There are dishes that take me back to my childhood. Making conch stew for the first time not only gave me a taste of home but made me think about my heritage, my family history, in ways I had not before and gave me the opportunity to share a taste of home with my husband and kids.
I visited H Mart for the first time over the summer. I had only recently heard about this chain Asian grocery store. Our family loves Asian cuisine and so after hearing great things about this grocery store, the family loaded up the car on a Saturday afternoon and headed to the nearest location in Cary, NC.
I was immediately impressed. It was much bigger than I had imagined and I found so many great items – products I had heard of, seen in recipes, or seen used on some of my favorite cooking shows but never found in any of our local chain grocery stores.
While I found great items on every aisle, the seafood department was possibly my favorite part of the whole store. First, it had the salty air smell that reminded me of home. Not a fishy smell – just salty – and a smell I personally found pleasant and nostalgic. I found a variety of seafood here – some fresh, some frozen – I have never seen offered in grocery stores or even the local seafood markets.
And then my eyes landed on a package of frozen conch meat. Conch meat! My mind and tastebuds went back to conch stew – similar to clam chowder – a dish I have not had since my childhood.
I grew up on Harkers Island, a small island on the outer banks of North Carolina. There is fisherman blood running on both sides of my parents’ families. My childhood in many ways revolved around the water and seafood. I grew up walking across the road to the “landing”, wading out into the water with a bucket, collecting scallops. At a pretty young age, I became fairly efficient at prying open and cleaning these scallops with nothing more than my hands and the saltwater, just so I could eat them raw! I can remember collecting what we called conchs – what I now know were most likely actually whelk shells. (Conch and whelk are very similar – this is a great article explaining the difference.)
I did not buy the conch meat during this first visit to H Mart but the thought of conch stew remained in the forefront of my mind for months. Because I was fairly young the last time I had conch stew, I knew next to nothing about how to actually make it. I remember a hammer was required to remove the conch from the shell and I knew it was a tougher meat, requiring a long simmer to be even the slightest bit tender. This did not stop me from buying the conch meat and planning out when I would attempt for the first time making conch stew.
I love learning something new when I’m cooking. Whether I’m using a new ingredient or a familiar ingredient in a new way or trying a new technique, or even when nothing is ‘new’ about the recipe, ingredients, or techniques, it brings me such satisfaction to learn something after finishing a dish. In making conch stew for the first time, I learned so much, and not all of it was just about cooking!
Fortunately, YouTube was very helpful in showing me how to clean conch meat. The frozen conch meat I bought was already out of the shell and mostly cleaned. There was nothing inedible left but I still had to do a little bit of prep to get the meat ready for how I wanted it. Cleaning, chopping, and tenderizing the conch meat was a lot of work! It took me an hour to prep just this little bit of meat. I cannot imagine how long it would have taken me if I had started with conch in the shell.
While I was Googling terms like “conch meat”, “how to clean conch”, “conch stew” and so on, the realization hit me that conch is a sea snail. This fact, while maybe I knew deep down somewhere as a kid, was definitely something I never consciously thought about. There have been times when the thought of eating escargot, snails, disgusted me. Not so much anymore. I like to think my tastes have improved as well my willingness to try new things, but now that I am very aware I enjoy eating “sea snails”, why not try escargot?
My mom gave us the “Island Born and Bred” cookbook as a wedding gift. This cookbook, compiled by the Harkers Island United Methodist Women, is part recipes, party storybook, and part history book. While I do not cook from it regularly, I love reading through it. In this particular situation, it was very helpful! There are two recipes for conch stew in this cookbook and my method ended up being a modified blend of both.
I knew conch stew to be a simple dish, as the majority of the seafood dishes I grew up on kept the seafood as the star with little added to it in most cases. But it was only when reading through the recipes for conch stew I learned just how basic the recipe actually is. Four main ingredients are required – conch meat, potatoes, pork fat, and water (plus salt and pepper) with the optional cornmeal or biscuit dumplings as an add-in.
When I thought about this short basic list of ingredients I imagined my ancestors – my great grandparents and beyond – making conch stew for their families, especially on my dad’s side of the family. My dad’s family (my great-grandfather Stacy Guthrie to be precise) was among the many Diamond City residents who removed their homes in sections and moved them by boat across the sound to Harkers Island after a hurricane in 1899 hit devastated the outer banks. These families made their living on the water – from fishing and whaling to boat building. It was a simple kind of life and the food they made truly represented that simplicity.
It was only when I made conch stew for the first time myself I realized this. I doubted and second-guessed the recipes during the entire process. Even after talking to my mom over the phone, asking questions about this and that, I still could not believe these simple ingredients were going to result in the flavors and comforts I remember.
And yet, three-plus hours later (counting the time it took my unskilled and inexperienced self to clean the conch meat), I tasted for the first time in probably over 30 years the exact flavors I remember.
I love cooking and the longer I do it, the braver I get with trying new things but I think this experience has changed how I look at food and recipes forever. I can appreciate the therapy I find in chopping a ton of veggies, stirring, searing, simmering, adding herbs, and tasting and adjusting. I can also appreciate allowing ingredients to stand on their own, with some patience and love and time, enjoying the food at its simplest.
For more information on the history of Harkers Island, the Core Sound Waterfowl Museum & Heritage Center is an excellent place to start – and the “Island Born and Bred” cookbook can still be purchased there!
While I did not measure out any of my ingredients, the process of my version of the conch stew is found below. And for the record, my kids both LOVED it!
[lt_recipe name=”Conch Stew” summary=”North Carolina Outer Banks Downeast style conch stew or conch chowder. Unfortunately few exact measurements – a true “eyeball it” type of recipe – this was my process making conch stew.” servings=”4″ total_time=”3H” print=”yes” image=”https://thefamilykitchentable.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/conch_stew-300×225.jpg” ingredients=”approx. 3 cups conch meat, cleaned and chopped into bite size pieces;pork leaf fat;3 medium potatoes, I used Yukon Gold, chopped same size as conch pieces;water;salt & pepper;1 T cornmeal;2 green onions, chopped, green parts only” ]Heat large heavy pot over medium heat and render the pork fat.;Add conch meat and stir, about 1 minute.;Add enough hot water to cover conch. Season with a good pinch of kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper.;Bring to boil, then lower heat and simmer, for about 1-1/2 hours, until conch is tender. The conch will continue to have a little bit of a bite or chew even when tender. Add more water as necessary to keep conch covered while cooking.;Add the potatoes and simmer until potatoes are fork tender.;Taste and add salt and pepper as needed.;To slightly thicken the broth, stir in 1-2 Tablespoons of cornmeal.;Stir in green onions before serving.[/lt_recipe]