Lacking the will to dismantle crabs or to wrestle with a large fish, I picked up one small sculpin at the fish market this morning, intending to make stock with it. After a bit of Internet research, I decided to also try its flesh raw as well as to broil the skin. Despite its poor reputation as seafood, sculpin's filet turned out surprisingly tasty as sashimi: mild and creamy. If you like broiling or grilling salmon's skin, you'd like sculpin's, too.
According to my Audubon Society field guide to California, there are 42 marine and 9 freshwater sculpins in California. (I have no clue which one I bought.) They are "bizarre-looking" and "low-swimming," feeding on the bottom dwellers like crab, squid, octopus, and shrimp. While the guide warned the reader that the "sharp spines on the head and fins can inflict nasty wounds," the web site of the California Fish and Game department went further by declaring that sculpin is "is the most venomous member of the scorpionfish family in California." Scorpionfish? Also known as rattlesnake? What the hell have I bought?!?!
Having trimmed all the sharp protrusions with kitchen shears, I managed to filet the sculpin and make the stock -- unscathed. The latter followed a basic recipe, according to which you first gently saute the vegetables in butter for about 30 minutes, then you add wine,vinegar, water, and the fish carcass and -- after the mix comes to a boil -- you skim off the scum, add herbs, and simmer for 20-30 minutes.
- fish carcass
- 2 tbps butter
- 2-4 onions, chopped
- 2-4 carrots, chopped
- 2-4 celery sticks, chopped
- 0.5 cup white wine
- 0.25 vinegar
- 3 quarts water
- several bay leaves
- several parsley sprigs
- several thyme sprigs
Using the stock, I made a "sculpin" chowder, improvising on the directions from two cookbooks of mine. The soup turned out thinner than I expect for a chowder, but tasty nevertheless. (Maybe skipping the clam in a clam chowder recipe wasn't the smartest idea?!)
- fish stock (instead of clam and water)
-13 oz evaporated milk
- 8 oz whole kernel corn
- 2 cups potatoes, peeled, diced
- 1 cup onion, chopped
- parsley
- bay leaf
- oil
I first sauteed the onion, then added the potatoes and bayleaf, simmering them for 15 minutes or so, then added corn and milk and heated this finished mix almost up to a boil.
The curry recipe is straight from "The Essencial Vegetarian Cookbook." I sauteed onions, garlic and ginger for a bit; then added spices and potatoes, letting the latter coat; then, I let this simmer for 20 minutes in water, adding peas and mint toward the end. I used dry peas and thus had to soften them before adding. I also pre-boil the potatoes until almost done.
- potatoes, diced
- peas
- onions, sliced
- garlic, crushed
- 2 tsp grated fresh ginger
- 1 tsp turmeric
- 0.5 tsp chili paste or powder
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1 tsp garam masala
- fresh mint, chopped
- 0.5 cup water
- oil