Seafood Quotes

“As I got closer to the fence, I held my shirt over my nose to block the smell. One stallion waded through the muck and whinnied angrily at me. He bared his teeth, which were pointed like a bear's.
I tried to talk to him in my mind. I can do that with most horses.
Hi, I told him. I'm going to clean your stables. Won't that be great?
Yes! The horse said. Come inside! Eat you! Tasty half-blood!
But I'm Poseidon's son, I protested. He created horses.
Usually this gets me VIP treatment in the equestrian world, not this time.
Yes! The horse agreed enthusiastically. Poseidon can come in, too! We will eat you both! Seafood!
Seafood! The other horses chimed in as they waded through the field.”
― Rick Riordan, The Battle of the Labyrinth

“I have never seen a food writer mention this, but all shrimp imported into the United States must first be washed in chlorine bleach to kill bugs. What this does for the taste, I do not know, but I think we should be told.”
― Charles Clover, The End of the Line: How Overfishing Is Changing the World and What We Eat

“We reassigned his talents,’ Ms. Vance said of Arthur the necromancer. ‘He kept accidentally resurrecting the evening entrees. Seafood Sundays nearly brought down the entire wing. Thirty‑four reanimated lobsters snapping violently at the waitstaff while a tray of blackened tilapia swam straight out of the butter sauce.”
― Belinda Kelderhouse, DO NOT READ AFTER MIDNIGHT

“Like a clown car, they excitedly filed into a single line and followed the server straight into the bustling lunch crowd at Crawfish & Beignets. It was the siblings' neutral zone, a place where no fighting was allowed.
Except this time felt more like the Last Supper.
Seafood boils were a staple of their childhood, reminding them of all the best parts of being Vietnamese American in the South, and none of the bad. Though unspoken, the migration of the Viet-Cajun boil always lingered over them, reminding them of its roots in Louisiana, from other Vietnamese folks who resettled in Houston after Hurricane Katrina, and the resiliency that came with it.”
― Carolyn Huynh, The Family Recipe

“It was as if every Asian in Houston was here now, with plastic gloves on, breaking apart crab legs, crawfish, mussels, and clams in quick succession. A volcanic eruption of gossip, laughter, parental lectures, and roasts and jabs at their children dominated the restaurant, while garlic noodle slurpers and the squeaky sound of mussels being eaten played in tandem all around them.”
― Carolyn Huynh, The Family Recipe

“The only thing I can do for the sea is walk gently along its shore.
I am too much a hypocrite to cleanse its soul, and too human to do more.”
― Bhuwan Thapaliya

“He battered and fried catfish nuggets and made red rice with sausage. Finally, he started a she-crab chowder, and I knew he was showing off. Crab chowder was my favorite thing. I watched as he added the butter and flour for the roux and then expertly added the cream and milk and broth and other ingredients. The kitchen had been smelling good for hours, but once he added the crab roe and crab meat, it produced a heavenly fragrance.”
― Rhonda McKnight, Bitter and Sweet

“Purées of plum or dusky berries float on glass pots of yoghurt; scallops and oysters quiver on the half-shell and platters of sashimi sit on jagged crystals of crushed ice. Slices of boiled bacon with a mustard glaze are arranged in a soldierly line; poached white fish is wantonly sprinkled with spring onions; a mixture of aubergines and minced pork and another of hot and leafy mustard greens bask in chafing dishes next to stainless-steel cauldrons of miso soup. There are wicker baskets of dumplings steaming and a whole table of ingredients--- rice, eggs, greens and soy sauce--- with which to build your own bibimbap.”
― Nigel Slater, A Thousand Feasts: Small Moments of Joy… A Memoir of Sorts

“After the interview and photo shoot, Cantu invited us to dinner at Moto, where we ate a poached scallop and "pearls" of squid ink sealed inside a polymerized shell made from a buttery saffron and seafood broth; beet-flavored cotton candy, sweet and earthy and fantastic; a menu printed on fully edible paper, with ink that tasted like a tangy aged Manchego cheese; and freeze-dried ice cream pellets with twenty-five-year-old balsamic vinegar, with the richness and complexity of a Sauternes.”
― Laurie Woolever, Care and Feeding

“We were still hungry, and decided to stop at a nondescript seaside restaurant, where we ate grilled sardines and planks of meaty, snow-white monkfish drizzled in olive oil and salt, with a few boiled potatoes and a carafe of rosé. The fish had been out of the sea for less than two hours, the waiter told us, and why would he lie? The sea was right there next to us. I'm not going to say that the fish and the potatoes and the wine were so much better than what we'd eaten at El Bulli, but it was all quite good, and a relief to sit in a chair, use a fork, see the charred skin, and pick out the bones.”
― Laurie Woolever, Care and Feeding

“And the only way you could taste the faraway ocean was through the jewels Mutyan fishermen harvested from its depths. Every shell cracked and fish gutted yielded the briny perfume of endless water.
I raised my eyes to catch the signal my boss made. He tugged on his left earlobe to confirm the plan to acquire the carp. A female carp yielded a small number of eggs, and this particular rare species created a buttery, nutty roe that was prized by the nobility.”
― Roselle Lim, Celestial Banquet

“A roar of relief and belts of glee united the siblings. They rushed past the other Trầns, gloating. Like a clown car, they excitedly filed into a single line and followed the server straight into the bustling lunch crowd at Crawfish & Beignets. It was the siblings' neutral zone, a place where no fighting was allowed.
Except this time felt more like the Last Supper.
Seafood boils were a staple of their childhood, reminding them of all the best parts of being Vietnamese American in the South, and none of the bad. Though unspoken, the migration of the Viet-Cajun boil always lingered over them, reminding them of its roots in Louisiana, from other Vietnamese folks who resettled in Houston after Hurricane Katrina, and the resiliency that came with it.”
― Carolyn Huynh, The Family Recipe

“She'd grown up on a sun-drenched island called Eano, where you were in far more danger of sunburn than frostbite. She used to walk barefoot through the sand and feel it tickle her toes on her way to her cousins' house, and she'd swim every sunset in the sun-warmed water before her parents called her in for dinner. At the height of summer, you could cook mussels and clams by leaving them out on the rocks, and you had to drink fruit juice to stay hydrated or you'd risk the wrath of the cluster of grandfathers who'd hand out pitchers of guava and watery sweet-berry juice at every street corner. Remembering, Terlu could almost taste the hint of sweet-berry. It was the flavor of the summer solstice, when the whole island would be decked out in flowers and smell like chocolate and cinnamon and citrus as every baker and aspiring baker would compete to create the most delectable pastries for the Summer Feast...”
― Sarah Beth Durst, The Enchanted Greenhouse

“A sea urchin in its spiky shell. Saffron-orange flesh cupped in a shell of black spines, served on a bed of green conifer leaves.”
― Nigel Slater, A Thousand Feasts: Small Moments of Joy… A Memoir of Sorts

“Snow-white crab meat in an individual bamboo steamer. I lift the lid and inhale the sea.”
― Nigel Slater, A Thousand Feasts: Small Moments of Joy… A Memoir of Sorts

“On our own hibachi, my friend Takahiro and I grill whole tiny fish at the counter and dip them into saucers of soy whilst the chef slices scallops for us to eat raw.”
― Nigel Slater, A Thousand Feasts: Small Moments of Joy… A Memoir of Sorts

“A new sake was served, this one white and creamy--- an unfiltered nigori sake that tasted of jasmine, orange blossom, and vanilla.
King salmon with smoked soy sauce was followed by a bite of sea bass topped with a dollop of lime foam and sea salt. Fatty tuna was followed by an even fattier tuna, each delightfully buoyant and yet like velvet on her tongue. And then a mysterious dark yellow paste arrived, wrapped in a column of seaweed.
"Uni!" gasped Ruby.
"What in the world is uni?"
"Sea urchin--- it's a delicacy." Ruby swiftly ate the bite and moaned shamelessly, her eyes closed.
Cassie hesitantly popped the food into her mouth--- it was strangely creamy and coated her tongue with the tropical flavor of mango, in stark contrast to the crunchy, salty seaweed. It was, without a doubt, simply delightful.”
― Emily Arden Wells, Eat Post Like

“I'll get the oysters. You get the sturgeon to start, and then one of us should order the ricotta gnudi and the other, the roast chicken. And we must order the chocolate tart with cardamom."
"Fire away," confirmed Ruby, smiling with pride.
Each dish was more beautiful than the last. The oysters arrived on the half shell and served with vibrant, almost sour kumquat mignonette, the combination of which was bright and briny and almost candy-like. Click. The sturgeon was smoked and came on a bed of gem lettuce covered in a thin layer of creamy sliced avocado, which balanced the flavors of the smoky fish. Click. The ricotta gnudi were pillows of ricotta covered in flour, boiled and served over baked summer squash and drizzled with a miso sauce. Click. The roasted half chicken came spatchcocked alongside blackened peppers and hen of the woods mushrooms that were lightly baked until soft. Click. They finished the meal with the chocolate tart, creamy and decadent, with the unexpected spice of green cardamom. Click.”
― Emily Arden Wells, Eat Post Like

“The next dish arrived: seaweed, scampi, and squid, sautéed in garlic and butter, served with a simple broth, followed by a modest bowl of tortellini topped with minced herbs. Before taking a bite, Cassie photographed the plate and examined it closely.
"I've read about this dish," she said, suddenly remembering an entry in James's journal. "It's like Italian xiaolongbao. This is the chef's signature dish."
"Well, let's give it a go."
Cassie scooped up one of the glistening pieces of pasta in a gilded spoon, so that she could examine it at eye level. The pasta was so thin that it was almost sheer, barely containing the liquid inside. She put it into her mouth and pushed her tongue to the roof of her palate, releasing the warm and unctuous carbonara sauce in a quick explosion of cream and salty pork.”
― Emily Arden Wells, Eat Post Like

“Waiters carried trays of Campari spritz cocktails that looked like glowing red orbs, served with slices of fresh orange, and guests nibbled on canapés as they visited the different tables covered in decadent displays: seafood towers filled with shrimp, snow crab, oysters, clams, and freshly boiled langoustine tails, six large copper pots filled with different kinds of risotto simmering at a low temperature, intricate, multicolored stained-glass raviolis stuffed with smoked salmon and cream cheese, and a bread display that looked like an abstract sculpture.”
― Emily Arden Wells, Eat Post Like

“A steaming bowl of conpoy and mustard-green congee revived my senses. Pungent cilantro leaves and golden-fried minced garlic accented the surface of the rice porridge. I dipped my wide ceramic spoon into it and tested the consistency. The rice grains had popped enough to form a silky, creamy texture. The hint of white pepper created a perfectly balanced song on my tongue.”
― Roselle Lim, Celestial Banquet

“The plate features seared sea serpent with poached meadow flower breams."
The acidic bath method had worked. The flesh of the sea serpent had transformed yet again and changed to a very iron-rich deep red. The taste was reminiscent of fatty tuna, with a stronger metallic edge. I'd set the filets in shallow clay bowls and bathed them in a marinade made of coriander, minced ginger, chilies, kalamansi, and my signature soy sauce.
I'd toasted black sesame seeds and combined them with crushed pink peppercorns as a rub--- the crust to create a contrast for the tender, almost jellied meat underneath. On the side, I added the poached filets of meadow flower breams in a rich golden sauce with singing carp caviar.”
― Roselle Lim, Celestial Banquet

“They ordered a parade of tapas and shared everything: petal-pink yellowfin tuna with bright orange habanada peppers drizzled in olive oil and sprinkled with sea salt crystals the size of snowflakes; melt-in-your-mouth clams drenched in butter, white wine, and a confetti of parsley, and when the clams had been eaten, Gabe read her mind and ordered extra bread to sop up the sauce; a small bouquet of crispy shrimp heads--- at first glance Iris recoiled at their black eyes unseeing beneath a heavy dusting of red spice, but Gale dug right in, crunching as carelessly as a lion. Iris stalled and hesitated over trying one, laughing as Gabe cheered her on, yelping when the whiskery antennae tickled her nose, until she finally gave one a hasty chomp. Gabe was right, it was delicious--- a riot of different textures and tastes such that she savored her next bites--- even if she did leave the eyes uneaten. And finally the piri piri half chicken, the aroma alone evoked a future longing before the first bite was taken.”
― Francesca Serritella, Full Bloom

“The owner saw the way I ate and refilled my bowl without asking: the stew was rich with saffron and oil, and green anise, and orange. It's a cheap dish to make in Marseille: rockfish costs almost nothing. Mussels, too, are cheap, and squid, and the rock crabs that cost so much in elegant Paris restaurants are vermin here, good for nothing but stew. Food has a strange way of leaving home as a beggar and coming back a rich man, so the things we used to forage for free-- wild greens, razor clams, wild garlic, herbs, shellfish, rock crabs, even snails-- have been made into elegant dishes by chefs attempting to pique the jaded palates of those who lack nothing.”
― Joanne Harris, Vianne

“So much seafood was once dismissed as the debris of the sea: eels, snared from the Thames River in sixteenth-century England and tucked into pies in lieu of meat; clams, eaten by New England colonists only in times of desperation; oysters, offered all-you-can-eat for 6 cents at bars in nineteenth-century New York City; whelks, pickled and trundled by wheelbarrow through London streets, which in the mid-nineteenth century the British social reformer Henry Mayhew tallied “among the delicacies of the poor” and which housemaids wouldn’t eat in public, lest they be judged unladylike. Even lowlier were lobsters, scorned as indiscriminate bottom feeders, fobbed off on servants and put on prison menus, or else consigned to fertilizer. Their flesh and shells are still used in this way, as their high concentration of nitrogen and calcium helps plants grow.”
― Sohla El-Waylly, The Best American Food Writing 2022: A Curated Collection of Mouthwatering and Comforting Culinary Articles

“I hear some roasted oysters calling my name.”
Once they settled into a booth at Carne Mare, they ordered octopus carpaccio, tuna tartare, and roasted oysters, along with a crisp, cold bottle of sauvignon blanc.”
― Fern Michaels, Smuggler's Cove

“WEDDING MENU FOR PIP ARNET AND JACK ROGERS
Canapés
Pacific oysters
Peking duck pancakes, hoisin sauce
Smoked eel crostini with fig paste
Crepes with sugar-cured salmon or ocean trout
Provençal vegetable tartlet with parmesan

Entrées
Pan-roasted blue eye trevalla
Scallops and saffron
Chilled tomato soup

Sidedishes
Glazed seasonal greens
Roasted potatoes, rosemary and sea salt

Mains
Crispy-skinned duck breast, spinach, potato puree, mushrooms, port jus
Slow-cooked Ashfield House lamb shoulder with fennel, braised lentils, roasted garlic and rosemary jus
Galantine of chicken and hazelnuts, cress salad, olives, radish, hazelnut vinaigrette
Baked mushroom tortellini with Gruyère

Dessert
Wedding cake plated and served with fresh berry compote and cream

So far, so standard. She hadn’t chosen a wedding cake yet— Jack was keen on chocolate mud. Everyone loved chocolate, he argued. She’d annotated the menu, noting changes to local seasonal fish, like line-caught couta or hapuka, and some herbs to dress it up like thyme, basil and fennel. She’d asked Dan to drop the scallops, Pacific oysters and salmon. Barbecued local clams and pipis would be nice for a starter. She could harvest a few buckets herself down near North West Bay. Were clams wedding-ish enough?”
― Kirsty Manning, The Midsummer Garden

“No shame in backing down and ordering some nice coleslaw,” he said self-importantly when the platter arrived. “No shame at all.”
Raina acknowledged this remark by fiercely cracking open a crab claw.
“Need me to do yours for you?” she asked nonchalantly. “I’m good at handling meat…”
“No.” He scooped up some mussels and clams for his small plate. “Thank you. I know what comes of your handling. I’ll end up a panting mess on the floor.”
They ate in competitive silence, eyeing each other up as they went. He grabbed the scallops. She the prawns. They both reached for one of the oysters at the same time. Tom lifted it from its icy bed and held it out toward Raina.
“You know what they say about these?”
Raina took it from him and downed it smoothly, placing the empty gray shell back on the platter. “Yes. They make you want to fuck.”
― Elle McNicoll, Unapologetic Love Story

“The long plate in the top left is salt-grilled ayu filled with rice. Try that with the yuzu miso. Next, in the Oribe bowl, you have the oboro tofu topped with fresh sea urchin. Perfect with a dab of kanzuri chili paste. The blue-and-white porcelain bowl at the end is kumiage yuba—the delicate skin that forms on soy milk. That comes dressed in Tosa vinegar. The glass plate below it is parboiled hamo eel— try that with the plum vinegar or mustard miso, whichever takes your fancy. Next to that, in the steamer, are the squid shumai dumplings. Nice with the sesame paste and a bit of coriander. And to the left of that is the grilled autumn eggplant in a ginger glaze. On the bottom row, the square dish is simmered Omi beef, which goes very well with a dab of the mustard paste. Then you have the Tatsuta-style deep-fried venison, and finally anago eel steamed with a layer of cucumber.”
― Jesse Kirkwood, A Serving of Hope

“The fish’s belly had split open as it was grilled, releasing its golden roe. She’d heard people say that, because all the nutrients went to the eggs, the flesh of late-season ayu lacked flavor. Now she knew how wrong they were. If anything, the taste seemed richer than that of young ayu caught in the spring, while the yuzu miso added a bright, citrusy aroma that really lifted the dish.
Next she turned her attention to the oboro tofu, adding a dab of kanzuri to the sea urchin on top. The sharp fermented heat of the chili paste paired perfectly with the rich creaminess of the tofu, which practically melted in her mouth. It was a combination that stirred something inside her. Maybe that was because of a jar of kanzuri had been a constant presence in her family’s fridge. Whenever they’d wanted to spice something up, or boost or tweak a flavor, it had always been the kanzuri they reached for. It had gone into the dipping sauce for somen noodles and been slathered onto bowls of white rice; sometimes it had even been stirred into ramen. She’d had it with tofu plenty of times, but never with the addition of sea urchin.
Hamo eel, meanwhile, she knew as a Kyoto favorite— one that was usually in season in summer, around the time of the Gion Festival. She hadn’t known you could even catch it in the autumn. She tried dipping it in the mustard miso. It tasted so good she almost groaned aloud.
She didn’t remember ever trying venison before, but it turned out to be surprisingly easy to eat, probably because it had been deep-fried. Compared to something like chicken kara-age, the flavors seemed richer and deeper.”
― Jesse Kirkwood, A Serving of Hope