Seafood Recipes
Learn New Ways to Cook San Diego-Landed Seafood
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Photo by Oriana Poindexter
Wavy Turban Snail Coctel de Caracol
The wavy turban snail, also called the wavy top snail, is occasionally available for purchase at San Diego fishermen's markets, thanks to commercial divers who will occasionally bring wavy turbans to sell at their tables.
Kellet’s Whelk Scungilli Salad
Scungilli Salad is an Italian-American dish that you won’t find in the Old World. Born from Italian-American immigrant communities established on the East Coast in the early 20th century, it is a traditional dish at the table during The Feast of the Seven Fishes, a cherished Christmas Eve tradition among Italian-American families. Use Kellet’s Whelk, a tasty and brightly-colored sea snail harvested by San Diego commercial fishers, for a West Coast twist!
Wavy Turban Snail Green Curry
The wavy turban snail, also called the wavy top snail, is occasionally available for purchase at San Diego fishermen's markets, thanks to commercial divers who will occasionally bring wavy turbans to sell at their tables. If you've been tidepooling in Southern California, you may have come across the shell of one of these animals. But did you know that the snail itself has fed ancestors of native peoples of our coastline for thousands of years? We would love to know the original methods of preparation. Try this unique local seafood in a Thai-inspired green curry!
Rock Crab Nasi Goreng
Nasi Goreng, or “fried rice,” is a super popular dish in Indonesia, and for good reason! It's packed with flavor thanks to a mix of spices, chilies, and kecap manis (a sweet soy sauce). People love it because it’s so versatile—you can put just about anything you want in it. Including...San Diego's locally caught rock crabs! If you're feeling fancy, try serving it in the crab shell—it makes for a perfect, reusable bowl.
Ca Bơn Chiến Nước Mắm (Vietnamese-Style Fried Sanddabs)
Pacific Sanddabs are excellent fried because of a large surface-area-to-volume ratio - these little flounders cook evenly and crisp up perfectly, especially in this classic Vietnamese preparation that takes just a few steps to prepare. Nước Mắm is a staple in Vietnamese households, and we’ll wager that every kind of local fish in available here in San Diego is better when paired with its sweet, sour, salty, savory and spicy flavor profile. So make extra!
Sablefish (Black Cod) Moqueca Baiana
Anyone looking for a way to eat more fish for their health Moqueca Baiana is a Brazilian stew featuring fish simmered in coconut milk, tomatoes, onions, garlic, and cilantro, and characterized by the use of ingredients of African origin: peppers, coconut milk, and palm oil (dendê), the latter giving the dish its signature bold color. Making it with locally-caught sablefish puts a San Diego twist on a beloved Brazilian dish.
Spiny Lobster Pumpkin Bisque
Spiny lobster season is synonymous with fall (see our blog post, Diving Into Spiny Lobster Season to learn more about the fishery and the spiny lobsters themselves). Lobster bisque is a natural choice for anyone looking to make the most of the season - and a pumpkin twist to this traditionally tomato-based bisque makes it twice as festive for the fall.
Preparing Fresh Sea Cucumber - Step 1
Sea cucumber are usually only available in-store as a dried product, which is rehydrated for cooking. But you can learn to take a fresh sea cucumber and prepare it for cooking with this simple series of steps, developed and shared with us by a San Diego commercial sea cucumber diver, who eats them as part of his regular diet.
Sea Cucumber Stir Fry
Sea cucumber is a local commercial fishery that many San Diegans may be unaware of, but the sea cucumber is widely appreciated in many cultural cuisines. This stir-fry recipe is simple and accessible for anyone interested in trying the nutritious and versatile sea cucumber for the first time!
Spicy Fish Handroll
Buying a whole fish for sashimi? Don’t let anything go to waste! After saving the beautiful fillets for your sashimi or sushi nigiri, take any trim/scrap pieces, and use a spoon to scrape off the remaining meat from the bones, or behind the head—to make a super easy filling for hand rolls.
Pacific Mackerel Rice (inspired by Emily Mariko)
Coming home after a long day creates a craving for something delicious, easy, and mixed together in a big, comforting bowl. This dish, Pacific Mackerel Rice, feels less like 'cooking' and more like 'assembling' - especially when it's made with your leftovers, as originally intended by Emily Mariko, the TikTok lifestyle influencer who inspired this recipe, after her leftover salmon rice bowl rocked the internet. Our take on this wonderfully simple preparation features a fish available year-round in San Diego from local commercial fishing families.
Peruvian Tiradito with California Yellowtail
Peruvian Tiradito is a highly photogenic dish - a fusion of Japanese sashimi and Peruvian ceviche, featuring thin slices of fish drizzled in a tangy citrus sauce that adds just the right kick. This Peruvian-Japanese fusion was born out of place-based cultural creativity when Japanese immigrants, who first arrived in Peru in 1899, began adapting local ingredients to recreate the dishes of their homeland.
Pacific Bluefin Tuna Crudo with Seasonal Stonefruit
Pacific Bluefin Tuna is the fattiest of tunas, giving it extraordinarily rich flavor and velvety soft, melt-in-your-mouth texture. Raw preparations allow those culinary characteristics to shine, and this Summer Stonefruit Crudo is a great example. Because Pacific Bluefin Tuna is a fish that is especially abundant off the San Diego coast in the summertime in San Diego, it makes sense to feature another seasonal summer delight - a ripe peach, nectarine, or plum - alongside the fish. "Crudo" is Italian for "raw," and this simple preparation for local seafood, combined with high quality olive oil and freshly squeezed citrus, is a timeless classic in Italian fishing villages.
California Yellowtail Ceviche
Ceviche prepared with fresh California Yellowtail is an iconic seasonal delicacy in Southern California. California Yellowtail in its raw form is a translucent pink, and gradually becomes white and opaque when "cooked" in citrus juices. Yellowtail is firm, and holds up well under the acidity of the preparation.
Sautéed Yellowtail & Summer Salad
Anyone looking for a way to eat more fish for their health should take a look at the simple steps for this recipe. California Yellowtail in its raw form is a translucent pink, and cooks white. It is firm and dense, with a milder flavor than tuna, but is richer tasting than most “white” or lean fish. It holds up well to a variety of bold marinades. This recipe is inherently customizable to the season, as ingredients can be exchanged for whatever is available. The Hot Honey Basil Marinade pairs well with any white fish available from San Diego’s commercial fishing fleet.