Hermosillo, Mexico
SEAFOOD

Within an hour of the Gulf of California, you might expect to be overwhelmed by seafood, but that is not the case. You can get good seafood but it is not abundant. The reason for the lack of abundance is probably that the bulk of most popular varieties is packaged to be exported.

There are some special conditions that you should consider and, if they are important, be prepared if possible. For me number one is seafood cocktail sauce, the kind we are used to in the United States with horseradish is not to be found here. Nor is tartar sauce if you like that. Oysters and clams on the half shell are not served ice cold or even cold. In fact they are served at the temperature of the environment and that greatly affects the flavor.

Most locals drink sodas with their seafood. Add to this the frequent absence of utensils (eat with fingers) and chairs (eat standing up) and some of us need to adjust. I prefer raw oysters and clams on the half shell that are ice cold and served with a good, tangy cocktail sauce. I eat them with a fork when I can. It's cool to slurp them right out of the shell but you are begging for a wild case of Montezuma's revenge. In fact, you will do best to wash the oysters or clams in lemon juice or cocktail sauce before you send them down the hatch. More about this on the "do it yourself" seafood pages. The present topic is prepared seafood.

It is best to start with the ubiquitous roadside stands that are located at almost st any convenient area where one can park or pull off or where there are high volumes of foot traffic. The morning hours are times when many of these small stands sell "cahuamanta." The cahuama is the green sea turtle which was once abundant and popular. But today, the green sea turtle is not common and it is protected.

Mexican taqueros, using their infinite creativity, have substituted manta ray for the cahuama... thus the name, cahuamanta. Manta is a dark, strong tasting meat that is still inexpensive at this time. It is sold mainly for the chunky stew called cahuamanta. It can be fresh or salted in slabs. Cahuamanta is served like barbecoa and cabeza, in small tacos garnished with shredded cabbage, lemon and various salsas. The stew is also sold in separate bowls or cups with meat or as pure broth or jugo. A taco costs three or four pesos.

Less common are stands that sell fish tacos, "taco fish." These seem popular enough when available. The typical product is a white fish cut into thin strips called dedos or fingers. These strips are dipped in a tempura batter and fried. Three or four "dedos" are served on a flour tortilla with the usual garnishes ... shredded cabbage, chopped tomatoes, onions and cucumbers, lemon, salsas and so forth. "Taco fish" can be a real treat and it is surprising that there are not more stands.

Roadside stands and small, more or less permanent structures that sell "Mariscos" are not uncommon. These stands typically specialize in shellfish including oysters, clams, mussels, octopus, squid, crab and shrimp served as cocktails (cocteles) or tostadas. Shrimp, clam, octopus, and occasionally crab meat cocktails are the most popular. Cocktails are served in large glass containers resembling those of the ice cream parlors that were once popular in the U.S.

The cocktails are very different from those in the states. The sauce or cocktail juice is largely made up of vegetable juice like V8 or Clamato with chunks of tomato, onions, cucumber and the small leaves of the ubiquitous herb cilantro. The most popular cocktails are shrimp (cameron) and campaniche (a mixture of shrimp, octopus, squid, clams, oysters, snail and occasionally crab and other molluscs). The cost of a medium cocktail is about 3 dollars. A large, almost goldfish bowl, sized cocktail is about $4.50 U.S. These have always seemed expensive to me considering the minimum wage here is a little more than three dollars a day, but the Marisco stands seem to do an adequate business.

These same stands also sell tostadas. Typically, a flat, crisp corn tortilla is covered with mayonnaise and then piled with crab meat (lately some stands are using surime or imitation crab), chopped shrimp (the rock or Japanese variety), or ceviche. The tostada is then garnished with fresh salsa casera, chopped onions and chilis, lemon and salsas.

Ceviche is basically raw fish, squid or octopus that has been chopped into small pieces. It is mixed with chopped tomato, onions, cucumber and cilantro and then soaked in lime juice. These days, some stands also cell ceviche made from soy.

The more elaborate of the permanent stands are palapas. They are easily recognized by their round palm thatched roofs that imitate the palapas that are occasionally seen on the shores of local estuaries. The palapas sell all of what the smaller stands sell, cahuamanta, tacos fish, and then some. More elegant and expensive plates include shrimp and fish prepared in a variety of ways ... fried, broiled, and in various sauces or salsas. Local specialties are fresh marlin, tuna, shark, grouper and snapper. In addition to the ever present soft drinks, palapas usually sell lemonade, horchata, jamaica and beer to go with the meal.

For a real treat visit the palapas along the estuaries of old Kino and Guaymas. In these you buy mariscos and fish that is literally catch of the day. Here you can get oysters, clams, and a variety of other local shellfish on the half shell. Usually these palapas also sell tostadas and fried fish, especially "lisa al disco" or "planchado."

Lisa is jumping mullet. It is inexpensive because the fish travel in large schools. They are plankton feeders so their meat can be slightly darkened and greenish and occasionally they have the distinct flavor of "grass" much like lamb. Prepared in the palapas and occasional roadside stands, the fish is usually split down the middle and opened butterfly style. The intestines are removed and, depending on the chef, it may or may not be scaled and/or dipped in light flour or thick batter. However done, the fish, head and all, is fried crisp in a disk. The disk is a heavy wok shaped vessel that is often made from the disks of tillers pulled behind tractors on the local farms. The hole in the middle of the disk is welded shut and the result is a very special cooking device.

Lisa prepared in this way is almost always delicious. As in most cases, it is garnished with lettuce, tomato, cabbage, salsas and lime and, of course, you eat it with your fingers. Some of the palapas offer other varieties of fish prepared in a similar manner. These include flounder (linguado), snapper (pargo), and sea trout (curvina). Fresh sea trout and its relatives the croakers and kingfish are often lumped together and sold cheaply because they do not keep well. Prepared "al disco" when fresh, these are my favorite of the fish varieties and they are available at bargain prices.

Seafood as mariscos, shrimp, and fish are usually quite good In the Hermosillo area and along the coast. It is sad that prices have begun to soar in these past few years. If you want to buy your own fish or shellfish and prepare them your self, it can be done and successfully. Just click on the "do it yourself" seafood page below. I'll tell you where to buy the fresh stuff and even how to catch some for yourself.

Seafood ... a first look..

SHRIMP.

Go to the HOTPAGE Do It Yourself Seafood page.

Buying crabs and crab meat.

Catching your own crabs ... a real learning experience.

Soft Shell Crabs ... yes, they are here.

Catch and cook your own clams, mussels and snails.

Back to the HOTPAGE FOOD & DRINK index.

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