Your complete guide to keeping seafood fresh for weeks/months without freezer burn or "fishy smell"
With CNY coming and customers wanting to avoid the peak prices, it is wise to store fresh seafood in advance. Good news: you don't need any complicated tools to freeze seafood properly.
Why seafood goes "bad" in the freezer (even when it's frozen)
A lot of people think "Frozen means forever".
However, freezer problems usually come from 3 things:
1. Air exposure (Freezer Burn)
Air dries out the surface of the seafood and causes:
- white/grey patches
- dry texture
- "old freezer smell"
2. Too much water (Ice Crystals)
Water turns into ice crystals that can damage the flesh, causing:
- soft/mushy fish
- prawns that feel "watery"
- seafood that breaks apart easily
3. Re-freezing
When seafood is thawed and frozen again, texture drops fast. It becomes:
- rubbery
- mushy
- "not fresh taste"
So the goal is simple: keep it cold, dry, air-tight, and portioned.
Follow these 5 steps & your seafood will be able to be kept fresh for months! Tested and proven by our own customers.
Step 1: Unpack Immediately
Once your seafood delivery arrives:
- open the bag/foam box
- make sure everything is cold
- don't leave it sitting outside while you do other things
Even if your house is air-conditioned, seafood warms up faster than you think.
Best practice:
Separate what you want to eat today and keep the rest for freezing. If you plan to consume any of it the next day or the day after, you may keep them in the fridge.
Step 2: Pat everything dry
This is a big one.
Before freezing:
- use kitchen towel/paper towel
- pat dry the seafood surface
- remove excess water from packaging
Why? Because less water = less ice crystals = better texture.
This helps especially for fillets & squid.
For clams, if you do not intend to consume them on the same day, purge them for 30-60 minutes in salted cold water, rinse clean, drain dry, then pack airtight before freezing.
For best quality, steam first then freeze with a bit of broth. (advice from our restaurant chef customers)
Step 3: Portion it
Don't freeze one big block of seafood unless you're 100% sure you'll use it all at once.
Portion it into meal sizes like:
- salmon fillet: 150-200g per pack
- prawns: 10-15 pcs per pack
- fish slices for steamboat/for baby porridge: 1 portion per pack
This is one of our unique selling points: customisability of portion sizes across all the fillets! Let us help you save some time.
Why portioning matters:
- you avoid thawing more than needed, reducing re-freezing risk
Step 4: Double-pack to prevent freezer burn
This is the main "secret weapon"
Best option: Vacuum Sealing
If you have a vacuum sealer at home, that's the best. Otherwise, you can select vacuum sealing during checkout (for fillets only!)
Next best option: ziploc + remove air + another outer layer
- put seafood into a ziploc bag
- squeeze out as much air as possible
- flatten it (freezes faster and more evenly)
- put ziploc into a second bag/container
This double layer helps:
- block out air
- prevent smell mixing inside freezer
- stop "freezer taste"
Tip: (from our dear customer)
If you're using a ziploc, you can use the water displacement trick:
- seal bag almost fully
- dip bag into water (water pushes air out)
- seal the last part
Step 5: Label everything (don't guess later)
This step sounds small, but it makes a HUGE difference.
Use a sticker/marker and write:
- seafood type
- date received
- portion size
Otherwise in 3 weeks, everything may look the same.
How long can they last in the freezer?
This depends on your freezer, and how well you pack it.
Here's a realistic best quality guide:
- salmon/saba/mackerel (fatty fish) (1-2 mths)
- white fish (cod/threadfin/grouper/snapper) (2-3 mths)
- prawns (2-3 mths) (if you REALLY pack it well. a number of our customers bought CNY ang kar prawns in december and said the prawns were still top tier)
- shellfish (clams/mussels/scallops) (1-2 mths) (clams if you cook first)
Seafood can still be safe beyond this timeline if properly frozen and kept at stable temperature. But for the best sweetness/texture? Stick to the guide above.
That concludes the guide! Curious what the best way to thaw seafood is, or how to store your seafood for BBQ/steamboats? We have more guides for you!