Main Ingredients:

See below ingredients and instructions of the recipe

Cooking Preparation of the Recipe:

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Market Forms of Shellfish

Shellfish, like finfish, are also marketed in a variety of forms.
Following are some examples as well as tips on purchasing.

Live in the shell -- These shellfish are sold just as they come from
the sea and must be kept alive until they are cooked. When
purchasing, be sure they are active. Crabs and lobsters should show
movement in the legs. The lobster's tail should curl under and not
hang down when the live lobster is handled. Hard clams, oysters, and
scallops should close their shells when tapped.

Shucked -- Shellfish sold in this form have been removed from the
shell while alive and packed in a clear liquid. Scallops, oysters,
clams, and mussels are available in this form. When purchasing
shucked shellfish there should be little or no liquid and a fresh,
mild odor. Excess liquid indicates poor quality and careless
handling. Color is also a good indication of quality. Clam meat
should be pale to deep orange, scallop meat should be creamy white to
light tan, orange, or pink, and oysters should have a creamy color.
In addition there should be no shell particles in shucked oysters and
clams. Scallops are unique in that only the abductor muscle is
removed from the shell, not the whole scallop. Shucked shellfish is
available fresh or frozen.

Headless -- The head of the shellfish has been removed. Shrimp is
sold in this manner as are spiny lobster tails. Fresh shrimp have a
mild odor and firm meat, usually greenish or pink in color. The shell
should fit the body with no sign of shrinkage.

Peeled and cleaned -- Shrimp is commonly sold in this fashion. It is
headless with the intestinal tract removed.

Cooked in the shell -- Crabs and lobsters are sold in this form. The
market cooks the shellfish and sells them whole, or the meat may be
picked from the shell and is packaged chilled or frozen. Cooked
lobster meat is red in color and has a mild odor. The tail of a
cooked lobster should spring back after it has been straightened.

Frozen -- Shellfish are frozen in almost every form: raw, cooked, in
the shell, and out of the shell. Oysters, scallops, clams, and
mussels are sold breaded and ready to fry or bake. They have been
shucked, coated with batter, breaded, package, and frozen. Shrimp is
also frozen raw or fried and breaded. In this case the shrimp are
peeled and cleaned, coated with a batter, breaded, packaged, and
frozen.

Canned -- Whole shellfish, lumps of meat, minced meat and smoked meat
are canned. Whether they be "dry packed" in a vacuum or "liquid
packed" in a brine or juice, they are ready to serve or use as
purchased. Oysters, lobsters, clams, crabs, and shrimp are sold in
this form.

: About the Author

Adam Starchild has combined business travel with discovering the
delights of native dishes from Hawaii and Hong Kong to Russia and the
Caribbean. He is the author of The Seafood Heritage Cookbook (Cornell
Maritime Press), co-author of another seafood cookbook, and the
author of a number of food and cooking articles.
Submitted By BARRY WEINSTEIN On 08-30-95

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