Cook bacon in butter, remove. Sauté garlic, deglaze with white wine, make roux. Add stock, simmer potato, carrots and bacon 10 min. Add cream, corn, fish sauce, pepper, raw seafood – simmer 3 min. Stir in cooked seafood, taste for salt. Serve!
Marinara mix – Separate cooked seafood (usually mussels, sometimes prawns/shrimp) from raw seafood. We put them in at different times.
Cut any large pieces of fish into 2.5cm / 1" cubes.
Bacon – In a heavy-based pot, melt the butter over medium heat. Add bacon and cook for 3 – 4 minutes until the edges are light golden. Use a slotted spoon to remove into bowl, leaving fat in the pot.
Deglaze – Add the garlic and cook for 10 seconds (don't let it brown). Add the wine, simmer rapidly on high for 3 minutes, scraping the base to loosen any golden bacon bits, until the wine is mostly evaporated.
Roux – Reduce heat down to medium, add the flour and mix for 1 minute ("roux").
Broth – While stirring, pour in about 1 cup of the stock and mix to dissolve the roux – it will thicken into a paste. Add the remaining stock and stir well until lump free (use a whisk if needed).
Simmer 10 minutes – Increase heat to high, bring to the boil, add the carrots, potatoes and bacon. Lower heat to medium and simmer for 10 – 12 minutes, or until the carrots are just about done.
Simmer raw seafood 3 minutes – Add the cream, fish sauce, pepper, corn and raw seafood. Simmer for 3 minutes until the fish is just cooked (test – flesh should flake).
Cooked seafood – Stir in cooked seafood, taste and add more salt if needed (I don't).
Serve – Ladle into bowls, sprinkle with chives. Serve with warm crusty bread for dunking!
