I will never forget the first time I had to clean a fish!
I was in culinary school in Paris, France. We walked into class and our instructor dramatically plopped a whole sea bass on my cutting board. Spoiled by the conveniences of supermarket fish counters, I thought, “Eww! What in the world do I do with this?!”
But thanks to my determination, I quickly learned how to gut, scale, and filet that fish – as well as the successions of different seafood that came across my cutting board that week.
At home, I’ll probably never have to gut a large fish, but I am thankful for that education. I truly have an appreciation for fishmongers – and am so thankful they are there to do that “dirty work!”
I asked Robert Castillo, Seafood Supervisor at Whole Foods, to give us some advice on buying fish.
“When you are shopping for a piece of fish, it is important to look at it and not really just use your eyes but you also need to utilize the rest of your senses too. Your nose for example. It is important for a fresh piece of fish to not really smell like fish.”
“You also for example want to use your sense of touch too. Obviously you won’t be touching the fish but watch as we touch the fish. You do not want a fish that is just going to fall apart as we lift it up from the counter.”
Robert also recommends choosing a seafood counter that has several fish deliveries weekly. Thanks to overnight services most good markets get deliveries as many as 5 days a week.
And this last tip from Robert is a great one: “If you get home and you decide you aren’t going to cook that piece of fish that day, we recommend that you cook it within 48 hours.”
Happy Cooking!
Spicy Seaweed Salad with Brown Rice and Salmon
- 1 cup brown rice
- 1 1/2 ounces mixed dried seaweed (such as wakame, arame or dulse)
- 3 tablespoons unseasoned rice vinegar
- 2 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
- 1 1/2 tablespoons agave nectar
- 2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil
- 1 1/2 teaspoon chili-garlic paste
- 1 bunch green onions, thinly sliced
- 2 teaspoons expeller-pressed canola oil
- 4 (6-ounce) pieces salmon fillet
- 1/8 teaspoon fine sea salt
Put rice and 2 cups water in a small pot and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover pot and simmer until liquid is completely absorbed and rice is just tender, about 40 minutes. Set covered pot aside off of the heat for 10 minutes then uncover and fluff rice with a fork.
Meanwhile, place seaweed in a large bowl and fill the bowl with cold water. Soak until the seaweed is tender, 10 to 15 minutes depending on varieties. Drain well, pressing down on the seaweed to remove excess liquid. Pat dry with paper towels.
In a large bowl, whisk together vinegar, soy sauce, agave, sesame oil and chili-garlic paste. Add seaweed and toss well. Cover and refrigerate for at least 10 minutes to allow flavors to blend. Sprinkle with green onions.
Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Sprinkle salmon with salt and cook, turning once, until browned and just barely pink in center, about 8 minutes. Serve with rice and seaweed salad.
Recipe courtesy of Whole Foods Market Memphis. For more recipes from Whole Foods, visit www.wholefoodsmarket.com/recipes.
