Seafood Chowder

If you love a creamy chowder, you got to give this loaded Seafood Chowder a try! Promise that you’ll get flavorful seafood (shrimps, scallops, cod & clams) in every spoonful.

When it comes to chowder, I like a creamy one, especially one that is loaded with ingredients. Do you prefer creamy chowder or red chowder?

In the past year, we got a chance to try a few chowder in different cities. We went to Pike Place Chowder in Seattle. They sell 7 kinds of chowder. If you think a chowder shop can’t be that special, you won’t believe it when you see that ridiculous long line. We got a chowder sampler. All were very good, but the classic clam chowder was the best. I’m glad we waited in line!

The most memorable chowder for us is from Eskimo Candy in Maui. An ordinary looking cup of chowder didn’t look anything unique. Oh man, it was loaded with fresh seafood and the flavors were complex. So good! And this is the chowder I had in mind when making my very own chowder.

To me, the key to a good seafood chowder is loaded with ingredients. You want seafood in every spoonful. Yup, there are tons of seafood in this chowder, cod fish, shrimps, scallops and canned clams. I used canned clams because it’s easy and there is no sand in canned clams. I hate it when I get a bite of sand while eating soup. Also, the clam juice come in the can is great in the soup too.

To give the soup layers of flavors, start by sautéing celery, onion and garlic. That brings aroma and sweetness. Stir in flour as thickening agent. Then add the juice from canned clams and seafood stock. If you can’t find seafood stock, chicken stock will do too. Now you got some good base flavors. Add some cream, bay leaf and potatoes. Cook for about half an hour until the potatoes are fork tender. Stir in the seafood and cook until just done. You can see the shrimps turning pink and fish turning opaque and firm. Season with salt and pepper. Time to serve with some fresh baguette.

This chowder is very satisfying! Although it’s probably not as good as the ones I had at both chowder places, but it’s still better than a lot other chowders out there. Creamy, rich, flavorful with tons of seafood. Give this a try, and I know you will like this as much as we did!

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5 from 2 votes

Seafood Chowder

Servings: 4 people as entree or 8 people as appetizer

Course Appetizer, Soup

Cuisine American

Keyword chowder, creamy chowder, loaded chowder, seafood chowder

Author Lokness

Ingredients

• 2 cans (6.5-ounce) chopped clams in juice
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 medium onion (finely diced)
• 2 celery stalks (finely diced)
• 2 garlic cloves (minced)
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 2 cups seafood stock or chicken stock
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1 large bay leaf
• 1 pound red potatoes (peeled, cut into ½-inch pieces)
• 5 ounces shrimps (peeled, deveined & cut into ½-inch pieces)
• 5 ounces cod (cut into ½-inch pieces)
• 5 ounces sea scallops (cut into ½-inch pieces)
• Salt
• Ground black pepper
• Celery leaves (optional for garnish)

Instructions

• For the canned clams, separate the juice and clams with a sieve into 2 medium bowls. Set aside.
• In a large pot over medium high heat, melt the butter. Add onion and celery. Cook until softened, about 8 minutes, stirring often. Add garlic and cook for another minute. Stir in the flour and cook for 1 minute. Slowly add the clam juice while stirring. Add stock, heavy cream and bay leaf. Bring to a simmer, stirring consistently. Add potatoes and bring back to a simmer. Reduce to medium-low heat, cook until potatoes are fork tender, about 25 minutes, stirring often to prevent burning.
• Turn the heat up to medium. Add shrimps, cod, and scallops to the soup. Cook until the seafood is just cooked through, about 3 – 4 minutes. Add clams and cook for 1 more minute. Season with salt and pepper. Top with celery leaves if using. Serve immediately with baguette.

Notes

1. I got about 1 1/3 cups clam juice from the 2 cans of clams. It’s ok if you got a bit less or more. It won’t change the result much. 
2. I used Imagine seafood stock, which is made with codfish. If you can find seafood stock, use that. If not, chicken stock works as well. 
3. You can substitute sea scallops with bay scallops.