Seafood chowder: Irish comfort food

DW (English)

This fish soup counts as a classic of Irish cuisine. And to many Irish, it's a little taste of home. We'll show you how to make seafood chowder.

Transcript

00:00 (upbeat music)

00:02 - What makes seafood chowder

00:04 one of Ireland's favorite dishes?

00:06 - Simple as, it's warm and it's comforting, you know?

00:12 - Fish chowder comes in countless variations

00:14 and it's regarded as one of Ireland's national dishes.

00:17 One ingredient is indispensable, fish.

00:20 - The most important thing about chowder,

00:24 seafood chowder, obviously, is the freshness of the fish.

00:29 - This video will not only show how to cook Irish chowder,

00:32 but also how to smoke the fish very easily at home.

00:34 - Hi, my name is Niall Sabongie.

00:40 I am a chef, restaurant owner, seafood wholesaler,

00:43 and advocate for sustainable seafood here in Dublin.

00:46 Today we're in the Seafood Cafe

00:47 and I'm going to make our house seafood chowder.

00:50 - Niall counts as one of the most creative minds

00:53 in contemporary Irish cuisine.

00:55 He grew up in Dublin and became fascinated with seafood

00:58 in his father's restaurant.

00:59 - So chowder in Ireland's really, really popular.

01:03 You'll get it in a tiny pub down a back corner of Ireland

01:07 to big pubs and restaurants.

01:09 It's a real family favorite, I suppose.

01:12 Everywhere does it a little bit different.

01:14 - For Niall's recipe, you'll need shallots,

01:16 potatoes, leek, chervil, chives, celery, cream,

01:21 and of course, fish and clams.

01:26 (upbeat music)

01:28 - In essence, it is a clam and smoked fish chowder.

01:33 This is a really, really quick recipe that I kind of came up

01:35 with.

01:36 I don't like when a chowder is traditionally made

01:37 in a big pot and all the fish is in it and all breaks up

01:40 and you don't know what's in it and that kind of thing.

01:43 - The first step is to fix the fish.

01:47 This time Niall is using haddock.

01:49 He fillets it and salts it generously.

01:56 Then he lets it steep for 10 minutes.

02:00 - So very much depends on the day.

02:03 We smoke all the fish here ourselves every morning

02:05 for our chowder.

02:06 So it really depends on what we get.

02:07 So in the wholesale side of it, in their munger,

02:10 we will select the fish that morning.

02:12 So today it's haddock, could be cod tomorrow,

02:14 could be gurnard, it could be red mullet.

02:15 And it really changed.

02:17 So it's always a white flaky fish.

02:19 - It's easy enough to smoke the fish at home.

02:21 Just take a baking dish, sprinkle some oak wood sawdust

02:24 on the bottom and char it.

02:26 - Okay, so we're just lighting the oak now.

02:30 I'm just gonna give it a little bit of a head start

02:32 with a blow torch.

02:33 So we can start building up loads of smoke in the chamber.

02:36 I'm gonna leave it over here resting then on the flat.

02:39 - 20 minutes later, the fish is thoroughly smoked.

02:42 - To get the flavor of the smoke, I think we all love,

02:46 I think all people love the flavor of smoke.

02:48 It goes back to when we were cavemen, I think.

02:50 And it's delicious when it gets into the fish, it's lovely.

02:53 So this is a very quick smoke.

02:54 We're only trying to really embody the smell

02:56 and the flavor of smoke into the fish

02:58 rather than cooking it.

02:59 - Fish and seafood from Irish waters

03:03 have a good reputation the world over.

03:05 - We've nothing between us and America.

03:11 So we've got this massive water washing in,

03:13 this huge water exchange of all these nutrients

03:15 and all these beautiful cold waters and warm waters

03:18 that all mingle together.

03:19 That's why the waters are so rich.

03:22 - Most of the catch is destined for export.

03:25 The port of Hout, 20 kilometers east of Dublin,

03:27 is a popular spot to shop for freshly caught fish.

03:30 Among the many fish shops is one belonging to Andy Kish.

03:35 Aside from chowder, the Irish only began getting creative

03:38 with seafood in recent years.

03:40 The consumption of fresh fish and seafood

03:41 is undergoing a resurgence all over Ireland.

03:44 - We buy directly from the trawlers.

03:46 We're just custodians, right?

03:48 We're gonna be gone,

03:49 but the fishing village will still be here.

03:51 The fish will still be here.

03:52 And we're proud of the shellfish.

03:54 We're proud of the fish that we have here.

03:56 - While the haddock's getting smoked,

03:59 Niall prepares the base for the chowder.

04:01 He takes a shallot, studded with cloves and bay leaves,

04:04 and adds cream and water.

04:06 Then he lays the smoked fish in the broth

04:08 and heats it until it acquires a smoky flavor.

04:10 Then he browns the remaining ingredients.

04:17 The shallots, leek, celery, and potatoes,

04:19 one after the other.

04:21 (upbeat music)

04:24 - It's not hugely important.

04:27 If you do it all together in the beginning,

04:29 it's always gonna taste the same.

04:30 So with everything you're putting in, you're layering up.

04:32 So you're layering flavors.

04:33 Some of the shallots and the celery in the beginning,

04:35 you're giving the first base layer,

04:36 and then you're sauteing off your leeks

04:38 as you give it the next layer.

04:39 So you're building up every time

04:41 with your layers and your flavors.

04:42 So when you taste it, you should taste potato,

04:43 you should taste leek, you should taste the smoked fish,

04:45 you should taste the clam.

04:46 And then it all comes together in your mouth.

04:50 - To finish it off, he stews the clams,

04:52 adds the smoked fish and herbs, and serves it right away.

04:56 - So, proof is in the pudding.

05:10 It's warm and it's comforting.

05:15 It's delicious, it's light.

05:19 It's exactly what I'd want it to be.

05:21 - But what exactly makes it an Irish national dish?

05:25 - I suppose it is hearty, it is homely, it's welcoming.

05:28 There's nothing like a bowl of chowder

05:30 or a bowl of Irish stew that make you feel more comfortable

05:33 and more at home.

05:34 I think that's very much the ethos

05:35 that all Irish people live by.

05:37 It's to make people at home and welcome

05:39 and hopefully with full bellies.

05:41 - And what dish tastes most like home to you?

05:44 (upbeat music)

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