Seafood consists of any aquatic life-form that can be eaten. Seafood includes fish, shellfish, seaweed, and many more.
You need to know what you eat; so this article will be listing and discussing different types of seafood, preferably the most popular and favorite ones.
Seafood is an exotic cuisine that is very broad. Seafood is a well-loved and well-diversified cuisine.
Here, you get to know some of the different types of seafood you may have eaten, yet to eat and the ones you may want to try.
1. Osetra Caviar
Caviar is a very popular type of seafood that many food lovers include in their diet.
Many people might consider the consumption of fish eggs to be weird, but trying caviar might want to give you second thoughts. Osetra Caviar is simply delicious and great in taste.
It is also nutty and buttery in contrast to the rather salty or fishy taste expected. Osetra Caviar also possesses a firm texture.
Another perk of this seafood is that it is affordable when compared to other kinds of caviar dishes. This dish can be gotten at restaurants or ordered online from the comfort of your crib.
2. Handpicked Seaweed
Seaweed is probably the last item you might want to consider when you hear of seafood.
Notwithstanding, this is edible seafood, and it can be picked by hand at the grocery store or along the beach if you have one nearby.
Seaweed is rich in so many nutrients such as iodine, minerals, and vitamins. It is also rich in antioxidants, and it’s health benefits include a healthy gut and healthy weight.
Seaweed also has many varieties, which all require various ways to cook and prepare. Just be sure how you harvest them.
3. Swordfish Steak
This is seafood that both meat and fish lovers will enjoy because swordfish steak has the best of both meat and fish.
Swordfish steak is the perfect choice for seafood lovers who do not know where they stand concerning fish consumption because it doesn’t taste fish-like.
The swordfish has a flesh that’s more like meat in texture. This can satiate meat fanatics, and at the same time, dish out the amazing health benefits fish offers.
Swordfish is a wonderful seafood option for consumers who want to be more responsible with their meal preferences.
According to research done by NOAA, swordfish were over-fished during the mid-1990s.
This event led to the revisitation of fishing regulations, which has yielded fruit. This is because swordfish is now one of the most renewable fish supplies you can order.
Seafood Watch has advised seafood lovers to consume swordfish fished from the Pacific Ocean or the North Atlantic Ocean.
4. Uni
Uni is a type of seafood that’s derived from the sea urchin. Those who don’t know what part of the sea urchin the uni is gotten from might get a little shocker seeing it on the menu, but it’s harmless seafood.
The uni is gotten from the Sea Urchin’s genitals. Now, don’t be in a rush to discard this seafood option. It would be best if you tried delicious delicacy!
What’s even more shocking is that it is an exotic seafood, especially because you can’t find it in just any restaurant. It’s mostly seen and eaten in a sushi restaurant.
This seafood is harvested by hand most of the time, and it is carried out by a group of “sea women” specifically trained for the task.
There is a bonus perk of eating uni. It has an aphrodisiac effect on the consumer.
5. Sea Cucumbers
Like the uni, the sea cucumber is another sight that will make you pause while perusing your seafood menu.
Some of the sea cucumbers are not aesthetic or pleasing to the eyes; while a good number of its species are very neat creatures.
The sea cucumber has a wide variety with more than a thousand species. Now, the reason this seafood option is included in this article is not for its taste.
While the sea cucumber doesn’t have a taste that can blow minds, it certainly has a big health benefit.
This seafood has an abundant fucosylated glycosaminoglycan content, which helps to alleviate joint pains or problems.
The sea cucumber is also an exotic seafood, and it is also very expensive. A kilo of sea cucumbers could cost more than $3,000.
The sea cucumbers play a very vital ecological role in our oceans as they feed on organic waste, and that keeps the oceans clean,
Seafood experts encourage seafood lovers to consume more of sea cucumbers with reasons that it is not just good for the industry, but it is also good for the planet.
6. Irish Salmon
Now, this is a name that’s familiar to seafood lovers. It is a heavy favourite in seafood cuisine, and the Irish Salmon is one of the best salmon cuisines in the world.
Salmons are native to Ireland and can be found in most rivers between spring and autumn. Visitors to Galway can also see wild salmon in the weir as well as beneath the Salmon weir bridge.
According to Irish America, approximately 180,000 tourists come to Ireland for the sole purpose of fishing for salmon. Even their cultivated salmon is among the best in the world.
Salmon farms are set up in areas that are prone to extreme tidal situations, particularly on the west coast. This surrounding creates a kind of environment very similar to the ones wild salmons grow in.
7. Lionfish
Lionfish is one of those seafood options that requires proper, careful and delicate preparation in order or be perfectly safe to be eaten.
Lionfish is venomous, but when prepared well, you won’t be consuming its toxins.
Aside that, it is a very tasty delicacy. Lionfish is endemic to the Indian Ocean and the South Pacific, but they began appearing on the coast of Florida in the 1990s.
They are renowned for their incredibly productive breeding. They can spread to terrific depths, and they decimate the ecosystems they intrude into.
According to a marine scientist, Stephanie Green of Stanford Centre for Ocean Solutions, one of the best ways to protect these ocean habitats is to organise large-scale lionfish hunts and one of the best ways to make those hunts more popular is to create a market for lionfish as a food.
8. Arbroath Smokies
This seafood is peculiar. It lives up to the city it derives its name from. It is bred within five miles of the centre of the town of Arbroath, Scotland.
This seafood is smoked haddock, and it is served in fillets that are caramel-coloured on the outside and cream-coloured on the inside. To get the real deal, you can order them online.
9. Fried Catfish
Most foods taste better when fried. Catfish is no exclusion, and it is the perfect dish for a seafood lover in search of original southern comfort food. Catfish has a firm flesh that can be fried, and it is very tasty.
According to Seafood Watch, domestic, farm-raised catfish is a great option for anyone who wants to try something that’s not going to have a negative impact on our delicate ecosystems.
10. Irish Oysters
Oyster is one of the most popular seafood dishes in the world. When it comes to the oyster, only two options are involved.
You will either love it or hate it and for oyster lovers, a trip to Ireland is recommended.
This is because that’s when the Galway International Oyster & Seafood Festival takes place.
The festival occurs during the autumn season, and that’s the period when the wild Atlantic oysters are available.
There is a mass harvest of this seafood till their supply for the year is diminished, and the cycle continues next year.
11. Eel
Eel is a single-boned sea creature. This makes it a favourite seafood dish because a lot of people avoid eating fish due to the number of bones present in it.
So a lot of seafood lovers tend to opt for eels on the menu. Eels are super rich in healthy fats, and it is a very versatile dish as it can be served in various ways.
Eels are gradually working their way into the seafood menu of elites and upscale food outlets. According to “The Telegraph”, smoked eel is becoming more popular on menus in restaurants that are looking for a little non-traditional luxury when it comes to their seafood menus.
Eels have been a favourite seafood dish for a long time, precisely around the 18th century.
12. Crabs
This is undoubtedly one of the most exciting types of seafood on the planet. One of the reasons why it is amazing is that it tastes heavenly irrespective of being served or eaten hot or cold.
Seafood lovers relish the experience of their teeth digging out thin slices of flesh from within the carcass of the crab.
Another lovely thing about crabs is its versatility. It can be eaten in a number of ways.
Crab cuisine includes dishes such as lump crab, steamed crab, crab legs, whole crab, crab claws, soft-shell crab, crab bisque, crab cake, crab rangoon, crab dip, crab soup and even deep-fried crab.
So many mouth-watering varieties to choose from but one needs to be careful, though. Do not let the heavenly taste of crabs fool you.
Crabs have a hard, spiny body that can wound your fingers and knuckles if you don’t know where to touch and how to touch it.
13. Shrimps
Shrimps are also referred to as prawns. Shrimps, like most seafood dishes, are very versatile meals.
Shrimps can be served broiled, baked, sauteed, barbecued, pan-fried, stir-fried, and deep-fried.
The variety doesn’t end there. Other shrimp dishes include shrimp creole, pineapple shrimp, coconut shrimp, shrimp kebabs, lemon shrimp, shrimp soup, shrimp stew, shrimp salad, shrimp sandwich, shrimp cocktail, pepper shrimp, shrimp and potatoes shrimp burger, shrimp scampi, and so on. The list seems endless, right? Well, there are more where that came from.
This shows how rich the shrimp cuisine is. What’s lovable about this seafood is its easy accessibility, it is easy to eat, it is super versatile, and it can be purchased frozen. But be careful about that dark line on the shrimp’s back.
It carries their feces, and you don’t want that on your hands. Also, pulling the head off or shelling the shrimp might be an arduous task for those who don’t know what they are doing.
14. Scallops
Scallops are tasty seafood that can be cooked in various ways, two of which are smoking and searing. It could be a group of little scallops or even a single, big one.
Although, scallops might tend to freak you out because of the numerous eyeballs they have. Repulsive, right? But they are not only delicious; they are also nutritious.
15. Lobsters
Lobsters, just like crabs and shrimps, are heavy favorites of seafood lovers. Plus, lobsters look exquisite. Lobsters can be eaten and served boiled, whole, steamed, and grilled.
Other lobster dishes include lobster bisque, lobster tail, and lobster roll.
As for the lobster roll, it can be served in two styles. The first serving is the Maine style which presents the lobster chilled with mayonnaise coating.
The Connecticut style is the second serving; it presents the lobster warm with butter or lemon.
Lobster is a notoriously expensive seafood dish, which is ironic because lobsters are known to be aquatic parasites or sea bugs.
Lobsters are known to feed on the dead flesh of sea creatures. It once used to be the primary meat served to inmates in prisons across the U.S.A because of its cheapness and low quality.
16. Seafood Jambalaya
This is a delicate seafood dish of crawfish. It is delicate because it only tastes well when prepared the right way.
It’s a hybrid of French and Spanish- inspired flavors. This seafood dish is popular in New Orleans.
It is the perfect southern comfort food. There is no singular recipe for this amazing dish, but a few things should be present.
They include; andouille sausage, native French spices and Spanish spices, and the seafood itself.
Mother nature has blessed us with several options of seafood to choose from. You can either fry them, boil them, smoke them, or eat them fresh.
But however you choose to consume your seafood, you are sure to get a nutritious fill.
