Shell out

FROM SEAFOOD LINGUINE TO SPICY MUSSEL S WITH FETA, THESE FOUR REFRESHING SHELLFISH DISHES WILL HELP YOU WELCOME IN THE SPRING SUNSHINE. WORDS: CHRISTIE DIETZ

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The term ‘shellfish’ is generally used to refer to edible crustaceans and molluscs, covering everything from oysters and winkles to prawns and langoustines. Though cleaning the shells and removing the meat can take a bit of work, cooking shellfish tends to be a quick and easy affair. It's a food that’s been eaten across the globe, particularly in coastal areas, for hundreds of thousands of years.

Shellfish dishes don’t come much fresher than Amaebi (spot prawn) sashimi in Japan, or more comforting than Belgium’s steaming bowls of mussels in white wine (ideally with a healthy portion of fries). Head to Singapore for crab stir-fried in a sweet yet savoury chilli sauce, or try it dressed in its shell and accompanied by new potatoes and a dollop of mayonnaise on England’s Norfolk coast. Meanwhile, in the US state of Maine — the country’s seafood capital — you can get gloriously messy with a whole steamed lobster and a pot of sweet, melted butter.

Of course, shellfish isn’t always the main event: it’s also dried and used to impart a deeply savoury umami flavour. Dried scallops are fried with chillies and seasonings to make Cantonese XO sauce, for instance, and ground dried shrimp is incorporated into spicy condiments such as shito in Ghana and balachaung in Myanmar.