CIOPPINO / SEAFOOD STEW

At a glance you may think it is Tom Yam Seafood...yeah they look alike but it's not..its Cioppino or Fish or Shellfish Stew. This is the first time I heard of it...honestly I have not heard anything  about cioppino but cappucino yes. A friend from California said that this is his favourite food..so I look out and gave a BIG GO to try the recipe...it's awesome best serve wit soudough bread or even bagutte. I dont have the recipe so I adapted heavily from http://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/cioppino/

Some context on Cioppino if you which to know. I excerpt from Wikipedia

Cioppino is a fish stew originating in San Francisco. It is considered an Italian-American dish, and is related to various regional fish soups and stews of Italian cuisine.^[1] Cioppino is traditionally made from the catch of the day, which in the dish's place of origin is typically a combination ofdungeness crab, clams, shrimp, scallops, squid, mussels and fish. The seafood is then combined with fresh tomatoes in a wine sauce, and served with toasted bread, either sourdough or baguette. The dish is comparable to cacciucco and brodetto from Italy, as well as other fish dishes from the Mediterranean region^[2] such as bouillabaisse, burrida, and bourride of the French Provence, suquet de peix from Catalan speaking regions of coastal Spain.^[1]

Cioppino Recipe

• 3 pounds halibut, sea bass, or other firm white fish, cut into inch-long cubes- I used dory
• 1 large (2 lb or more) cooked Dungeness crab (hard shell)
• 1 pound (or more) of large shrimp
• 2 pounds little neck clams and/or mussels

Sauce

• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 1 1/2 cups chopped onion (1 large onion)
• 1 cup chopped bell pepper (1 large bell pepper)
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 28-ounce can tomatoes
• Broth from chicken stocks
• 2 cups mollusks stock
• 2 cups tomato juice
• 2 tbsp fish saue
• An herb bouquet of bay leaf, parsley, and basil wrapped in a layer of cheesecloth and secured with kitchen string
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1/2 cup minced parsley for garnish - I used Italian parsley

Optional seasonings: a dash of Tabasco sauce and or Worcestershire sauce

METHOD

1 Steam mollusks (clams and mussels) in a small amount of water (about two cups) until they just open. Set aside. Strain and reserve the cooking broth.

2 Remove the crab legs from the body and use a nut cracker to crack the shells so that the meat can be easily removed once it is served (leave the meat in the shell). Break the body in half, and then cut each half again into either halves or thirds. You can opt to keep the crab meat in the body segments and serve it that way (more work for the eater) or you can pick out the crab meat from the body segments. If you pick out the crab meat, try to keep it in big chunks. Keep the top shell of the crab for making stock.

Note you can use prepared fish or shellfish stock, or you can make your own. If you are not making your own stock, you can discard the crab top shell body. If prepared shellfish stock is not available, I would combine some prepared fish stock (available at many markets, including Trader Joe's) with clam juice.

3 Split the shrimp shells down the back and remove the black vein. (See how to peel and devein shrimp.) I found the easiest way to do this, without removing the shell, is to lay the shrimp on its side and insert a small knife into the large end of the shrimp, with the blade pointing outward from the back (away from the shrimp and your hands). Once you have split the shrimp shells, you can turn the knife toward the shrimp, and cut in a little to find the black vein. Pull out the vein as much as you can. You can probably also use a pair of kitchen scissors to cut the backs of the shrimp.

Alternatively, you can shell the shrimps and devein them. Shell-on imparts more flavor; shell-off is easier to eat.

4 In a deep 8-quart covered pot, sauté onions and bell pepper on medium heat in olive oil until soft. Add the garlic, sauté 1 minute more. Add tomatoes, broth from the mollusks,  tomato juice, fish or shellfish stock, the herb bouquet, and salt and pepper to taste. Bring to a simmer and cook, uncovered, for 20 minutes. Remove herb bouquet. Taste and correct seasoning.

5 Add the fish and cook, covered, until the fish is just cooked through, about 3 to 5 minutes. Add the steamed mollusks, crabmeat, and shrimp. Heat just until shrimp are cooked (just 2-3 minutes, until they are bright pink). Do not overcook.

6 Serve in large bowls, shells included. Sprinkle with minced parsley. Serve with crusty French or Italian bread and a robust red wine. 

* The recipe calls for red wine, since am a Muslim....I omitted the wine...and use more natural stock

Sekali pandang memang kita sangkakan ini ada Seafood Tom Yam.....serupa tapi tapi tak sama. Ini adalah makanan Siganture masyarkat San Francisco....dikenali sebagai Cioppino atau Stew Seafood. Melihat pada warnaya ternyata kita dapat agak bahawa ianya ada pengaruh Italian..memang benar resipi ini ada pengaruh Italian terutama dikalangan masyarakat nelayan di Amerika. Membuatny mudah aje macam membuat stew atau stew biasa..tapi paling penting dalam resipi ini ialah bahan-bahanya mesti segar. Banyak menggunakan herbal seperti basils, oregano, thyme dan parsley..semua di punjut dalam kain seperti membuat sup punjut. Banyak menggunakan tomato tin mahupun tomato buah.  Kebiasaanya masakan barat banyak menggunakan wine..resipi ini juga menggunakan wine tapi boleh dikecualikan atau digantikan dengan stock ikan.Sedap dimakan bersama roti. Jika anda inginkan kelainan cubalah resipi ini..anda tak perlu berada di San Francisco untuk menikmati CIOPPINO..

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