This fish soup counts as a classic of Irish cuisine. And to many Irish, it's a little taste of home. We'll show you how to make seafood chowder.
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00:00 (upbeat music)
00:02 - What makes seafood chowder
00:04 one of Ireland's favorite dishes?
00:06 - Simple as, it's warm and it's comforting, you know?
00:12 - Fish chowder comes in countless variations
00:14 and it's regarded as one of Ireland's national dishes.
00:17 One ingredient is indispensable, fish.
00:20 - The most important thing about chowder,
00:24 seafood chowder, obviously, is the freshness of the fish.
00:29 - This video will not only show how to cook Irish chowder,
00:32 but also how to smoke the fish very easily at home.
00:34 - Hi, my name is Niall Sabongie.
00:40 I am a chef, restaurant owner, seafood wholesaler,
00:43 and advocate for sustainable seafood here in Dublin.
00:46 Today we're in the Seafood Cafe
00:47 and I'm going to make our house seafood chowder.
00:50 - Niall counts as one of the most creative minds
00:53 in contemporary Irish cuisine.
00:55 He grew up in Dublin and became fascinated with seafood
00:58 in his father's restaurant.
00:59 - So chowder in Ireland's really, really popular.
01:03 You'll get it in a tiny pub down a back corner of Ireland
01:07 to big pubs and restaurants.
01:09 It's a real family favorite, I suppose.
01:12 Everywhere does it a little bit different.
01:14 - For Niall's recipe, you'll need shallots,
01:16 potatoes, leek, chervil, chives, celery, cream,
01:21 and of course, fish and clams.
01:26 (upbeat music)
01:28 - In essence, it is a clam and smoked fish chowder.
01:33 This is a really, really quick recipe that I kind of came up
01:35 with.
01:36 I don't like when a chowder is traditionally made
01:37 in a big pot and all the fish is in it and all breaks up
01:40 and you don't know what's in it and that kind of thing.
01:43 - The first step is to fix the fish.
01:47 This time Niall is using haddock.
01:49 He fillets it and salts it generously.
01:56 Then he lets it steep for 10 minutes.
02:00 - So very much depends on the day.
02:03 We smoke all the fish here ourselves every morning
02:05 for our chowder.
02:06 So it really depends on what we get.
02:07 So in the wholesale side of it, in their munger,
02:10 we will select the fish that morning.
02:12 So today it's haddock, could be cod tomorrow,
02:14 could be gurnard, it could be red mullet.
02:15 And it really changed.
02:17 So it's always a white flaky fish.
02:19 - It's easy enough to smoke the fish at home.
02:21 Just take a baking dish, sprinkle some oak wood sawdust
02:24 on the bottom and char it.
02:26 - Okay, so we're just lighting the oak now.
02:30 I'm just gonna give it a little bit of a head start
02:32 with a blow torch.
02:33 So we can start building up loads of smoke in the chamber.
02:36 I'm gonna leave it over here resting then on the flat.
02:39 - 20 minutes later, the fish is thoroughly smoked.
02:42 - To get the flavor of the smoke, I think we all love,
02:46 I think all people love the flavor of smoke.
02:48 It goes back to when we were cavemen, I think.
02:50 And it's delicious when it gets into the fish, it's lovely.
02:53 So this is a very quick smoke.
02:54 We're only trying to really embody the smell
02:56 and the flavor of smoke into the fish
02:58 rather than cooking it.
02:59 - Fish and seafood from Irish waters
03:03 have a good reputation the world over.
03:05 - We've nothing between us and America.
03:11 So we've got this massive water washing in,
03:13 this huge water exchange of all these nutrients
03:15 and all these beautiful cold waters and warm waters
03:18 that all mingle together.
03:19 That's why the waters are so rich.
03:22 - Most of the catch is destined for export.
03:25 The port of Hout, 20 kilometers east of Dublin,
03:27 is a popular spot to shop for freshly caught fish.
03:30 Among the many fish shops is one belonging to Andy Kish.
03:35 Aside from chowder, the Irish only began getting creative
03:38 with seafood in recent years.
03:40 The consumption of fresh fish and seafood
03:41 is undergoing a resurgence all over Ireland.
03:44 - We buy directly from the trawlers.
03:46 We're just custodians, right?
03:48 We're gonna be gone,
03:49 but the fishing village will still be here.
03:51 The fish will still be here.
03:52 And we're proud of the shellfish.
03:54 We're proud of the fish that we have here.
03:56 - While the haddock's getting smoked,
03:59 Niall prepares the base for the chowder.
04:01 He takes a shallot, studded with cloves and bay leaves,
04:04 and adds cream and water.
04:06 Then he lays the smoked fish in the broth
04:08 and heats it until it acquires a smoky flavor.
04:10 Then he browns the remaining ingredients.
04:17 The shallots, leek, celery, and potatoes,
04:19 one after the other.
04:21 (upbeat music)
04:24 - It's not hugely important.
04:27 If you do it all together in the beginning,
04:29 it's always gonna taste the same.
04:30 So with everything you're putting in, you're layering up.
04:32 So you're layering flavors.
04:33 Some of the shallots and the celery in the beginning,
04:35 you're giving the first base layer,
04:36 and then you're sauteing off your leeks
04:38 as you give it the next layer.
04:39 So you're building up every time
04:41 with your layers and your flavors.
04:42 So when you taste it, you should taste potato,
04:43 you should taste leek, you should taste the smoked fish,
04:45 you should taste the clam.
04:46 And then it all comes together in your mouth.
04:50 - To finish it off, he stews the clams,
04:52 adds the smoked fish and herbs, and serves it right away.
04:56 - So, proof is in the pudding.
05:10 It's warm and it's comforting.
05:15 It's delicious, it's light.
05:19 It's exactly what I'd want it to be.
05:21 - But what exactly makes it an Irish national dish?
05:25 - I suppose it is hearty, it is homely, it's welcoming.
05:28 There's nothing like a bowl of chowder
05:30 or a bowl of Irish stew that make you feel more comfortable
05:33 and more at home.
05:34 I think that's very much the ethos
05:35 that all Irish people live by.
05:37 It's to make people at home and welcome
05:39 and hopefully with full bellies.
05:41 - And what dish tastes most like home to you?
05:44 (upbeat music)