Book excerpt: From Coho and sockeye to Dungeness and Kumamoto For thousands of years, the abundance of fish and shellfish in the Pacific Northwest created a seafood paradise for the Indigenous peoples hunting and gathering along the region’s pristine waterways, and, later, for the Chinese, Scandinavian, Filipino, and Japanese immigrants (along with many others), who have made this region home. Drawing on these diverse influences, the region fostered a cuisine that is as varied as its people, yet which remains specifically Northwestern. Here, food writer Naomi Tomky leads readers through an exploration of this cuisine. She starts with the basics of buying great-tasting and sustainable seafood, surveys the variety of seafood on offer—from stars like halibut and oysters to unsung heroes like lingcod and smelt—and shares 75 delicious recipes reflecting the people who live in the region today, including Red Curry Mussels, IPA-Battered Cod, Dungeness Crab Deviled Eggs, and Pink Scallop Ceviche. From the first cut of salmon, prized for its rich flavor and versatility, to the last crack of the sweet Dungeness crab, Tomky covers grilling, curing, and baking, and shares secrets for tricky tasks like removing pin bones and mussel beards. She explains how flavor-packed spot prawns put other shrimp to shame and why the region’s razor clams are unparalleled. For curious seafood rookies in search of the perfect fool-proof salmon and barnacled fish-cooking veterans looking for a new way to enjoy their favorite catch, The Pacific Northwest Seafood Cookbook is a must-have guide to cooking, and eating, the region. Including recipes from Tom Douglas, Shiro Kashiba, Bonnie Morales, Mutsuko Soma, Ethan Stowell, Jason Stratton, John Sundstrom, and more.