Thursday's session was all about fish and seafood. Chef Vic lectured on the various types of fish, mollusks and crustaceans commonly served for food.He demonstrated how to gut and fillet flatfish and roundfish, shuck oysters and clams and clean shrimp and squid. We also learned how to prepare shrimp in various ways: tempura-style, butterflied, and "balled".
Mussels, I discovered, have a fibrous "beard" which needs to be removed prior to cooking.
Squid, meanwhile, can be sliced into two or four lengthwise halves and scored with small lattice-like cuts. When cooked, the squid swells and turns into what looks like the concave half of an armadillo's armor. My classmate called this a flower, and the class, all manly testosterone exuberance, laughed at him.
Starting with this post, I'll begin doling out the tips I learn in cooking school. Here is the first one, appropriately about a fishy matter:
Chef's Tip:
Lean fish is best used for making broth. Oily fish, such as tuna or salmon, is too strong flavored, and its oil will also make the broth, well, oily.
