You either like seafood or you don’t. My boys and I love almost anything out of the ocean – but my husband won’t have any of it. (Unless it’s battered, fried and served with chips and vinegar. So, basically, no seafood.)

Since the boys and I love seafood, I make this dish when the hubby is working late and we’re short on time. It’s so easy, fast and flexible on the variation of flavours you can create.

What you need:

– 1 pound of frozen mixed seafood (premixed bags available in the freezer section)
– 3 tablespoons butter
– salt and pepper
– 1 clove of garlic or 1 teaspoon garlic powder
– rice (here’s our fool-proof rice)

What you do:

Prepare rice and set aside. You can use plain rice or take this up a notch by making lemongrass rice, ginger rice or even curry rice. It’s easy to flavour rice, just add a teaspoon or two of your favourite spice to the water when you cook your rice. Or, if you prefer, toss the cooked rice with some soy.

In a frying pan over high heat, melt the butter and add salt, pepper and garlic. When it’s melted, add the mixed seafood. Most grocery stores carry bags of frozen mixed seafood. I always keep a bag in the freezer for this meal. Our mix has shrimp, mussels, calamari and octopus. Yes, my boys love all of these. You can pick your favourite mix.

There will be some water coming off of the frozen seafood. Let the seafood boil in it until the liquid boils off. You may want to turn down the heat when it’s almost boiled off, or watch carefully and keep tossing to ensure it doesn’t burn.

Top off rice with mixed seafood and serve.

This recipe is very basic, garlic goes with most seafood, but try different flavours:

Coconut curry: Substitute butter for coconut oil and add a heaping teaspoon of curry paste or curry powder to the mix.

Jerk seafood: I have a great jerk spice mix and add a heaping tablespoon to the mix. Note that frying cayenne can cause burning eyes and hurts to breath in, so watch carefully and don’t burn the mixture. I add the jerk seasoning when the liquid is almost boiled off and toss for 20 seconds before removing from heat and serving.

Blackbean garlic sauce: If you’re a fan of blackbean garlic sauce, then you know the jar and have one in the fridge for just such an occasion. When the liquid is reducing, turn down the heat to medium and add two heaping tablespoons to the pan and mix well.

I think I’m going to look for a Spanish Paella version next. Give it a try and let us know what your fave is!