The Taste Bud: Good Seafood from the Freezer? Well Played, SeaPak
Well played, SeaPak. Well played. Photos by Kevin Gibson
When I was a kid of maybe 11 or 12, my mother ordered fried clams at a seafood restaurant and let me try them. I loved them, and it prompted me to get a package of frozen clams at the grocery store shortly thereafter. I don’t remember what brand they were, but in summary, they sucked. Let’s face it, I’d had fish sticks from the store, so I shouldn’t have been expecting much. Suffice to say the Gorton’s Fisherman and I were never close friends.
Fast forward many decades, and I happened to come into possession of some seafood items by SeaPak Shrimp & Seafood Co. (which also sells frozen supermarket clams) in the form of shrimp scampi and shrimp spring rolls. After years of mostly ignoring frozen seafood, I was naturally skeptical. I also turned out to be dead wrong.
First off, let’s talk scampi. I made it for dinner one evening, and it took seven or eight minutes on the stove top; it was ridiculously easy. You can also use the microwave or conventional oven, but I figured the microwave might make the shrimp rubbery. Basically, the frozen shrimp are coated in what melts into a flavorful garlic butter sauce — sort of self-sauteeing, if you will.
I ate the shrimp by themselves and found them to be popping with garlic and herbs, a hint of spice, and probably the best surprise was the shrimp stayed nice and firm. They were small, but tasty. It was a refreshingly nice meal.
And while I just put them on a plate like the lazy dude that I am, the best way to serve this would be to make some angel hair pasta and garlic bread. Add a side salad and a bottle of white wine, and you’ve got a nice dinner for two with minimal prep time. Also, if you make this the way I made it, you’ll find you have plenty of leftover garlic butter sauce — I saved mine for later use.
I popped open the shrimp spring rolls with my fiancee Cynthia one evening as we watched TV and had a snack night for our dinner. They were an instant hit after spending 10 or so minutes in the air fryer. Each package of 16 comes with a couple packets of a sweet chili sauce that is, frankly and surprisingly, pretty amazing. Big flavor, and a nice kick from the Thai chilis, peppers that are hotter than they look. Meanwhile, the spring rolls get crispy and flaky on the outside, and they pack plenty of flavor. Somehow, the vegetables — rice noodles, carrots, cabbage and water chestnuts — inside manage to stay crisp.
Cynthia even uttered the phrase, “Restaurant quality” in reference to the spring rolls. I have to admit, if I ordered these as an appetizer at a restaurant, I wouldn’t blink. I think it’s partly that the delicious sauce elevates the rolls, but still — impressive, SeaPak. If you see these in your grocery store, grab them and put that air fryer to use. You won’t regret it.
In fact, I’d buy either one of these products again. And as much as I hate to admit it, I might have to try the SeaPak clams. SeaPak makes a ton of other products, too, from Kickin’ Shrimp to calamari to salmon burgers and crab cakes. I guess frozen seafood and I can finally be friends, after all.
