In season: summer seafood ripe for the fishing

Summer in Australia is synonymous with fresh locally caught seafood, from prawns on the barbie to fish and chips at the beach with mates. And the good news for Aussies is that Australia’s commercial fishing industry is one of the most sustainable in the world. This festive season EATIVITY is encouraging consumers to ditch the old farmed salmon steak for some fresh summer seafood that’s a little friendlier for the environment and that also supports our local fishers. In addition to my personal favourites of oysters, prawns and rock lobster, here are my top picks for those looking to reel in a more flavoursome summer seafood catch.

Mud crabs live at Spice Temple 

If you’re like me and love slurping out the succulent flesh from a mud crab’s claw, but don’t have time to prepare one yourself, I highly recommend making a booking at a restaurant that has a great reputation for serving them up. The good news is, it’s mud crab season at Spice Temple, which means the much-loved regional Chinese restaurant in Melbourne and Sydney is featuring Australia’s native crabs – ‘Muddies’ as they’re fondly referred to – while they are at their seasonal best, with luxurious, irresistibly sweet flesh.

Crabs are a quintessential ingredient in Chinese cooking and a hero dish of the banquet style of dining at Spice Temple. Live mud crabs are sourced from Queensland and are cooked to order, doused in delicious authentic sauces. The ultimate sweet spot for Spice Temple guests this season is the $99 price tag on all Mud Crabs dishes, until Sunday, Dec 31st. Flavour-packed mud crab dishes, at a value-packed price – the perfect centre-of-the-table showcase for group get-togethers as summer, holiday and festive celebrations unfold.

Under the expertise of Spice Temple Executive Chef Andy Evans, mud crabs are steamed to ensure their sweet, delicate flesh remains tender and untainted with other flavours. These spectacular crustaceans are served with a choice of five traditional sauces:

Four Chillies
With the heat kick expected from a mix of fermented red chillies, brined red chillies, salted red chillies, and pickled green chillies.

Salted Olive & Black Bean Dressing
A punchy, savoury, salty sauce loaded with olives and black beans, which complements the subtle crab meat flavour.

Black Bean & Salted Chilli
A sharp, pungent, salty and spicy sauce with a hint of sweetness that enhances the sweet crab meat.

Ginger & Shallot
A classic sauce that is vibrant and aromatic and accentuates the luxurious crab flavours.

XO Sauce
Rich and flavourful this spicy dried seafood-based sauce marries well with the marvellous crab meat.

As Spice Temple dives deeper into crab season and summer temperatures soar, the menu will evolve to include blue swimmer crabs and snow crabs, each bringing unique flavours to the table. Live seafood tanks at both restaurants are replenished frequently with other fresh seafood, including lobsters and pipis, which are also served with a choice of the five accompanying sauces.

Executive Chef Andy Evans says mud crabs and live seafood are synonymous with Chinese dining and offer a range of spectacular produce with which to showcase the regional Chinese flavours that Spice Temple is renowned for.

“There is nothing quite like ordering seafood live from the tank and enjoying it cooked to order – a process that ensures the meat is tender and retains its beautiful, natural flavours,” Chef Andy says.

Fresh is best

If the cost of living crisis has bitten into your ability to indulge at a top restaurant, there’s plenty of other summer seafood in the sea that you can source fresh from your local seafood market, and cook yourself. I was lucky enough to receive an exclusive invitation to the opening event of the Seafood Showcase Series. Hosted by Sydney Fish Market in conjunction with celebrated industry colleagues and friends, I went on a culinary journey, and connected industry pioneers local Aussie fishers. Guests also had the opportunity to sample tastings made by some of Australia’s most renowned chefs and watch live cooking demonstrations. Here are a few that really stood out to me.

Yumbah Aquaculture Abalone

Yumbah’s story combines the unique and pristine qualities of the Great Southern Ocean and a team of people dedicated to responsible, sustainable aquaculture. The company produces amazing quality shellfish including abalone, oysters and mussels. The abalone is my favourite and is something every Australian should try at least once in their lives.

Yumbah sustainably cultures greenlip and tiger abalone from specialist onshore farms along our pristine coastline, harnessing the nutrient rich waters of the Great Southern Ocean and Tasman Sea. Both varieties are derived from the abalone species haliotis laevigata and haliotis rubra, which are uniquely indigenous to Southern Australia. All Yumbah abalone are hand-harvested then snap frozen, shipped live or processed into cans and retort packs, making it the perfect summer seafood hero ingredient.

Spencer Gulf Kingfish

Renowned by chefs across the globe for its firm yet supple flesh and rich, sweet flavour, the Yellowtail Kingfish is widely considered the best fish in the world for sashimi and ceviche. Cleanseas raises its Kingfish in pure, cold waters of the Spencer Gulf in South Australia, one of the purest and cleanest bodies of water in the world.

The company is extremely proud of its sustainability practices and is certified by the Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASM) which is the world’s leading sustainability body for aquaculture. The company also provides a range of helpful tips and tricks for professionals and home cooks looking to serve up the best summer seafood treat.

Tarni Brand Wild Caught WA Scampi

The Tarni Brand is a brand of sustainably caught seafood from the pristine and sometimes turbulent waters of Western Australia. Valuing a ‘Fresh from the sea to plate’ philosophy, the catch is hauled onto the vessel and packed directly into retail packaging and snap frozen at sea. Shark Bay Seafoods produces Tarni brand scampi and prawns and its sashimi-grade scampi is my immediate go to if I see it on a menu anywhere.

For more than 40 years, the Tarni Brand has been one of Australia’s most trusted suppliers of premium seafood. In my view the only thing you need to add to these delicious local WA creatures is butter, garlic and parsley. You can thin slice them raw, steam them, cook them on the bbq, or pan sear them for the shortest of times for the ultimate summer seafood indulgence.

Skull Island Ocean Caught Tiger Prawns

Skull Island Tiger Prawns are wild caught off an island in the Gulf of Carpentaria in the Northern Territory and it’s where Austral Fisheries sources the biggest tiger prawns available to the market. Caught, packed and snap frozen at sea, the process ensures that the prawn’s eating characteristics remain in tact all the way from the ocean to your plate.

The inshore protected waters adjacent to Skull Island provide the ideal habitat for tiger prawns.  Large expansive seagrass beds, strong tidal movement and ample food allow juvenile tiger prawns to grow to sizes selected for the Skull Island brand. Certified ‘sustainable’ by the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC), these bad boys come from the world’s first certified sustainable tropical prawn fishery, and will guarantee to satisfy any Aussie’s craving for a good old fashioned summer seafood special of a prawn on the barbie.

Jervis Bay Mussels

Mussels are considered to be one of the world’s most sustainable and nutritious foods. Jervis Bay Mussels grows its blue mussels in the pristine waters of Jervis Bay Marine park on the NSW south coast, using sustainable practices. Requiring no additives or inputs, all this delightful summer seafood needs in order to grow is a little care and clean, nutrient-rich seas.

Jervis Bay Mussels are harvested and delivered daily to NSW and QLD fron the company’s east coast farm. The local Aussie produce was also awarded the first-ever gold medal for a mussel in the prestigious Sydney Royal Fine Food Show in 2021 and then again in 2022. The mesh packaging the mussels comes in is completely compostable, and the trays are made from fully recyclable PET.

Infinity Blue Barramundi

Grown in pristine water conditions, this native Aussie fish has firm, white succulent flesh; the result of passionately combining all-natural ingredients, gentle fish handling practices and a deep understanding of Barramundi. Free of antibiotics, hormones, colourants and whitening agents, Infinity Blue Barramundi are nurtured in the purest of water with premium feed and sustainable farming practices.

The company has several farms, one of which is at Etty Bay, a beautiful location near its Tropical North Queensland farm, recently featuring in Australia’s top 10 most beautiful secret beaches. Infinity Blue Barramundi has been grown fresh from farm to plate for over 20 years. Just as differences in soil and weather provide variances in wine, the company’s different farms and ecosystems produce fish with different size, flavour and taste attributes.

To source any of the fresh local summer seafood featured above, just head to Sydney Fish Market or your local seafood market, and ask any of the outlets there, whether they have it in stock. Most likely they will, or they will point you to the nearest counter that does. Alternatively, simply click the links above to go direct to the producers, who you can have a conversation with about their latest catch and your summer seafood entertaining needs. Be sure to check out our tips for a more sustainable summer seafood feast to help provide a healthy plate and a healthy planet.