ of salmon, sweet scallops garlic butter wrapped in phyllo, finished with a dollop of hollandaise and lemon.
Louisiana scallops and prawns with sweet peppers and Cajun spice.
How about a seared tuna wrapped in a fresh oregano leaf and a strip of roast red pepper; or poached prawns, sliced lengthwise, with an orange segment inserted between and a dainty drop of basil mayonnaise?
A Mediterranean presentation of seafood might be Lobster Risotto. We on the West Coast have taken to the Amalfi Coast with open arms. Risotto is arboria rice, simmered in rich stock, with wine – a little al dente – finished with parmesan for a creamy texture. Included are, clams, mussels, shrimp and squid, topped with a half a baked lobster au gratin. Or, Spaghetti Majorca, again al dente spaghetti tossed with baby cams, capers, cumin, saffron and cracked black pepper speaks about the Moorish influence on the Mediterranean cuisine.
Any number of pastas pair beautifully with seafood, starting with the old favorite linguine vongole (clams) penne with squid, con cozze, (mussels), smoked salmon; seafood cannelloni; fettuccine with prawns, or pescatore (the whole tidal pool of clams, shrimp, crab, prawns, mussels, squid. This is just a sampling from Maffeo’s menu.
Our own Fanny Bay oysters feature on nearly every menu around with very creative presentations. The classic Rockefeller sometimes takes second place. I had a trio of styles at Wesley Street Café, as an appetizer that I would call a hat trick…or, a Triple Crown winner: two peppercorn-crusted oysters, with a warm sherry vinaigrette; two corn meal-crusted, with homemade tartar sauce; and two house smoked, with a sweet shallot dipping sauce. Truly succulent especially with champagne.
As well as salmon and halibut and the cod family we have an excellent sea bass on this coast. One of the best selections was braised with an ethereal lemon dill cream sauce garnished with deep fried ribbons of leek, adding visual height and textural crunch to complement the moist tenderness of the sea bass. This bespeaks Chef Renaud’s French background.
But let’s get adventurous. A Chinese seafood dish I liked for its taste and texture was Modou-yu, shredded spicy jellyfish. The jellyfish is blanched then finely shredded and marinated in rice wine vinegar, chili, light soy and sugar. It is served with green onion garnish.
Both Scandinavian and Asian cultures live on products from the sea, and would require a single book on each country to explore them individually.
You know the old clunker, “I sea-food and I eat I”? Just a little corn with your fish.