There is much controversy about the availability of fresh fish and its quality in light of the recent oil spill. But there is still good quality fish for sale. The key, as always, is to know your fish vendors and know your fish with respect to quality. Although fish vendors won’t waste their money purchasing bad fish to resell, if the fish has an oily feel and a smell, don’t purchase.

There are other variants of seafood out there that are sumptuous too, for example conchs and crabs. The conch is enjoyed in other Caribbean islands probably a little more than it is in Trinidad and Tobago, but it is available here. So why not give something new a try for a change. The next time you have a lime try serving up some crabs and conchs. I guarantee you will receive many rightfully-earned rounds of applause!

Curried lambie/conchs

1 lb lambie or conchs, skin removed, pounded and chopped

1 tsp minced garlic

½ cup chopped chives, minced

2 tbs vegetable oil

2 small onions, sliced

1 hot pepper, seeded and chopped

1½ tbs curry powder mixed with 1/4 cup water

1 lime

1 tbs chadon beni

Wash lambie and squeeze juice of ½ lime over, add, chives and garlic, let stand for 30 minutes.

Heat oil and add onion, sauce until almost brown, add curry paste, and stir and fry until all the water has evaporated. Add lambie and hot pepper, stir well.

Cook for a few minutes uncovered, then cover and cook on a low heat for about 20 minutes.

Add only a small amount of water at a time to prevent sticking.

Sprinkle with chadon beni and serve with additional lime.

Serves 4

Lambie from the large conch shells can be purchased frozen in the grocery stores. The small, black-shelled conchs can be purchased uncleaned from the fish market.

To prepare lambie/conchs

*Wash in lots of water, squeeze the juice of one lime onto it, cover in water.

*Place lambie on chopping board.

*Remove skin by cutting off with a knife or tearing it away from the body of the lambie, this is an easy process.

*You want to remove all the dark and orange coloured skin.

*Place into more cool water with lime juice.

*Cut into three-inch pieces and pound until the flesh is about ¼ inch to ⅛ inch thick.

*Now chop finely and use in your favourite recipe.

Hot and spicy pepper crabs

[caption id="attachment_907242" align="alignnone" width="1024"] -[/caption]

Marinade

2 lbs fresh crab, cleaned and chopped into two each

1 tbs minced garlic

2 tsp salt

2 tsp fresh lime juice

2 tbs vegetable oil for frying

Add

1 tbs chopped garlic

2 tbs Chinese chilli garlic sauce

1 hot pepper, chopped

¼ cup chopped chives

Sauce

1 tbs oyster sauce

1 tbs tomato ketchup

½ tsp granulated sugar

1 tsp sesame oil

Season crabs with the marinade, refrigerate for about 30 minutes.

Combine sauce ingredients and set aside.

Heat a large sauté pan or wok, add vegetable oil, add garlic, chilli garlic sauce and hot pepper, stir and fry until fragrant, add crabs to wok, stir and fry until they turn reddish in colour, cover and steam cook f