Oysters from Bluff, New Zealand and Nam Jim Dressing

Not everybody likes Oysters, it is that either you love them or you hate them, there is nothing between, straight forward. I love them, I really do. Yes they are glibbery and wobbly things, but boy, a really fresh oyster is something amazing to eat.. Now being in Bluff, I had to get the local Oysters for our ship, there is just no way around it. Bluff is the Mecca of Oysters in New Zealand, they are highly priced and absolutely delicious.

But now, where is Bluff? If you take a New Zealand map and go all the way south, so far that there is nothing else to come.....that is where Bluff is, at the end of New Zealand. Even so the residents of Bluff will certainly disagree as Bluff is actually the oldest European settlement in New Zealand

We have just come back from Antarctica and are now on the way north, just dropping off all our passengers. We will have a charter cruise now and everybody will arrive in Christchurch, so we have 2 days time to clean and scrub every little part of the galley clean

Bluff from the ship

Many years ago the Bluff Oyster was like raked up from the bottom of the sea and lots of nature had been destroyed, but since many years there are strict regulations and the oyster farming is now strictly monitored. A lot of damage had been done, but now nature has slowly time to recover, but it will still take a long time till everything is back the way it was

The tiny town of Bluff

The Bluff Oyster is more of a round oyster, sand colored and nice and fleshy. The taste is.....a little salty, fresh and fantastic. It has some lovely creaminess, is just a little chewy and delicious

There are many ways to serve an oyster. I like them raw, but with a little additional flavor, so here we serve them with a little cucumber salad and then of course the lemon and some Nam Jim Dressing, a Vietnamese dressing

Here is the recipe for the Nam Jim, a very nice dressing, it is really complementing the Oysters

1	knob	Ginger
3	ea	Gloves Garlic
3	ea	Chili red
3	ea	Shallots
1	knob	Galangal or Ginger
3	ea	Coriander roots
5	ea	Lime juice
3	tblsp	Fish sauce
3	tblsp	Palm Sugar, light

With a mortar and pestle pound all the roots and herbs

till a fine paste

Gradually add lime juice, fish sauce and palm sugar

When combined, pass liquid through a fine strainer

and check balance of sweetness, saltiness and spice

adjust if necessary