Best Prawns Fish Market

 A tour guide and expert from Sydney's esteemed Fish Markets has shared the guidelines for buying and preparing your seafood this Christmas - including why you should always choose small prawns.  Alex Stollznow explained that the smaller the prawn, the sweeter the taste - and following such insights will ensure a better quality of fish on your Christmas platter.  'There are so many tips for buying great quality seafood, but a general rule of thumb means you should look for a few things,' he told Daily Mail Australia.

 

When buying a piece of fish, Alex recommends that you seek out 'bright and lustrous skin or scales', firm fresh that 'springs back when touched', bright pink-red gills and a 'pleasant fresh sea smell'.   'There is also no harm in asking your fishmonger for their advice on the catch of the day,' he said.  'They know what they're talking about and may lead you towards trying something new and getting a better deal.'

 

When it comes to what you should buy, Alex recommends whole fish rather than fillets because doing this means you're more likely to snag a bargain:  'A whole fish will always be better for the purse strings than a fillet,' he said. 

 

'The same goes for scallops in the shell. If you buy them, they will be cheaper and you'll also get not just the meat but pretty serving shells.'   

 

Alex recommends that you do your seafood shopping as close to Christmas as possible because 'every hour off the ice means a day off the shelf life'. 

 

'Seafood will stay fresh for longer if it's kept really cold,' he said.  'When you're shopping for your seafood, use a chiller bag or an esky and ask your fishmonger to pack some ice with your purchase.  'When you get home, scale, clean and gut your fish. Place it on a plate or tray or in a lidded container, cover it with a damp cloth and then add plastic wrap or your lid.

 

'Store it within the coldest part of your fridge and eat it within 2-3 days.'  For dead crustaceans such as prawns, he said you should eat them as soon as possible after purchase.  If you have to store them, do the same and refrigerate, cover them with plastic wrap or a container lid and store them in the coldest part of your fridge.

 

Over the coming months I will be speaking to seven traders from different ethnic backgrounds about the foods that are important to them and why. For the first post, I decided to ask myself the same questions I will be asking the traders. What are the foods that remind me of home? What foods make me feel nostalgic? What foods evoke special memories for me?  One thing I miss most about Sydney (my other home) is the seafood. In London, the best quality seafood is to be found at Billingsgate, which is very much geared towards the wholesale market. If you want to buy fish from there you have to get up at sparrow's fart and trek out to Poplar (far for me).

 

The Sydney Fish Market, on the other hand, is centrally located and aimed at both retail and wholesale customers.  

 

I miss the freshness and diversity of the seafood on offer at the Sydney Fish Market. I can think of so many delicious things, but if I had to pick just one it would be the king prawns. My friends and I buy them cooked and serve them cold with a squeeze of lemon and/or a simple dipping sauce. That’s all they need. 

 

I think the thing that gives the Sydney Prawns FishMarket their special flavor is that they are cooked live in saltwater at sea. I tried to recreate this for the Borough Market blog by cooking them in heavily salted water. It's the closest I’ve come to the real thing over here.