Metro Vancouver fishing families, chefs, and restaurants put B.C. spot prawns at centre-stage
Spot-prawn season is one of the most anticipated West Coast food events of the year
Glowbal is serving B.C. spot prawns with grilled lemons and garlic butter.
RESTAURANTS ARE BACK in action following the May 25 lifting of indoor-dining restrictions as part of BC’s Restart plan. And they’re resuming full service during one of the most anticipated West Coast food events of the year: B.C. spot-prawn season.
While you can check out the 2021 Spot Prawn Festival online and order frozen chowder made by members of the Chefs’ Table Society of B.C. there, here are a few other places to check out that are putting the seafood in the spotlight.
Provence Marinaside is highlighting local spot prawns on its May/June winery menu. Wine director Joshua Carlson pairs them various selections from Kutatàs Wines on Salt Spring Island. “I feel in the case of Kutatàs Wines and spot prawns the adage of ‘what grows together, goes together’ is absolutely true,” Carlson said in a release.
Here’s an example of what’s on the two-course menu, which offers options for both courses: Chilled English Pea Soup with Poached BC Spot Prawns and buttermilk crème fraiche with Kutatás Wines Mèthode Traditionelle Brut 2015.
“This is a wonderfully complex bubble,” Carlson said. “Equal parts Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, spontaneous fermentation and 36 months sur lie. Zero dosage. Full of leezy flavours like fresh baked brioche, with bright acid backbone that is reminiscent of olive brine and dill pickles. That ‘greenness’ inspired the fresh pea soup with mint. The creaminess and lees inspired crème fraîche. The sweetness of the poached prawns complements the dryness of the brut.” (The menu is $66, plus $25 for wine pairings or $15 for a petit pour pairing.)
Glowbal Restaurant, meanwhile, is offering half a pound of spot prawns with garlic butter & grilled lemon during lunch and dinner ($34) and happy hour ($29).
Coast marks the moment with a special menu running all season. For dine-in, there are dishes (all $19) like Spot Prawn Ceviche with calamansi, coconut, and serrano chillies; and Spot Prawn Poke topped with avocado and mango. Options for pick-up and delivery from Coast is a pound of spot prawns in one of three choice preparations: crispy garlic (pan-seared with chili, soy, and lime); grilled (lemon butter and salt); or steamed (served with a white-wine beurre blanc) ($35). During happy hour, Coast is serving up a pound of B.C. spot prawns and a bottle of Quails Gate Rosé for $75.
Tojo’s, which is reopening on May 28, is currently offering a Spot Prawn Dinner for Two to go. On the menu are a half-pound of BC spot prawns with Tojo’s special dipping sauce; spring vegetable chirashi with lotus root, asparagus, wood ear mushroom, dried tofu, burdock root, and carrot; gomae with kale, swiss chard, and broccoli; and breadcrumb-fried hake.
At Boulevard Kitchen & Oyster Bar, chef Roger Ma is serving Spot Prawn Gnocchi, with English peas, prawn bisque, and Calabrian chilli crumb.
If you’d prefer to do the cooking at home, there are several spot-prawn sources, aside from your local fishmonger.
BC Live Spot Prawns & Seafood is a Ladner-based business with a network of five local fishing families. They’re taking pre-orders for live spot prawns for home delivery or pick-up at the Ladner Wharf or False Creek Fishermen’s Wharf.
Park N Prawn is a new way to get the goods from Fresh Ideas Start Here (FISH). People can pre-order live local spot prawns for pick up at a specified time and date at Uli’s Restaurant in White Rock or straight from the dock in Richmond as well as at the company’s Kitsilano or South Burnaby shops. (Another option is to order FISH’s spot prawn tails from local online grocer Legends Haul, which delivers.)
Glowbal.
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