Cooking Our Catch: Fresh Fish Meals for a Family of Six at Sea

Have you ever wondered what we eat as six hungry sailors on board? Well, first of all, we eat LOTS. Second, we actually eat a heap of veggies. Third, we love it when we catch and eat fish.

Does that make any sense? Maybe.

Now, the key thing there is — we love fish. And when we catch one, there are several favourite meals that everyone gets excited about. Today, I wanted to tell you what those meals are!

If you’ve ever wondered how to cook freshly caught fish (especially on a boat!), these are our absolute go-to fresh fish meals.

#1 Sushi

Always a favourite — I have to start with this! For us, sushi means ten rolls, likely the whole fish, and three to four cups of rice… a LOT of sushi.

Making sushi on a boat is actually super simple:

 - Cut the raw fish into thin, long slices.

 - Slice some veggies thinly — cucumber, carrot, and red onion.

 - Cook the rice and let it cool completely before stirring through some rice wine vinegar.

 - Grab the sushi paper and start rolling! The strategy here is to lay out the sushi paper,  spread on the rice, add the fish and veggies in a strip through the middle, then roll it as tight as you can without breaking the paper.

And voilà — repeat ten times, cut into sushi-sized slices, and watch it disappear.

If you want the full recipe, let me know.

Another thing we sometimes do if we want to change it up is make “popcorn fish” (dip the fish in cornstarch and then fry it in a pan with oil) and use that in the sushi. This is especially good if you’re not a fan of raw fish.

Okay, next is…

#2 Sashimi

You know those super thinly sliced, bite-sized pieces of perfect raw fish that melt in your mouth? That’s sashimi.

Now, almost every time we eat this, we say it’s the best way to have fish — and honestly, it probably is. I mean, there’s something about not touching the fish other than slicing it that makes it so good.

Our favourite way to eat sashimi is simply dipped in mayonnaise and tamari (or soy sauce)… and wasabi if you’re feeling brave. We usually eat two plates along with sushi or as an entrée before another dinner.

The best fish we’ve used for sashimi are yellowfin tuna, bigeye tuna, wahoo, and mackerel. We’ve tried it with almost every fish we catch, but I think wahoo is winning… mmmm, I’m dribbling just thinking about it!

If you’re looking for simple raw fish recipes, sashimi is hard to beat.

#3 Ceviche and Poisson Cru

These two dishes are similar — and yet different. Both are based on cubed raw fish mixed with fresh veggies.

The difference is what you marinate it in and how it tastes.

Ceviche is tangy and fresh and goes really well with chips, on a taco, or served over rice. It originated in Latin America but can be found worldwide. The best we’ve tried would have to be in Mexico — they serve it everywhere there, and it’s delicious! We’ve learned to make it ourselves as well, and it’s become a favourite on board.

The second marinated fish dish we love is called Poisson Cru. We were first properly introduced to it in French Polynesia when a local made it for us — and it’s divine. Instead of just lime juice (like in ceviche), poisson cru uses fresh coconut milk as well. This gives it a lighter taste, and somehow the lime and coconut just work so well together.

If you enjoy fresh, zesty fish dishes, you have to try some kind of marinated fish.

#4 Fish Poke Bowls

A poke bowl, explained simply, is a bowl of rice topped with veggies and protein, usually served with mayonnaise and soy sauce.

A fish poke bowl is exactly that — with fresh fish! There are so many variations we love to make, and it’s totally a go-to meal whenever we catch fish.

Here are our top three fish poke bowls:

1. Grilled Tuna Poke Bowl
Finn is a pro at this, and wow — it’s hard to beat. He keeps it simple: either on the BBQ or in a pan, he grills the tuna with oil, plenty of salt, pepper, and a shake of chilli flakes. Yummmmmm!

2. Popcorn Fish Poke Bowl
I explained popcorn fish earlier — cornstarch-coated and fried. It’s delicious on its own, but when you add it to rice and fresh salad? Pretty epic.

3. Ceviche Poke Bowl
Just as it sounds — we make ceviche and serve it on top of rice, usually with fresh salad or maybe roasted sweet potato… depends how we’re feeling and what we have on board!

There you have it… poke bowls for the win.

Final Thoughts

These are our favourite go-to fish meals. I hope you enjoyed reading about them and even feel inspired to try a few yourself.

With six of us on board, we often eat a whole fish in one sitting — and add to that the fact that we are definitely hit-and-miss fishermen. You can understand why, whenever we catch one, it’s a celebratory occasion and everyone gets excited.

That’s when these easy fresh fish recipes come in especially handy.

But even if you’re not catching your own fish and are buying it from a local market instead, these meals are 100% ready to be tried by you.

We’d love to know your thoughts. Have you tried any of these meals? Do you like raw fish or prefer it cooked? How many hungry people do you usually cook for?

Let us know in the comments!