I'm a massive seafood nut (as mentioned in my above post about my salads, I have smoked salmon and/or tuna, at least 4 times a week) and I worked in a seafood department for 4 years (when I worked at the grocery store near my house, it was Meat for 2+ years, then Produce for 1 1/2 years, then Seafood for 4+ years and I did Meat again in that timespan as well), so I'm well-versed :). Strap in for an essay! (I'm sorry
)
Mollusks, are probably my least favorite of the fish/crustacean/mollusk choices that we get from the ocean, however, that isn't to say that I don't some shells!
Snails: So yes, the snails you see in your backyard or on a walk, CAN be eaten! (though they need to be cleaned and purged, it's a super long, PITA process) But it's easier to just buy them in a can or if you can find them, fresh. I don't like these at all... like, AT ALL lol, but there is a Lombardian recipe (as they are commonly eaten in Western Europe) for these that I will be trying soon, as it is the summer now. I have some canned snails at home and everything else needed to make the dish, so I'm looking forward to seeing if I do like snails after all :)
Mussels: Used to hate them when I was a kid, love them now; I've only ever eaten them in Western-European ways (steamed with white wine, onions, and parsley or cooked with Tomato sauce) or Chinese-style (steamed with ginger and onion). Any way you eat them, they are delicious and their flesh is firm but soft and easy to chew (you can swallow them whole, they are soft enough), provided you cook them correctly! lol More on quality, below.
No pics in my collection of just mussels, sadly.
Clams: Not a fan at all and never have been; I will only eat them deep-fried, as, like sweet potato/yam, the consistency and flavor are completely different when deep-fried. Don't get me wrong, it's a tasty thing to eat and there are SOOOO many different varieties of clams (Pasta, Littleneck, Geoduck, Surf, etc.), that each will have something you prefer. All clams though, regardless of variety, have a very dense, chewy flesh and while I typically enjoy that, I'm not a fan when it comes to clams. If you go for sushi and they have a Nigiri type that is wrapped with a thin layer of nori and is slightly pink, that is Surf Clam (also known as conch or in Japanese, Akagi). I don't mind it, but the chewiness and density are there.
Like mussels, no pics of just them, but it makes sense as I don't like them lol.
Squid: Every Mediterranean person's favorite mollusk! (save for me lol) You might be wondering why it's a mollusk if it doesn't have a hard, outer shell... but it does! Commercially sold and prepared squid to have their outer shell removed, but it is there and on the inside, they have a long, membrane-Esque bone that actually looks and feels like plastic (no distinction, honestly). Most people eat the body and rightfully so, as it is the meatiest part of the creature, but I go nuts for the tentacles, ESPECIALLY when deep-fried, as they are more tender and have much more flavor than the body. This is easily the mollusk I've eaten the most in my life and I didn't like it too much when I was younger (sensing a pattern?), but I always ate anyways, and now, I rather enjoy it. Deep-fried calamari (the Italian name) is the most common way of consuming squid, but I also love it grilled. Cuttlefish are different creatures, but for culinary purposes, they are essentially small squid.
Here's a couple of pics from Italy (both coasts, at that) of a bunch of mixed, fried fish, including squid (the big rings):
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The dark, leggy things are the tentacles.
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Here's one done Chinese-Style; still deep-fried, but done with green onions, hot pepper, and spicy salt:
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Grilled, a Japanese specialty:
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Oysters: My second favorite of the mollusks, oysters are hucked; if they were shucked an hour prior, don't eat them) or deep-fried; there's also Oysters Rockefeller, but that kinda kills the point of eating an oyster, as there are too many flavors thrown in. Raw is by far my favorite way to eat them and you can either add a bit of lemon, Tabasco sauce, or other flavored sauces to the flesh (or, completely naked as they are) and then you suck them out, typically with the aid of a small fork or similar tool. I've had them deep-fried at home (my dad made them) and they were delicious, as well I've had them at our favorite sushi restaurant in Ontario AND our favorite in Montreal lol (which has sadly closed down now
). Both places served it with Ponzu sauce and it is PHENOMENAL.
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The great thing about Oysters is that there are so many different types and species, it all depends on ocean and season; Pacific Oysters are larger, meatier, and stronger-tasting and IIRC, their season is later in the year, while Atlantic Oysters are smaller, more-smooth and lighter-tasting and IIRC, their season is earlier in the year. I'll include some pics of both:
Pacific; these are Fanny Bay and they were the best ones we ever had (the one front/center was 8 inches long):
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Hmm, thought I had a pic of Atlantic Oysters, but I don't
Octopus: Save the best for last! Octopus is far and away from my favorite mollusk and I like it boiled, stewed, BBQ'd fried (though it is easily the worst to deep-fry, of all the above), as sashimi or as Takoyaki; just love it. It's similar to squid in that you have the fleshy body and the tentacles, but there is usually MUCH more tentacle for Octopi than for Squid, percentage-wise. Takoyaki is my favorite way to eat it and to eat it in Dotonbori (where it was, "invented," is just bliss. The restaurants here do it decently, but they're all previously frozen, so it isn't the same. I've made it at home (you need a Takoyaki pan to make them) I think 5 or 6 times now and it is also delicious. My dad BBQs it so well and biting into a tentacle is texture-heaven, IMO.
For some reason, I only have pics of Takoyaki and not anything else
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And that's it! You mentioned scallops and they are one of my least favorite edible foods on this planet, so I won't cover them lol. I mentioned in mussels about quality and the #1 rule for mollusks, more so than any other water-dwelling creature, is quality; everything MUST be fresh or if frozen, MUST have been super-fresh when frozen, otherwise not only will it taste bad, but you'll get sick... VERY sick. That goes for mussels, clams, squid, octopi, you name it, mollusks will ruin your bowels lol (with fish, you can get away with older flesh by cooking it more or mincing it, etc. With Crustaceans, same thing; cooking older crab or shrimp a bit more, may screw up the texture, but you won't get sick. Mollusks, you can't get away with it). This is especially because one main way to eat some of these is raw (oysters, squid, octopus).
For that reason, I only suggest getting your mollusks from top-quality seafood distributors/fishmongers or from a place that you know you can trust (this goes for restaurants too). If you live on a coast (or near a coast) of the US (or for non-Tsukiyo members, anywhere in the world), then it is much easier to get fresh mollusks and it is more frequently available.
For the species that are sold in-shell, there are specific rules. For mussels and clams, if the shell is open, simply tap their shell on a hard object a couple of times; if the creatures close up, then they are alive and good to eat. If they don't, they are dead and must be discarded. Clams live *exponentially*-longer than mussels, so if purchasing mussels, ensure quality and health status are high. Oysters, OTOH, are a 100% no-go if they are open; they can live for weeks on top of the ice, with no food or water, but if they open up even a millimeter, they're dead and you must discard them asap. At restaurants, if they offer oysters, ensure that it is an establishment that sells a large volume on the regular, 'cause the risk/chance of eating a dead one will be slimmer.
Let me know if there's anything else you want to know! Sorry again for the essay and I'll leave you with my meal in Rome, the first night of our Honeymoon; pizza di misto di mare (Seafood mixture Pizza).
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(Shrimp, clams, mussels, octopus, and squid. I gave the clams to my wife
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