What is Calabash Seafood?
North Carolina is known for its bountiful seafood harvested from its coastal waters. And, Calabash is a small town located just across the border from South Carolina and only minutes from downtown North Myrtle Beach, in Brunswick County that inspired that name-and now style-of Calabash seafood.
How do you prepare Calabash-style food?
To prepare food Calabash-style requires coating fresh shrimp, fish, oysters, clams or crabs with a light, flavorful batter, then giving them a dip in a searing hot fryer until they are lightly golden.
How did calabash get its name?
The name comes from the nearby fishing village of Calabash, North Carolina, known as the “Seafood Capital of the World.”
Where's the best calabash shrimp in South Carolina?
Libby Wiersema lived in California and Alabama before settling in South Carolina 30 years ago, where she's covered the state's best culinary offerings and tells the stories behind the food. You’ll always find mounds of freshly fried Calabash shrimp at Original Benjamin’s Calabash Seafood in Myrtle Beach.
What is Calabash-style?
Calabash-style seafood is lightly breaded and fried and typically served buffet style. The seafood is always accompanied with the ever popular side dish-hushpuppies. Corn meal is used instead of flour to give the seafood a light coating. The seafood is then fried in hot oil until it becomes golden brown.
What type of food is Calabash?
Lagenaria siceraria (synonym Lagenaria vulgaris Ser. ), bottle gourd, opo squash or long melon is a vine grown for its fruit, which can either be harvested young and used as a vegetable, or harvested mature, dried, and used as a bottle, utensil, or pipe.
What's Calabash Seafood mean?
WHatever "Calabash seafood" once meant, it currently means it is seafood that is heavily breaded & deep-fried. Supposedly in corn-breading, but that definition is loosely interpreted by some restaurants.
Does Calabash mean fried?
Only about 2,000 citizens call Calabash home, but the community says it's “The Seafood Capital of the World.” Calabash-style means perfectly fried seafood with a light, crisp, ethereal battered crust.
What does calabash taste like?
The soft, white pulp can easily be scooped out of the fruit and boiled with water to make calabash juice. This black-colored drink has a mild taste without any sweetness or sourness. It is slightly bitter with a green taste and an aroma like squash and coconut water.
Why is it called calabash?
The word Calabash finds its roots (pun intended) in the gourd which grows all over the world, but is very prominent in our area. It's also called a “bottle gourd” because well, it looks like a bottle! In fact, in China it has been used for centuries to hold liquid, rice, and just about anything.
Is Calabash shrimp the same as popcorn shrimp?
(You'll find Calabash shrimp is a favorite part of many of our coastal seafood buffets, too.) It is likewise traditional to have hot hush puppies as an accompaniment. And the shrimp for Calabash-style dishes are quite small—often referred to on menus as “creek shrimp," "popcorn shrimp" or “baby shrimp.”
How is Calabash seafood prepared?
But not calabash, calabash seafood is prepared with a light touch, lightly dusted with a flour and cornmeal mixture and then deep fried. Think breading not batter. Calabash seafood means that it is caught and served same day fresh (from the restaurant's own fishing boats) and in abundance. It is never frozen.
What kind of food is Myrtle Beach known for?
Tourism News The Myrtle Beach City Foods Guide: Famous Foods of U.S. Cities Served along the Grand StrandToasted Ravioli. There are a few accounts on how toasted ravioli originated in St. ... Seafood Boil. ... Crab Cakes. ... Philly Cheesesteak. ... Pork Roll Sandwich. ... Pierogi. ... Pastrami Sandwich. ... Shrimp and Grits.More items...•
What does calabash Chicken mean?
“Calabash” refers to a method of frying something with just a light dusting of breader rather than a heavy batter. It originated in Calabash, NC as a way of preparing shrimp and other seafood (but mostly shrimp).
What does calabash mean in Hawaii?
Hawaii. In Hawaii the word "calabash" refers to a large serving bowl, usually made from hardwood rather than from the calabash gourd, which is used on a buffet table or in the middle of the dining table.
How do you make calabash?
2:449:54How to make a simple calabash cake - YouTubeYouTubeStart of suggested clipEnd of suggested clipEspecially if you want to move something. So I'll draw my fondant in three ball. Then I'll cut outMoreEspecially if you want to move something. So I'll draw my fondant in three ball. Then I'll cut out the excess. Into really both face because also gets a perfect sausage.
What is calabash made from?
Calabash is the term used for artefacts made from the hard shell of a fruit in the gourd family "Lagenaria siceraria." Once the calabash is dried and hollowed out it can be used for serving or storing food. It can also be used as an inkpot, cosmetic container and by market women as a money box.
Is a calabash a gourd?
A calabash, bottle gourd, or white-flowered gourd, Lagenaria siceraria, also known by many other names, including long melon, New Guinea bean and Tasmania bean, is a vine grown for its fruit, which can be either harvested young to be consumed as a vegetable, or harvested mature to be dried and used as a utensil.
How do you make calabash?
2:449:54How to make a simple calabash cake - YouTubeYouTubeStart of suggested clipEnd of suggested clipEspecially if you want to move something. So I'll draw my fondant in three ball. Then I'll cut outMoreEspecially if you want to move something. So I'll draw my fondant in three ball. Then I'll cut out the excess. Into really both face because also gets a perfect sausage.
Are calabashes edible?
Calabash tree facts make clear that the fruits are not edible to humans but they are used for a variety of ornamental purposes. For example, the shells are used to make musical instruments. Horses, however, are said to crack open the hard shells. They eat the fruit without detrimental effect.
What is a calabash?
Calabash isn’t just the name of a town, it’s a buzzword for good eating. To prepare food Calabash-style requires coating fresh shrimp, fish, oysters, clams or crabs with a light, flavorful batter, then giving them a dip in a searing hot fryer until they are lightly golden.
Where did the Calabash seafood originate?
While it’s true this style of seafood originated in the small fishing town of Calabash, NC, the town practically straddles the state line, hence its prevalence along the Grand Strand. You’ll find the largest concentration of Calabash-style seafood houses along the South Carolina coast, beginning in Little River and stretching down to Murrells Inlet. Of course, the good folks in Calabash insist it’s not Calabash seafood unless you’re eating it in Calabash, but we just shake our heads and keep on battering and deep frying.
Is fried seafood calabash?
In order to reflect true Calabash style, the fried seafood must be served in generous portions. In other words, if your Calabash seafood doesn’t arrive at the table in an eye-popping heap and make you think you should have invited a friend (or two!) along to help polish it off, well, it’s not Calabash.
