SouperChef Special | Seafood Miso Chowder
Seafood* | Contains Dairy | Gluten-Free)
May contain fine bones
When it comes to Kiwi cooking, you can be sure what’s on your plate is a product of pristine fresh produce, vibrant colours and flavours, cosmopolitan influences and a buoyant spirit! I had the opportunity to taste some lovely fresh mussels cooked in spicy tomato cream sauce and mussel pastrami chowder at Al Brown’s Federal Delicatessen. The seafood chowder topped with bonito flakes at The Occidental Belgian Beer Café was another personal favourite that brought a typical chowder that we are all so familiar with to new heights! This dish reminded me so fondly of my travels in Japan in 2015 and 2016.
Every trip is a deep source of inspiration that has helped me put things into context and create my own food memory. And that to me, is the beauty of travel and adventure – we never quite know what will happen from one day to the next, what can inspire us next! I suppose nothing recreates travel memories better than food itself, a trigger to all loved and familiar scents, sounds, sights and tastes. Thais, my host for my Brazil inspiration trip in 2016, told me this, “Build a dictionary of flavours, build upon it and you will never forget!”
The glorious seafood and fresh produce!
This is exactly what I have done for this SouperChef Special! We have added miso, a traditional Japanese ingredient and seasoning to a tomato-based seafood chowder, creating a unique soup inspired by all these food reference points. In our kitchen, it began with a whole array of seafood items which are then coaxed with the help of aromatics, wine, fresh herbs, tomatoes and miso into a thick and flavourful stew with a stunning red hue!
Seafood Miso Chowder!
Ingredients: Grey mullet stock (water, grey mullet bones, root vegetables), red mullet, mussels, shrimps, clams, sweet potatoes, potatoes, tomatoes, fennel, celery, carrots, corn kernels, miso, cream, milk, butter, lemons, cornstarch, grape must extract, coriander, fish sauce, ginger, onions, salt
Condiments: Bonito flakes and coriander leaves