Have You Ever Seen a Codfish Smile?

Sandy

There’s a new store in town, Neptune Seafood Market. They sell fish straight off the boat, literally. The boats unload at their dock and Neptune prepares and flash freeze the product. Normally they do this for commercial and sport fishermen but last week they opened a store front to sell directly to the public.

You’d think getting fresh fish would be easy in Ucluelet. It is, if you’re a fisherman. If you’re not (like me) it is super expensive and hard to find. The local Co-op gets all their supplies trucked in. This includes locally caught fish which is shipped to the other side of the island, packaged and then trucked back in. As a result, salmon sells for $39/kg – almost twice as expensive as in Toronto.

Neptune’s changed all that. A couple weeks back I’d heard about their imminent opening and dropped by. They weren’t open then but the owner Crystal, was so hyped to see us, she invited us in. Everything was brand new, spanking clean and just waiting for stock. One week later, all was in place and ready to go.

Photo credit: Crystal @ Nepture Seafood Market & Processing

This scarily-friendly guy is a Lingcod which is unique to the west coast and particularly abundant off Vancouver Island. It can be huge, growing to over a metre in length and weighing more than 30 kilograms. Given its size and teeth (despite its smile) it’s no surprise that lingcod is highly predatory. It feeds on all the other fish and is vulnerable mainly to marine mammals such as sea lions and harbour seals.

Along with the lingcod, Neptune had Canary rockfish, Black Cod (aka Sablefish), Brill and fish I’ve never tried before … something which I intend to fix before the summer’s out.

In the meantime, I’ve cooked … Mediterranean style baked fish with olives and sundried tomatoes, Cantonese style steamed fish with ginger and onions, Fish Chowder with leeks and potatoes and Westcoast Crabcakes panfried in butter.

It’s going to be a yummy summer.

Codfish illustration in alcohol markers, ink and pencil.

8 Comments

  1. I live in the Moreton Bay region so I often have bugs. Sooo nice. I don’t often have clams, but scallops and calamari – yes. The seafood in New Zealand is really good too. The fisheries here are getting a bit depleted and require extra care and management. That means the seafood is frozen rather than fresh.

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    1. Frozen isn’t a bad thing. Did you know that freezing fish kills parasites? That’s why sushi grade tuna is always frozen solid at the wholesale markets. Even here, I’ll buy fresh fish but also frozen filets to cook another day.

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  2. Sandy, you are punishing me describing those mouth-watering dishes. A seafood lover like me. Sure wish I could visit for some of those crabcakes!
    But I am happy you have a new outlet you can easily access. Enjoy your summer of seafood. Btw, I liked the illustration. Keen use of colour to show contour!

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    1. You are in the best place for seafood! I was gobsmacked when I first visited the Sydney Fish market. I didn’t recognise most of the shellfish on display and they all had such intriguing names – Mowbray clams, Moreton bugs. I was staying in a (company-paid) high-end hotel but how I wished I had a kitchen then!

      Thanks for noticing my drawing. I’m experimenting with alcohol markers. They’re very vibrant and dictate a certain style which I’m not entirely comfortable with but we’ll see if I can find a groove.

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    1. I’ve heard of this dish but never tried it. I’m not a huge fan of smoked fish but I suppose the chowder must temper the intensity wth the milk and potatoes. If I ever seen it on the menu I will try it.

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