A Boulevard Kitchen & Oyster Bar recipe by Alex Chen, Executive Chef of Signature Restaurants
This colourful rice dish, designed by ASPAC’s Pure Vancouver Ambassador Chef Alex Chen, is bursting with paprika, garlic, and citrus flavours that complement the bountiful portions of clams, mussels, and spot prawns. Every bite is a celebration of the fresh seafood we get here on the Pacific Coast.
The key to this dish is to have the rice cooked to a sticky, moist texture in a deep and scrumptious fish stew.
Shellfish Rice
Recipe: Chef Alex Chen
Make the Spot Prawn or Lobster Stock first.
Ingredients
1kg of prawn heads or lobster heads
500g of white fish bones
50g of leeks, medium slices
50g celery, medium dice
80g fennel, medium dice
200g onions, medium dice
100g carrots, medium dice
1 clove of garlic
1 bay leaf
2g fennel seeds
2g tarragon
2g thyme
60g tomato paste
4 litres water
65ml oil
Instructions
1. Roast lobster heads and halibut bones in a 350F oven for 30 minutes.
2. Add oil to the pot. Sweat the mirepoix base for 2 minutes.
3. Add in the rest of the ingredients. Bring liquid to a boil and let simmer for 1 hour. Skim often and strain through a fine strainer.
Shellfish Rice
Ingredients
14g fennel, medium dice
14g red pepper, seed removed, medium dice
6g fresh chilli, seed removed, brunoise
25g Roma tomato concasse, skin and seed removed, dice
21g onions, medium dice
8g shallots brunoise
4g chopped garlic
6g cilantro stems
1g chiffonade of cilantro leaves
Squeeze of lemon juice
30ml orange juice
30g plum tomato
300ml lobster or spot prawn stock,
36ml white wine
40ml extra virgin olive oil
110g jasmine rice
2g kosher salt
black pepper small pinch
fennel pollen small pinch
paprika, 1/2 teaspoon
chili flakes 1/4 teaspoon
2-3 spot prawns
2-3 whole clams
2-3 mussels
Instructions
1. In a pan, sear and roast the spot prawns until halfway cooked. Remove the prawns and set aside.
2. Add fennel, red peppers, shallots, garlic, onions, cook for 1 minute.
3. Add white wine and deglaze your pan by stirring. Add spices.
4. Add rice to the pan, adjust seasoning as the rice cooks.
5. When rice is 90% cooked (interior 10% of grain is firm), add seafood, tomato concasse, cilantro stems, citrus juices, and olive oil. When clams and mussels open up, they are ready.
Photo Credit: Leila Kwok, Boulevard
