Recently, I was sitting in the chair getting my hair cut, and as usual, we started talking story. The subject this time was about bouillabaisse and cioppino. I love soups in general, and these two are my favorites to both make and eat. One comes from France and the other came to California via the Italians who migrated there. When I make the broth for my version of bouillabaisse, it reminds me of my time in New York City at Lutece, where we served a soupe de poisson with crab and fresh noodles. Each trip to San Francisco would not be complete without visiting Fisherman’s Wharf and having a great bowl of cioppino at Alioto’s.
For every culture that lives by the ocean and has an abundance of fresh fish, there is probably a local version of a great fish soup or stew. In Hawaii, we are surrounded by the Pacific Ocean. We know of many versions of poke and raw fish dishes. It would only be natural that with all the fish we have here that there would be a signature fish soup unique to Hawaii just like the bouillabaisse. I have memories from small-kid time of digging for clams in Kaneohe Bay, going crabbing, and even diving at night for fish; these all would have made great ingredients for a fish soup.
One story that I resonate with is the one from Marseille, or the south of France, the birthplace of this bouillabaisse. Long ago, the fishermen would come in with their catch and after selling most of their fish, the ones that didn’t sell were made into a hearty soup for them to eat.
Back in the day, I helped a visiting chef from France make his version of bouillabaisse. He wanted to use local fish so he took whole uhu (parrot fish), nohu (scorpion fish), rock cod, menpachi, aweoweo, guts, scales and all, put them all in a stockpot and started cooking away, everyone’s eyes wide open in disbelief that it all went in like that! A couple of hours later, he took a large bermixer (looks like a propeller you took off your boat) and blended everything into a smooth, thick wonderful soup. It took a lot of straining, and I was still skeptical until he let me taste it. Unbelievably delicious, he would now take this broth and cook all of his fish and shellfish in it for the final dish. Taking local fish using French technique to make a traditional Provençal fish soup in that fashion was inspirational.
At the core of it what I really love is great seafood, cooked in a great-tasting broth that comes to the table so piping hot that I cannot pick up the bowl with my bare fingers. You will not want to overcook any of the ingredients, so add them to the pot according to how fast they will cook, putting the quickest cooking ones last. Nothing worse than rubbery seafood. The most decadent cioppino I ever had was made with a half Dungeness crab, all “deboned,” swimming in a great broth with shrimps, clams, scallops and a nice portion of white fish. Yes, they did pass out bibs to wear so I wouldn’t stain my shirt slobbering over this bowl.
In the end, we talked about whether there was a non-tomato version of this soup. What would be the difference is whether it came from the south or north of France. Talking story made me go down memory lane and really made me hungry for soup!
Chef and restaurateur Alan Wong has wowed diners around the world for decades, and is known as one of the founders of Hawaii Regional Cuisine. Find his column in Crave every first Wednesday. Currently, Wong is dba Alan Wong’s Consulting Co.
