Seafood Menu...Help! Special Situaton

[chefinchina]

Hi Guys. I need some help.

I am writing a seafood menu for a month long promotion, however... I live in China.  All the wonderful things I could normally do and whip out with no problem at home (In the USA), I seem to  have a problem with finding here.  I can get salmon, Halibut, Sole, Shrimp, Crawfish (Live) and a few kinds of shellfish here, but most of the stuff comes in frozen.  Stuff needs to be easily translatable and set up for a la carte service.  Most times I do not have trouble translating, or teaching the recipes. I have been here for almost 5 years and have a decent handle on the language....  It is just how to come up with new and interesting stuff using what is available to me.  For Christmas time I did a Fiery Peach glazed Salmon, but now the manager wants something "different"... no repeats.

Some help would be appreciated as my ideas and brain are fried.  (I also teach English here and it keeps me quite busy having 2 jobs.)

 

[chefedb]

Plenty of good Fish Cookbooks out there. Go on line. try a seafood sausage, or a quiche or a fish in pastry or filo dough.Rolled stuffed fish.etc.

 

[butzy]

Something different?

Maybe try making the salmon into gravadlax?

Any sort of fresh fish into ceviche?

Smoked halibut (one of my favourites)

I'm not sure how it would fit in and apeal to chinese taste buds though

Whereabouts in China are you? Surely there should be plenty fish in the coastal regions?

 

[chefinchina]

Oh Let me tell you what I currently have on the menu plan....  Should have posted this above.

Apps

Coconut Shrimp w/ Thai Sweet Chili Sauce

Fried Calamari

Bacon Wrapped Scallops w/ Honey Soy Dipping Sauce

Sesame Crusted Seared Tuna on Slaw

Vietnamese Shrimp Summer Rolls

Salad

Smoked Salmon Roses on Mixed Green w/ Honey Dill Vinaigrette

Soups

Shrimp Bisque w/ Sweet Corn Fritter

Tom Yam Gong w/ Shrimp

Entrees

Beer Battered Fish & Chips w/ Apple Fennel Slaw

Blackened Salmon w/ Whole Grain Mustard Sauce

Grilled Grouper on Fennel Apple Salad

Salmon & Asparagus Spaghetti w/ Lemon & Olive Oil

Clams & Mussels in White Wine Garlic Broth

Tilapia with Banana

Chilled Seafood Platter

Salad ideas would be very helpful.  We do have a seafood chowder on the regular menu already.  This is an Italian themed restaurant, but they want foods from all over.  Thanks again!

 

[chefinchina]

Unfortunately, I am in landlocked Henan province.  FRESH seafood is not readily available, and most fishes that can be bought live are from the Yellow River, and I am unfamiliar with.

Yeah...Lots of cookbooks out there, but....not in China. Unless I tried to go to a Foreign Bookstore in Shanghai...but I do not have that time or flexibility right now.

 

[cheflayne]

Curry Tea Rubbed Salmon ,a filet seasoned with curry, tea, ginger, chives, and lime zest, pan seared, finished in a hot oven and topped with a tropical fruit salsa and a mango lychee sauce

Wasabi Crusted Catfish brushed with Wasabi, rolled in Panko, pan seared, finished in a hot oven and topped with a chilled Cilantro Sabayon and sprinkled with Black Sesame Seeds and Pickled Ginger

Grilled Shrimp with Rum and Pepper Glaze, grilled and served with a Fuyu Persimmon Ginger Sauce

Fresh Grouper grilled and topped with sautéed Asian Pear Apples and toasted Almonds with a Vanilla Scented Sauce

Fresh Swordfish marinated with Yellow Miso, then grilled, served on bed of seared Bok Choy and topped with Sesame Ginger Soy Sauce and a Wasabi Nori Mousse

Ahi Tuna, a filet seasoned with togarishi, then grilled and topped with a radish, almond, christophene relish and drizzled with a dulse vinaigrette

Yellow Tail brushed with Raspberry Teriyaki Sauce, then pan seared and topped with a julienne of Daikon Radish and Red Clover Sprouts

Togarishi Shrimp sprinkled with Togarishi, a Japenese condiment of Chiles, Seaweed, Sesame, and Orange Zest, then grilled and served on a bed of pan seared Bok Choy and topped with a Wasabi Black Pepper Sauce

Japanese Inspired Catfish a fresh filet, sautéed and topped with a Nori Emulsion, a dollop of Wasbi, and drizzled with White Miso Sauce

Salmon seasoned with a Green Tea Lemongrass Rub, pan seared and finished in a hot oven and topped with a toasted coconut sauce

Ahi Tuna, a filet dusted with a cracked lavender and Szechuan peppercorns, then grilled and drizzled with a pomegranate ponzu sauce

Coconut Poached Cod, a filet gently simmered in a spicy coconut broth, served on a bed of pan seared bok choy and cabbage and topped with a banana ginger chutney

Glazed Shrimp, shrimp brushed with a honey lime glaze, then grilled and served in a won ton cup with a curried mango sorbet

Tea Smoked Sturgeon, a filet seasoned with garam masala, then smoked over Earl Grey tea, thinly sliced, served with a grilled pineapple, christophene, and toasted coconut relish and drizzled with a lightly curried pineapple sauce

Shrimp Rumaki, shrimp curled around fresh pineapple, then wrapped with bacon and grilled and drizzled with carrot chipotle syrup

 

[butzy]

Bouillabaise (use all kind of fish and seafood you can find

Cajun style fish (fish fillets, rubbed with cajun spice and deep fried or grilled)

Fish coujons (fillet cut against the grain, coated with flavoured flour and deep fried)

Then a link to a real worthwhile site with Indonesian fish recipes

http://asiancook.eu/indonesian/ikan-laut

By the way, carp can be a substitute for bass or perch

Hope this helps