It’s been a little while since I’ve had a good bowl of chowder. This weekend while I was at the market with my husband, I noticed Dungeness crab was on sale for an incredible price. Unable to pass up on such a great deal, I had to grab one.

I already had a healthy supply of wild British Columbia Spot Prawns on hand. Wild West Coast Seafoods was selling them at the Langley Community Farmer’s Market, and I purchased a pound without hesitation when I noticed them. I decided to continue using a local approach with the rest of the ingredients in this chowder, and it did not disappoint!

This chowder is loaded with wild sockeye salmon, mussels, clams, scallops, prawns, Dungeness  crab, and extra thick smoky bacon. I got my inspiration for this dish from a local Vancouver cookbook, “Vancouver Eats”, which breaks down the recipes for some of the best restaurants in the city.

In this book I learned that at Hook Seafood Bar, they thicken their seafood chowder with mashed potatoes, not flour or cornstarch. I was curious about this new method, and decided to give it a try! The result was delicious.

This chowder is loaded to the brim with some of my favourite seafood! But, one of the great things about chowder is its versatility. If you don’t like crab, swap it out for something else! If you love scallops, feel free to add some more! No matter what type of seafood you put in this recipe, it’s going to taste good.