Oyster Stew: Where Pop Culture Meets Oyster Culture: January 2014

Sunday, January 26, 2014

Get Lucky: Making Hoe See Fat Choy (Dried Oysters and Black Moss)

Hoe See Fat Choy

In my last post, I made dried oysters. Let's put them to good use and make us a little luck. We're going to make Hoe See Fat Choy to celebrate the Chinese New Year, which starts Fri., Jan. 31.

Ingredients for Hoe See Fat Choy:
dried oysters, dried black mushrooms, black moss,
stock, oyster sauce, sugar, sesame oil, cornstarch

Here's what you'll need:
12 dried oysters
8 dried black mushrooms
small handful of black moss (fat choi)
1/2 c. superior (or chicken) stock
2T oyster sauce
1t sugar
1t sesame oil
1t cornstarch mixed in 1T water

While I was shopping for the ingredients, I ran into a bit of a speed bump. The recipe calls for black moss (the "fat choi" of Fat Choy). The problem is that Fat Choy grows naturally in Mongolia, and like so many other ingredients, over harvesting has had some serious environmental impacts. So, the Chinese government has limited its harvesting. I had to order the Fat Choy from my Asian Grocer, who gave me hairy dried seaweed. Not quite the same thing, but I'm going with it.

Step 1

Reconstitute the dried oysters, dried mushrooms and black moss in a small dish of cold water. Let sit for about an hour.

Reconstitute the dried oysters, dried moss and dried mushrooms.

Step 2

Rinse the moss and oysters to remove sand or grit. Drain the mushrooms, reserving the liquid.

Step 3

Briefly stir fry the soaked oysters. Add the mushrooms, chicken stock, oyster sauce, sugar, mushroom soaking water and black moss. Simmer until the mushrooms are soft. Add in the cornstarch water and sesame oil, stir until slick.

Briefly stirfry all of the ingredients together.

Step 4

Plate the dish making sure each bite includes the black moss, mushrooms and one oyster. I used HEART OYSTER individual spoons from our own Harbor Island Oyster Co.

And the final bite? I gotta be honest. I was surprised. It was really good!

Good luck getting lucky. And if the Hoe See Fat Choi doesn't work, maybe a fun new oyster present will. Buy any new oyster knife from Harbor Island Oyster Co., and get a super cute oyster pendant for free. Offer good through Valentine's Day (Feb. 14, 2014). One free oyster pendant per customer.

Tuesday, January 21, 2014

How to Dry Oysters

Friday, Jan. 31 marks the first day of the Chinese New Year celebration and we're shaking things up a bit this week. We're drying our own oysters and learning to make Hoe See Fat Choy - [Hoe See (oysters) + Fat Choy (hair seaweed) sounds like good business and wealth.] You'll need a couple of days to dry your oysters, so today's post will show you how to make the dried oysters. Friday, we'll learn to make the traditional Cantonese new year's dish.

Step 1

Start with fresh oysters. I used Topsail Sound oysters caught fresh the previous day. You could probably use already shucked oysters, but I like to start with the freshest oysters I can find. Plump, juicy oysters work best.

Step 2

Shuck the oysters. I shucked eight oysters.

Step 3

Let the oysters drain for a minute. Do not rinse the oysters.

Step 4

Place a cooling rack on top of a baking sheet. The rack will allow air to circulate and the tray will catch the liquid as it dries.

Step 5

Place the shucked oysters on the cooling rack/tray.

Step 6

Place the oysters by a sunny window

Step 7

Leave the oysters by the window for 1-3 days. I think they were ready after just one day, but I left them for two days. Depending on the time of year and how much sun you get, you may have to adjust the time. (Optional: You may want to spray the cooling rack with non-stick spray. The oysters were a little difficult to pry off.)

Dried Topsail Sound Oysters after Two Days in the Sun

RESULTS

I gotta be honest. The whole experiment was, and is, gross. Leaving oysters out in the open left me a little skittish. My family did not appreciate the "boogers" left out in the middle of the kitchen and the dried product at the end looks downright nasty. But when I decided to write this post, I decided I was going to go for it. I actually ate one of the oysters today. How did it taste? Really salty. Texture, um, chewy?

Perhaps the dried oysters will be better in a dish. Friday, we'll learn how to make Hoe See Fat Choy.

It's the year of the horse. Are you a Horse?

Year of the Horse:

Feb. 11, 1918 - Jan. 31, 1919

Jan. 30, 1930 - Feb. 16, 1931

Feb. 15, 1942 - Feb. 4, 1943

Feb. 3, 1954 - Jan. 23, 1955

Jan. 21, 1966 - Feb. 8, 1967

Feb. 7, 1978 - Jan. 27, 1979

Jan. 27, 1990 - Feb. 14, 1991

Feb. 12, 2002 - Jan. 31, 2003

Jan. 31, 2014 - Feb. 18, 2015

People born in the year of the horse are clever and great communicators. They are also impatient and don't like to follow the rules.

Sunday, January 12, 2014

Diving for Monster Oysters

Monster oyster harvested 10-16 feet deep.

I've seen a lot of ways to harvest wild oysters over the last few years. There was the guy (why is it always guys?) who made his own oyster rakes out of common butter knives. There was the guy who trolled oyster beds with what looked like a wheat harvester. Pretty sure it was illegal. And then there was the guy who didn't own a boat and walked at low tide to the oyster beds, only to have to swim himself and several bushels of oysters back from the marsh in freezing cold water. But I had never seen anyone diving for oysters. A friend tipped me off to the new technique. I was intrigued and set out to find the person or people who were responsible?

I finally found Bradley Lawn, a young Marine veteran who says he's the original commercial oyster diver. A third-generation commercial fisherman, Bradley has been fishing the estuaries, creeks, inlets and oceans of North Carolina his whole life. A few years ago, he started spearfishing, a growing sport in the Carolinas that requires you to hold your breath for what seems like too long while you dive, find, and literally spear a fish. At first, he could only hold his breath for several seconds. Now, he can hold his breath up to 3 1/2 minutes at a time.

Bradley Lawn dives for oysters in the estuaries of North Carolina.
Bradley can hold his breath more than three minutes
while diving up to 16 feet to find oysters.

What started as a hobby has turned into a full-time business with his wife, Kristie. (Oyster chica. Yea!) He's the diver. She's the "oyster designer." Every weekday from November through March, the couple heads out to their favorite inlet to harvest oysters. (They told me the approximate location, but every good fisherman keeps his honey holes to himself. I'll keep their secret as well.) With nothing more than a wetsuit, a snorkel, a mask and an oyster basket, Bradley jumps into the frigid waters to collect oysters from the bottom of the channel. When he pops out of the water, he hands the freshly caught oysters to his wife onboard their boat. Kristie then gives the oysters an ocean rinse, another unique feature of their oyster operation. Instead of washing and tumbling the oysters on land with fresh, chlorinated, salt-free water, Kristie (with some muscle from Bradley) washes the oysters on-the-spot with ocean water. She then sorts the oysters directly into customer order baskets, which are delivered directly to their customers the same day. The next day, they do it all over again.

Kristie and Bradley Lawn work together to harvest wild oysters.

There are much easier ways to collect wild oysters. Most enthusiastic hobbyists and small commercial fishermen wade out at low tide or drive their boat to an easily accessible inlet to grab their quota for the day. In North Carolina, oysters must be three inches to be legally kept. The Lawns dive for oysters that are a foot long - or more. At depths of 10-16 feet, the oysters are older and have a safer environment to grow. The foot long oyster bushels are in huge demand from area restaurant and they are eager to buy the oddities.

This Topsail Sound oyster is more than a foot long.

Kristie and Bradley are as nice and gentle and giving as they come. (She won't eat scallops or shrimp because they are too cute.) They both believe that helping the community that helps them is good for everyone. Often, they will dive for and donate fish or oysters to firehouses, veterans groups and other charities. But they get rankled when they talk about their imitators. Anyone with a commercial fishing license can dive for oysters, but not everyone can deliver the superior quality or customer service that they have built their business on. And oyster diving is just the beginning of their oyster business. The entrepreneurs are currently working to lease water acres from North Carolina to start their own oyster farm and they have an invention or two in the works that may help out the process.

Good luck Kristie and Bradley!

Shuckin Good Times sells out every day. Call or text a few days in advance to see if you can get on their list. Bushels of their Premium Select Oysters (8 in. or more) are $70 delivered; Select Oysters (4-8 in.) are $45.

CONTACT INFO:

Shuckin Good Times, Inc.

Rocky Point, NC

910.619.0118

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Sunday, January 5, 2014

The Brooklyn Oyster Scene

Happy New Year! I hope everyone slurped a few to shake out the cobwebs. 2013 was quite a year for the oyster. We lived through the closing of some of the most trusted, and coveted, oyster beds in Massachusetts. Virginia also struggled with its first shutdowns from Vibrio. We saw scientists and local governments genuinely working together to solve complex erosion and pollution issues. We worried in earnest that the Japanese nuclear disaster would further hurt the Pacific oyster. We saw boutique oyster farms proliferating from New York to Maine. We witnessed the governor and both senators of Florida unite to save the waterways for oysters. And we continue to follow the legal struggle of Drakes Bay Oyster Co. (This week, they filed a brief asking that the entire Ninth Circuit rehear their case to reverse an earlier decision that would make it possible for Drake's Bay to remain open while their case is being tried against the federal government.)

What's up next? 2014 will be the Year of the Oyster. The cool kids will be trying them. The adults will be lauding them. Environmentalists and politicians will be working to save them. Researchers will be continuing to find potential cures with them. And we can all sit back and say, "I told you so."

Here at Oyster Stew, we'll start 2014 with a stop in Brooklyn, NY, the epicenter of cool kids jumping on the oyster bandwagon. First stop: Marlow & Sons. (Click here for our full New York City Oyster Tour.)

MARLOW & SONS

Inside Marlow & Sons, Brooklyn

I arrived at Marlow & Sons a few minutes before the place opened at 5p when the waitstaff was still still in their pre-dinner meeting. Eating Dodge Cove oysters at Marlow & Sons is on my oyster bucket list, so I was a little eager to get started. The bartender either took pity on me or was uncomfortable with my furtive glances, so she plopped down a wine list, the oyster list, and the yummiest rustic bread. Four oysters were available: Little Shemoque, St. Simon, Little Bay, and Beach Point. I had two more stops that evening before dinner, so I settled on three of the four.

Oyster List: Little Shemoque, St. Simon, Little Bay, Beach Point

Little Shemoque (Tormentine Peninsula, New Brunswick, Canada)

I loved these little guys from the beginning. First, they're just so darn cute. And their name - Little Shemoque. Nickname? Little Shem's. Cuter than cute. This is an up-and-coming little oyster that's going to be huge on the oyster scene. Seek it out.

Little Shemoque
(New Brunswick, Canada)

Little Shemoque

St. Simon (New Brunswick, Canada)
St. Simon's are like the less cool friend of Little Shemoque's. They obviously grew up in the same neighborhood, but they don't have the same swagger.

St. Simon

St. Simon
(New Brunswick, Canada)

Beach Point (Barnstable, Massachusetts)
Beach Points reminded me of a Catholic school girl who wears leather underwear and a belly ring under her uniform. From the looks of it, the Beach Point was a buttoned-up East Coast oyster with good salinity and meaty bite. But hello - look underneath and you'll find a rebel inside. It finishes with a bold metallic taste. If you like Pacific oysters, this one's for you.

Beach Point

Beach Point
(Barnstable, Mass.)

Alas, no Dodge Coves at Marlow & Sons, which means I HAVE to go back. I'm looking forward to it. Next stop: Maison Premiere.

The walk from Marlow & Sons to Maison Premiere takes less than 10 min.
Make sure to bring the address for both.

MAISON PREMIERE

The shucking bar at Maison Premiere.

So close. Yet so far. I walked to Maison Premiere (B) from Marlow & Sons (A). Next time, I'd take a cab or find a buddy. The "up-and-coming" Williamsburg neighborhood in Brooklyn is still "coming." Also make sure to bring the address. There's no sign to mark the restaurant as Maison Premiere. There's just an understated placard hung just a little too high on purpose. It's clear they want to be found and sought out, not stumbled upon. On the day I visited, it was easy to find the place, owners Joshua Boissy and Krystof Zizka were being interviewed by a TV crew.

Maison Premiere owners Joshua Boissy and Krystof Zizka.
The hot entrepreneurs are in demand.

I waited to interview Boissy and Zizka while I waited for a spot at the bar. An hour later, I was still waiting for both. That's because, Mon-Fri from 4p-7p, Maison offers $1 oysters (almost any variety!). Given my time crunch - that meant no oysters for me. I did pop in for a self-directed tour. I have to admit, Maison has game if you're in the mood. Start with the smartly dressed bartenders shaking up retro cocktails. The restaurant claims to have the "largest collection of premium absinthe in New York City." Absinthe - like our forefathers drank - is illegal in the US because it contains Thujone, absinthe's secret sauce. So, they probably have the largest collection of absinthe-like drinks.

(What is absinthe? A distilled, highly alcoholic beverage. It is an anise-flavored spirit derived from botanicals. (Wikipedia) What's anise? It's a licorice-like herb. Think fennel. Antoine's famous Oysters Rockefeller is said to contain absinthe.)

After watching the bartenders, I stopped at the oyster shucking bar and then, in the back of the restaurant, I found myself in an atrium. Huge tropical plants in the middle of Brooklyn. I'm not sure if it's totally cool or totally weird. (Was I was still bitter about not getting a seat?)

The back of Maison Premiere opens onto a lush atrium.

Next time, I'll arrive before 4p to wait for a prime spot at the oyster bar. On the day I visited, the dollar menu included Mermaid Coves, St. Simons, Naked Cowboys, Sewansecotts, plus 16 other varieties. For a quarter more, they offered Fanny Bays and Royal Miyagis! Next stop: Grand Central Oyster Bar Brooklyn.

It's a 15 min cab ride from
Maison Premiere to Grand Central Oyster Bar Brooklyn.

GRAND CENTRAL OYSTER BAR BROOKLYN

I had heard rumors that Grand Central Oyster Bar was planning its first New York franchise and got a tip that they were taking over a spot in the upscale Park Slope neighborhood. In December, Grand Central Oyster Bar Brooklyn opened on Fifth Avenue and features a walk-up oyster bar to slurp oysters on the spot. Did I just dream about this? Hope you get to be one of the first to give it a try.