Snapper

Chicken, seafood, glass noodles, and vegetables get briefly poached in dashi-based broth. Cutting the ingredients into uniform pieces ensures they cook in the same amount of time.

Crispy oven-roasted fish gets a healthy upgrade with quinoa flakes instead of bread crumbs.

How to pull off an elegant, effortless date night? Make the rich seafood broth the day before, then sear a couple pieces of fish and reheat the stew during the cocktail hour.

"Oven-fried" fish fingers, coated in panko and pumpkin seeds, are the perfect taco filling.

The type of fish you use is less important than its quality. Black bass, striped bass, and fluke all translate well; ask your fish guy for what's freshest.

Most fish markets will sell you the bones you need to make the rich broth, but avoid those from oily fish like mackerel or bluefish, which will overpower the stew's flavor.

Grunts are a fish you'll probably never see on a menu and will most definitely never see at a fish market, especially on the West Coast. But as Charlie knows, they inhabit every dock, marina, pier, reef, and any other underwater structure in southern Florida. Because they are considered vastly inferior in taste to their snapper relatives, they're targeted for quick and easy meals by the fishermen in the Florida keys, where this breakfast dish originates. Considering grunt is largely unavailable (and truthfully, Charlie says, isn't very good), here we substitute small fillets of snapper or rockfish. This is an incredible dish—full or rich and spicy flavors, with a wild array of textures, from the pillow of creamy grits to searing fish to the crisp bacon. The classic accompaniment to grits and grunts is cheap beer, but coffee works, too.

Chef Kris Wessel of Florida Cookery in Miami Beach, Florida, shared this recipe as part of a Palm Tree Christmas menu he created exclusively for Epicurious. Look for firm fish with bright eyes and red gills, Wessel says. It should smell sweet, not fishy. If you prefer to grill the snapper, see the Cooks' note for cooking times.

This recipe calls for a whole gutted fish. You can also substitute 8 (7-ounce) fish fillets, if preferred. Just be sure to reduce the cooking time to about 20 minutes. This recipe is part of the Epicurious Online Cooking School, in partnership with the Culinary Institute of America. To watch it being made, and to learn how to make other Mexican classics, check out the videos.

With a dish this simple, you need the freshest possible fish—and good technique. Score the flesh down to the bone to encourage even cooking, and be patient when making the first turn: If you oil the grill grate well and give the fish time to cook through, the skin won't stick.

Fresh, clean flavors define these grilled fish tacos. The cabbage is also a potent cancer fighter. Set out the fish and toppings (use a melon baller to scoop avocado into neat balls), and let guests assemble their own tacos.

Unlike Baja fish tacos, which are deep-fried in batter, those made Maui-style are grilled. In all my travels, whenever I’m near the ocean—whether it’s in Hawaii, Mexico, Alaska, Thailand, or Australia—there has always been a small stand somewhere that serves the local catch in an affordable, portable (usually grilled) form. One of my funniest fish taco experiences occurred in a small town in Alaska where we had stopped for supplies during a sailing trip through Prince William Sound. There in front of us was an old school bus painted in bright, tropical colors now converted to a walk-up kitchen selling, of all things—Maui tacos! We were a long way from Hawaii, but the methods were the same—the local catch (salmon and crab, in this case), simply grilled and served with salsa on fresh tortillas. To reduce the heat of this dish, you can substitute Tabasco for the habanero hot sauce. If necessary, to prevent the pieces of snapper from falling through the grill grate into the fire, use a seafood grilling screen. The pineapple can be grilled ahead, if you prefer, and held at room temperature. Both the pineapple and snapper can also be grilled indoors on a nonstick ridged grill pan. For the pineapple use medium heat, 5 minutes per side; for the fish, very high heat, 3 to 4 minutes per side.

This is a very basic and traditional ceviche from coastal Peru. There is an ongoing argument in South America about who first invented ceviche, with both the Peruvians and Ecuadorans vying for credit. The Pacific Ocean fisheries that run along the western coasts of these two countries are the most productive in the world. They are the meeting place of some of the greatest deep-sea currents that bring the Arctic waters, full of life, to the surface for feeding the large schools of migratory fish. This recipe is a great way to enjoy the bounty of the sea while still preserving the integrity of the flavors. Try serving these tacos in smaller crispy shells. Guacamole, avocado slices, or diced boiled potatoes are traditional garnishes used to subdue the spicy effect of the chiles.