The United States Department of Agriculture says twice a week, make seafood the protein on your plate. Increase the amount and variety of seafood consumed by choosing seafood in place of some meat and poultry.
The last few days I've had a look at the seafood chain from beginning to end. On Thursday of last week I visited the Oceanic Institute (OI), a non-profit aquaculture research and development organization, just down the road on windward Oahu. OI is an impressive place - the white shrimp they have been raising play such a big role in the seafood supply, odds are any shrimp you've gobbled up in the last decade or two is an OI descendant.
Here are the shrimp tanks (not a bad backdrop)...
And here are the Moi tanks (Moi is a popular Hawaiian fish)...
I also saw a few algae tanks, but since it was microscopic algae invisible to the naked eye, I'll skip the photo.
My next stop along the seafood supply chain was Tamashiro's Market on Saturday morning. I've never been before, and I'm going to have to steal an adjective from the Frommer's review to describe it - dizzying. The extra long fresh seafood counter isn't full of neat and tidy fillet after neat and tidy fillet like you might be used to. The "fillet" section is more like the meat counter - the amount you want is cut to order off of a big beautiful portion. And many species are whole; piled up, still wet from the ocean. After a few visits, we'll venture out, but for the first trip we chose a pound of Ahi (yellow fin) tuna.
There were several informative signs describing the species and the best ways to prepare them, but my favorite was this news clipping, "Women who eat fish found to have smart kids." Love it!
Finally, the last stop on the seafood chain, the plate. We seared our Ahi for dinner last night using this simple, simple recipe and it was scrumptious. Amazing tuna like the piece we had doesn't need much done to it. In fact, the middle was raw and our favorite part. I have a little leftover for lunch today, and I can't wait for noon to roll around.
I am a registered dietitian with the National Fisheries Institute, so fish is my nutrition forte. I earned my BA in Communication from Southwestern University, just outside of Austin, TX. During college, one of my very favorite evening outings was a leisurely trip to the grocery market. My passion for food was undeniable, so I combined both of my interests by earning my MS in Nutrition Communication from Tufts University in Boston, MA. As well as my Registered Dietitian (RD) credential through the University of Delaware.
Beyond reading scientific studies about docosahexaenoic acid and selenium, I love to entertain, travel, watch reality TV, grill outdoors, and go to spin class. I live in Kailua, HI on the island of Oahu where my husband serves as a US Marine Corps JAG.
People in Hawaii eat more fish and shellfish than average, but over 80 percent of typical Americans don't eat seafood at least twice per week. Doctors and dietitians like me say that's the goal, so BlogAboutSeafood is here to show you just what plenty of seafood looks like in an RD's real-life diet.
Photo by Marco Garcia
I live on Oahu and am also a military wife, we relocated from Virginia. It so niceto find a recommendation for fresh fish. We normally shop at the commissary however I knew there had to be great market to get fresh seafood. I'm going to try Tamashiro's this weekend! You may have found this place already but the best date night sushi we found so far was as NOBU in Waikiki. It was expensive but totally worth it!
Thank YOU for the recommendation. We are always looking for good sushi spots. Now that I've found Tamashiro's, though, I think I may start to make my own sushi. Let me know what you think of it!