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Is there any other Polish seafood exept herring and carp?


Dice 15 | 452  
23 Oct 2009 /  #1
I'm thinking of cooking something similar to a New England chowder, but instead of clams I wanted to use some kind of a popular polish seafood. What should I use? I hate both herring and carp, they are truly disgusting. What other "Polish" seafood can I use in my chowder, any ideas?

Are clams a popular seafood in Poland?
gumishu 13 | 6,140  
23 Oct 2009 /  #2
no clams in Poland, (except some top restuarants and few delicatessen)
I guess quids don't suit your needs here (but they are available here and there)
carp is actually no sea food - cause it doesn't live in salty waters
there are dishes that make use of fresh water fish like solyanka but it's not a popular thing in Poland and fresh water fish don't make their way to shops that often (carp is the Christmas exception)

just go and find a fish shop (sklep rybny) or fish department and see what you can get - I am no fish expert too
osiol 55 | 3,921  
23 Oct 2009 /  #3
I hate to say it, but

a) Carp is a freshwater fish, and
b) I have eaten jellied eel in Poland.
szkotja2007 27 | 1,498  
23 Oct 2009 /  #4
Salmon ?
An international salmon angling contest is regularly held on the Słupia river between Słupsk and Ustka.

Edit - I went fishing today and caught Cod, Pollack and Wrasse ( Scotland ).
derek trotter 10 | 203  
23 Oct 2009 /  #5
so osiol, are you trying to say that carp is not a seafood?
Seanus 15 | 19,674  
23 Oct 2009 /  #6
A person from North America will see carp as seafood whereas a Brit likely won't.

Brits exclude seawater and brackish water as being connected to freshwater fish.
OP Dice 15 | 452  
23 Oct 2009 /  #7
Maybe I should explain first what I am trying to do here; I want to make a series of dishes which would combine both American and Polish cuisines. Just for shits and giggles. Maybe I would take some pictures and post'em here, maybe make a website. It could be fun, cooking is one of my hobbies anyways.

For now I have some Ideas:

polish ham and kielbasa jambalaya,
stuffed cabbage burger
a New England Chowder with polish seafood,
a Manhattan clam chowder with polish seafood,
Polish cutlet enchiladas
Sweet potato pierogies
Polish crapes with honey squash and pumpkin


Back to my "Polish/New England" chowder recipe.
I've been googling it a little bit and it looks like cod is pretty popular in Poland, which is great because I can easily get it in any grocery store in the US.

Salmon ?
An international salmon angling contest is regularly held on the Słupia river between Słupsk and Ustka.

I can also easily get salmon, and it tastes great in a clam chowder, but I don't think salmon is that popular in Poland. Or am I mistaken?
Seanus 15 | 19,674  
23 Oct 2009 /  #8
Salmon is popular enough, trust me. There are those who buy it for prestige too, in any country. Why not just say seafood that is eaten in Poland? They have mussels which are from Sweden and prawns that are from Thailand, for example. The crab sticks are from the Czech Republic.

Poles tend not to like seafood like octopus but it might be worth dropping gentle hints to find out what the eaters like :)
gumishu 13 | 6,140  
23 Oct 2009 /  #9
Sweet potato pierogies

I very much doubt it is a good idea

I can give you a hint to a Polish-Mexican mix sort of (hot) - which I invented myself
let me know if you are interested (requires good kiszone ogórki together with the juice from the jar and prefferably also the bits of garlic and horseradish that are put into the kiszone ogórki jar)
OP Dice 15 | 452  
23 Oct 2009 /  #10
Are you kidding? They already have potato pierogies in Polish cuisine, so sweet potato pierogies and yam pierogies only make sense. As a matter of fact, IMO sweet potato and yam pierogies would taste way better then regular potato.
gumishu 13 | 6,140  
24 Oct 2009 /  #11
no I'm not kidding - Polish pierogies with potato filling are on the salty side - the filling is actually mashed potatoes, quark (or cottage cheese - quark is sour), fried chopped onion and black pepper); there are pierogies on the sweet side but they are really sweet - pierogies with just sweetened quark (should have quite a lot of sugar) or pierogies with fruits - the best are strawberry and European blueberry - these call for lots of sugar too (the sugar naturally goes to the filling - but they are also served with the soured cream (der Polnische art ;) and again sugar on top of it

I don't think you get anything tasty putting sweet potato or yam as a filling for pierogies - it's gonna be pretty bland I imagine
jonni 16 | 2,482  
24 Oct 2009 /  #12
Try feta and spinach or black olives in pierogi. Or more authentically, pierogi lwowskie with bolognese filling.

Mintaj (pollock) could work well in a chowder. Cod is available here - people even go cod fishing for sport, but a lot of Polish people have told me they don't like it.
OP Dice 15 | 452  
24 Oct 2009 /  #13
The crab sticks are from the Czech Republic.

I'm almost afraid to ask, but what type of crabs are we talking about here? Isn't Czech Republic a land-locked country? If it's not sea crabs, is it pu$$y crabs then?
plk123 8 | 4,142  
24 Oct 2009 /  #14
i like this yam pierogi idea. tell us how it turns out.
scrappleton - | 829  
24 Oct 2009 /  #15
people even go cod fishing for sport, but a lot of Polish people have told me they don't like it.

Well they eat carp, how bad can cod be?
slawekk - | 18  
24 Oct 2009 /  #16
Sweet potatoes are not potatoes that are sweet, they are not related to potatoes at all. They are related to carrots. Pierogies with sweet potatoes will be similar to pierogies with carrots. I doubt it will work, but no harm in trying.

I have an idea mixing Polish and American cuisines: a hamburger with a "kotlet mielony" instead of beef patty. Another one is (classic in Poland, liked it a lot as a child) is sauerkraut pizza. Although one may discuss if pizza can be considered American cuisine.
scottie1113 7 | 898  
24 Oct 2009 /  #17
Seanus

Last time I checked, the US was in North America. Carp is not seafood; it's a freshwater fish. Well, not really. It lives in your toilet. I didn't like it in the US and I sure don't like it now. Fresh seafood is hard to find, and I live in Gdansk.

I've seen fresh shrimp occasionally but it didn't look very good. Oysters? Not gonna happen. Oh well.
PlasticPole 7 | 2,648  
24 Oct 2009 /  #18
Carp is not seafood; it's a freshwater fish.

Eating a carp is like eating your friend the goldfish.
szkotja2007 27 | 1,498  
24 Oct 2009 /  #19
Is Sea Angling popular in Poland ? I havent seen anyone on the beach with a Rod.

Fresh seafood is hard to find, and I live in Gdansk.

You could have a go yourself ?

Looking at the coastline I think you would need a boat to get a decent Cod but Pollack would probably be caught off the docks.

Further north in Gdansk Bay you would get some decent flatfish and flounders.

Worth noting that Baltic Fish may contain toxic chemicals, eg 50 times more PDBE Than Atlantic Fish and a few years ago the Swedes were warning women of childbearing age not to eat too much Baltic Fish.
Eurola 4 | 1,902  
24 Oct 2009 /  #20
A person from North America will see carp as seafood whereas a Brit likely won't.

I've never seen carp in American supermarket and most likely never will. Americans don't eat it and I don't either. It is consider a dirty fish feeding on any crap it finds in the mud at the bottom of the river. Most polish families in The USA use another type of fish for X-Mas Eve fiesta. However, still a lot do in the name of tradition and perhaps will for generation to come.
scrappleton - | 829  
24 Oct 2009 /  #21
Worth noting that Baltic Fish may contain toxic chemicals, eg 50 times more PDBE Than Atlantic Fish and a few years ago the Swedes were warning women of childbearing age not to eat too much Baltic Fish.

Good Christ , that's just depressing. Well, there's always salmon / lobster farms. Even Israel has salmon farms going. I don't think you need all that much capital for these ventures.

b) I have eaten jellied eel in Poland.

Bllecch.. You are a donkey with a goat's stomach.
Seanus 15 | 19,674  
24 Oct 2009 /  #22
All I meant was that carp is regarded as seafood in North America (yes, the US very much included) and not in Britain. Nothing more, nothing less.

My bad, Dice, they are from one of the Baltic countries. I'd place money on Lithuania.
slawekk - | 18  
24 Oct 2009 /  #23
I've never seen carp in American supermarket and most likely never will.

Live carp are easy to buy in Asian supermarkets in the US, especially on the west coast. Lots of Americans of Chinese descent buy it. The taste is better than tilapia (usually sold next to carp) and I would say better than carp sold in Poland. Different cultures have different taboos on what is edible. Poles are reluctant to eat animals related to insects (like, say, shrimp).
ShawnH 8 | 1,497  
24 Oct 2009 /  #24
Poles are reluctant to eat animals related to insects (like, say, shrimp).

My better half loves them. Her family thought eating corn was strange. Strictly for cows or something like that...
beckski 12 | 1,617  
24 Oct 2009 /  #25
Try feta and spinach or black olives in pierogi

These combo's sound like they'd be rather tasty.
jonni 16 | 2,482  
24 Oct 2009 /  #26
I've done feta and black olives, and the combination worked. There used to be a great restaurant (u Hopfera on Krakowskie Przedmieście, now sadly closed) who did feta and spinach - also nice.

I also once had almond, honey and poppyseed pierogi, with cream. That was really good.
osiol 55 | 3,921  
25 Oct 2009 /  #27
so osiol, are you trying to say that carp is not a seafood?

Do European species of carp live in the sea? No.
Do any carp live in the sea? Not that I have ever been able to find.

So the polite answer I have for you is yes.
scrappleton - | 829  
25 Oct 2009 /  #28
Lots of Americans of Chinese descent buy it.

Which should be a ringing endorsement on why not to buy carp. I'd be surprised if a turtle would eat a carp.
cherryhu - | 1  
29 Oct 2009 /  #29
carp in tomato sauce is delicious absolutely
polkamaniac 1 | 482  
29 Oct 2009 /  #30
The carp that are supplied to stores in Poland are bred in captivity.These are clean fish fed pellets and not mud feeders.When I was there I was able to go to one of the "wstawy" which looked like a humongous pool.What they do is drain this pool when the fish are the right size and collect them.Here in Canada we have the same thing in stocked trout and salmon. Ta ryba jest dobra i smaczna.Daj Boze !!!!

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