Spanish Language Lessons: Dining Out - Fish and Shellfish
By:thinkSPAIN/Guide , Monday, August 17, 2009
The warm summer evenings make dining out all the more appealing. Here are a few tips and translations to help you when ordering.
It's always worth asking whether fish is fresh (fresco) or frozen (congelado), e.g.: Is the tuna fresh? ¿El atún es fresco?
Are the prawns frozen? ¿Las gambas son congeladas?
There are many different ways that fish and shellfish can be prepared. Here are just a few examples that you might find on the menu:
frito = fried a la plancha = grilled a la sal = oven baked in coarse sea salt (the salt coating is then chipped off when served) al horno = oven baked con salsa de cava/setas = with a champagne/mushroom sauce hervido = boiled al vapor = steamed a la marinera = marinière
Two other very popular fish dishes are the parillada, which is a (usually very large) selection of grilled fish and shellfish and the
zarzuela, which is like the parillada but the fish is served in a thick sauce. These dishes often appear on the menu for two or more people
to share.
Before you hit the local restaurants this summer, see how good your grasp of the menu is by translating these sentences (Answers after the
English-Spanish words):
1. I'll have the sole in champagne sauce.
2. Steamed mussels for me.
3. Grilled crayfish, please.
4. Are the prawns fresh?
5. I'd like grilled swordfish.
6. Is the cuttlefish served in its ink or grilled?
7. Salt baked bream for two, please.
8. Salmon in cream and mushroom sauce.
9. Clams à la marinière to start with.
10. Do you have fried whitebait?
MARISCO
SEAFOOD
pechinas/tellinas
baby clams
almejas
clams
gambas
prawns
bogavante
lobster
cigalas
crayfish
mejillones
mussels
navajas
razor shells
ostras
oysters
langostinos
langoustines
cangrejo
crab
sepia
cuttlefish
calamares
squid
chipirones
baby squid
pulpo
octopus
escombros
battered baby squid
berberechos
cockles
PESCADO
FISH
merluza
hake
bacalao
cod*
salmón
salmon
mero
halibut
trucha
trout
dorada
bream
lenguado
sole
rodaballo
turbot
abadejo
haddock
rape
monkfish
pescaditos
whitebait
sardinas
sardines
atún
tuna
boquerones
fresh anchovies
emperador
swordfish
* Cod – unlike British cod, Spanish cod is almost always salted and has a completely different flavour and texture to what you might be used to in the UK, so
beware when ordering it!
Answers:
1. Yo quiero el lenguado con salsa de cava.
2. Mejillones al vapor para mí.
3. Cigalas a la plancha, por favor.
4. Las gambas son frescas?
5. Quiero el emperador a la plancha.
6. La sepia la sirven en su tinta o a la plancha?
7. Dorada a la sal para dos, por favor.
8. Salmón en salsa de nata y setas.
9. De entrante, almejas a la marinera.
10. ¿Tienen pescaditos fritos?
The warm summer evenings make dining out all the more appealing. Here are a few tips and translations to help you when ordering.
