Festive parties, birthday parties, cocktail parties at any time of the year – everyone wants to impress when they’re inviting friends and family to their homes for a celebration. If you want to be a host with the wow factor, instead of having a traditional charcuterie board as your buffet centrepiece, why not impress with a ‘seacuterie’ board?
Why seacuterie and not charcuterie?
Having a buffet that everyone can tuck into and share is part of the fun of giving a party and while everyone enjoys the flavours of charcuterie meats from around the world, a seacuterie board gives them all something a little different to try. In recent years, chefs have been setting new trends in the way they prepare and present fish and seafood. It’s moved on from the gravadlax everyone was eating in the 80s. Fish and seafood are now being turned into cold finger foods such as fish tacos and poke; phenomena that are sweeping through dining at all levels. Another advantage for both cost and taste, whether the seafood board is being prepared at home or in a restaurant, is that just about every part of the fish and shellfish can be used either for eating or presentation. Unlike filleting a fish and discarding the rest, nothing is wasted.
What makes up a seacuterie board?
A seacuterie board is made up of fish and shellfish that have been preserved in ways that often mimic the traditional meat preservation techniques that result in mortadella and pastrami. Pastrami becomes salmon pastrami and mortadella becomes scallop mortadella while, once a deep Southern USA staple, shrimp becomes a posh dish when pickled and served with black pepper crackers. Other tasty morsels seen on seacuterie boards include salmon rillettes topped with aguachile and served in tiny glass jars and delicious morsels of cured white tuna with red miso, preserved sake aioli and wakame (a type of seaweed). All a little adventurous? Then, bear in mind that smoked mussels and full-of-flavour fish spreads have also become staples of this sharing board.
Side dishes that complement seacuterie
Any side dish that would normally be served with fish or shellfish can be adapted for your seacuterie buffet table. Instead of chunky chips, think crisp miniature chips made from sweet potatoes or tiny balls of sticky lemon rice that can be popped straight into the mouth. Sweet baby tomatoes make a pleasing contrast to tangy pickled fish while bite-sized pieces of crunchy celery and radish add colour and texture to the table.
Tasty fish dining in Singapore
If you want some inspiration for your fish board, Singapore is not short of fish restaurants with inspiring menus. At foodpanda, some of our favourites are Full Feast Seafood, Hansang Korean Family Restaurant and Shi Kou Seafood.
