The market · Fish and seafood

Oysters

Eaten raw and alive, they taste of where they grew — saltier, sweeter, more mineral or more cucumber from bay to bay.

briny · mineral · creamy

What to do with it

Kenji Hara's Sourdough, 100% ryeOyster would give it depthIbu Sari's Beef rendangOyster would give it depthRosa Ibarra's Clarified milk punch, mezcal and pineappleOyster would give it depthMira Kowalski's Pierogi ruskieOyster would give it depth
Classics built on it
FujianOyster omeletteSmall oysters fried in a sweet potato starch batter with eggs — crisp in places, soft and gooey in others.No one here has made it yet

Kinds

Native / flat (Ostrea edulis)
Round and flat; meaty, metallic and dear. Strictly a winter oyster.
Rock / Pacific (Crassostrea gigas)
Deep, frilly cups; the everyday oyster, farmed almost everywhere.
Kumamoto
Small, deep-cupped, sweet and melony.

Goes with

shallotred wine vinegarlemontabasco

Knowing it

Where to buy
Fishmongers or the farm direct: tightly closed, heavy with liquor, stored cup side down.
Worth knowing
Shuck with a proper oyster knife into the hinge, cup side down, with a folded cloth over your hand. Cut the muscle underneath, keep the liquor and check for shell. To cook them, warm them no more than a minute — poached in their own liquor, or under a spoon of butter on the grill.

More fish and seafood, in season with it

Fish and seafoodCrabssweet, briny, delicate3 classicsFish and seafoodCuttlefishsweet, dense, brinyNot cooked here yetFish and seafoodLangoustinessweet, delicate, brinyNot cooked here yetFish and seafoodLobsterssweet, rich, firm1 classic