Seafood Recipes
Learn New Ways to Cook San Diego-Landed Seafood
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Photo by Oriana Poindexter
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.
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.
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.
Teriyaki-Pineapple Yellowtail Burger
Making a burger using the trim meat (scraps that are left over from filleting a fish) and the spoon meat (anything you can scrape off a fish backbone with a spoon) is an immensely rewarding way to reduce your intake of red meat, and reduce waste in your kitchen. This recipe features the California Yellowtail, a beloved local fish purchased from San Diego commercial fishermen, but it is adaptable to other local species, too.
Kinilaw with Local Fish
Kinilaw is a traditional preparation of raw fish native to the Philippines, either eaten with rice or on its own. Refreshing and entirely distinct from Latin American ceviches, to which it is often compared, kinilaw combines bite-sized pieces of raw fish with coconut milk, coconut vinegar, and various aromatics. It is adaptable to many species of San Diego-landed commercially caught marine fish, provided the fish is freshly caught and well-cared for, as is necessary for safe (and enjoyable) raw consumption.
Simple Oven-Baked Collars
One of the richest and most flavorful cuts around, fish collars can be hard to find unless sourcing directly from the fisherman, or buying from a business which processes fish in-house. Collars vary in size, depending on the fish, so you may come across very large collars that can feed small groups, or dainty collars suitable for personal appetizers. Use your judgment with the seasonings, which are simple and scalable.
Simple Grilled Collars
One of the richest and most flavorful cuts around, fish collars can be hard to find unless sourcing directly from the fisherman, or buying from a business which processes fish in-house. Collars vary in size, depending on the fish, so you may come across very large collars that can feed small groups, or dainty collars suitable for personal appetizers. Use your judgment with the seasonings, which are simple and scalable. You’ll want to have enough to coat the fish in marinade and baste while grilling. This recipe also adapts well to an oven broiler.
Whole Fish with Black Bean Garlic Sauce
The recipe suits any small whole fish you can get your hands on - from the many rockfish species available in San Diego to shortspine thornyhead and ocean whitefish. Black bean garlic sauce is a paste made from salted and fermented black soybeans, available at most Asian supermarkets. This flavoring is a traditional Chinese staple, and this preparation of whole fish is a popular dish to celebrate the Chinese New Year.
Korean Spicy Braised Mackerel (Godeungo Jorim)
This is a traditional Korean recipe, godeungeo jorim that can also be used for black cod (eundaegu jorim). Jorim, meaning “braised,” is a cooking style that is widely adaptable to many types of fish available in San Diego. A one-pot dish, it combines a simplicity of preparation with complex flavors.
Fish Amino Acid - Food for the Garden
This is an excellent method to turn all the fish waste produced locally into an organic nutrient rich amendment your plants will love.
The practice is environmentally sound, closing the loop by preventing the loss of valuable organic matter to landfills.
Dehydrated Fish Skin Chews
A guaranteed hit for your furry friends, these fish skin chews are an excellent way to utilize the skins if you don’t eat them yourself first!
Fish Aspic for Your Pet
Aspic is a savory jelly derived from collagen-rich stock, and was once the height of culinary fashion in France.
Enthusiasm for the use of aspic in human recipes has waned, but you can bet that anything this protein-rich meal will appeal to canine and feline taste buds!
Vietnamese Caramel Glazed Tuna Collar
This glaze transforms a simple grilled collar into the centerpiece of a meal to gather around.
Use this glaze for any species of tuna, or try it with yellowtail, grouper, whole rockfish, or even opah. Collars from larger fish will take longer on the grill but also provide more food.
Chef Christina’s beautiful caramel glazed tuna collar is the star of our site’s home page in this video by Sam Wells of Chef Epic.
Fish Skin Chips & Dip
This recipe works with skin from most fish. Give it a try with skin from any rockfish species, or with yellowtail, sheephead, or white sea bass.