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One Fish, Two Fish…

We are approaching what is probably, annually, the day of the largest fish consumption, worldwide, Good Friday. Fifty years or more ago, the stipulation to eat seafood on certain days through the Lenten season was considered a sacrifice requiring some effort. Now with improved freezing methods, modern air transport and aquaculture, fish is plentifully available everywhere. Moreover, we are increasingly health conscious and aware of the benefits of fish in our diet. Yet, I am still surprised at how little we actually know about seafood in general, especially when choosing what to purchase for dinner.

For more complete information my book All About Seafood is available on the blog Bookshelf. See the box at the right. Also for information and lots of recipes visit this Blog Site’s Archives for Feb.21 & 28, Mar.7 Apr. 11 and Sept.25 in 2013 and Apr. 23, 2014.

Several weeks ago, I took advantage of a supermarket’s sale on frozen fish. In the checkout line a woman whose cart was loaded with frozen flounder, glanced in my cart, and asked what I was going to do with so many varieties. The conversation spread to the clerk and other customers and it became clear that they were willing to try new things but they wanted direction not only in preparing but also in purchasing. It’s one thing to order something new from a menu but another to buy and cook it at home, without knowing a little about it.

I understand where they’re coming from. Due to improved transport and freezing facilities, plus the rise of “fish farming” globally, over the past thirty years an increasing variety of seafood has come to market. Often the names are “PR” related for sales. For example Bronzino, or Branzino is one of the many European names for sea bass, given to distinguish it from the American Big Mouth Bass. That again is a bit misleading, because species of sea bass can exist in either salt or fresh water, and are cultivated in Europe for food. The plain old bottom line is you may have bought it with an exotic name as an import, but serve it in any recipe for bass.

Sometimes even the fish mongers are not sure, especially in supermarkets where they don’t control the stock. The first time I saw Bronzino I was told it was a white fish from South America. The best thing to do is to research the item on the internet. Then look up recipes by the common name and the one by which you bought it. You find, as in the case of bass, general recipes, but also new choices under the sales name from the country of export.

Old products appear under new names as well. My Grandmother came from an inland, mountainous state, and recalled the only fish they sometimes had in mid-winter was “Salt Cod” served in a cream sauce with potatoes. It was almost impossible to find for her in the mid-fifties, especially since we lived in a coastal city. Now, it’s everywhere but sold as Baccala, and one main presentation is just as Nana remembered.

Some fish are sold under the same name, but taste quite different. Pollock is one of these. Alaskan Pollock, from the Bering Sea, is the sweet, mild, white, flakey fish used commercially to prepare oven-ready often breaded sticks and fillets. Norwegian Pollock, from the North Atlantic is tougher with a taste more like cod and the species most often sold in fish counters or frozen raw.

Tilapia appeared on menus in the late 80s, and is probably the most common of the newer species of seafood available to us. I recall first being told it was from Israel. Actually it’s native to Africa, but has a long history of being introduced to other countries, for example Japan, as a food source. It’s a large fish which breeds well, grows fast and can tolerate any type of water, fresh, brackish or salt and easily adapts to environments. Tilapia have caused some problems is escaping from controlled areas and eating the aquatic plants other species need, but when introduced to the Saltan Sea it proved to be one of the few species able to tolerate the salinity and is now critical to the ecology. Few food sources are as globally sustainable as tilapia

Mild tasting with a semi-firm white flesh, tilapia is as adaptable in the kitchen as it is to its environment. Nearly every cuisine has several recipes for it or suggests it as a replacement for another similar fish such as flounder. If one is starting an acquaintance with any of the newer types of seafood to be found in the markets, tilapia is a good place to begin.

Another confusing point is buying fish is the question of salt water vrs. fresh water and if there really is a difference. Well biologically there is. Fresh water fish have more salt in their bodies. Since water constantly flows through their bodies through the gills and skin they don’t need to drink any, and their kidneys help maintain the correct balance by releasing large amounts of diluted urine.

Salt water fish have less salt in their tissues than exists in the surrounding water. The salt in their environment draws the water from their bodies and forces them to drink large amounts to maintain a healthy balance. They secrete the salt through their gills and the kidneys produce only small amounts of concentrated urine which contains Urea. Animals have this too. It binds nitrogenous waste to prevent it turning into poisonous ammonia within the body. It is expelled through urine. Because salt water fish kidneys contain concentrated amounts of urine, they must be removed soon after catch or the urea will leech into the flesh. Sharks are an exception. To maintain a healthy balance with their environment, they store urea in their blood. Sharks caught for food supply should be bled as well as soon as gaffed or the ammonia will taste and spoil their meat. If you are buying or have ordered salt water fish and smell or taste a tinge of ammonia, reject it.

Otherwise the difference is simply a matter of taste, because many species are interchangeable in recipes, especially Asian ones. Size also matters. Fresh water fish tend generally, to be smaller and hence, less able to be cut into steaks, which can better tolerate harsher cooking methods, grilling, stewing or made into chowders. There’s a chart below which indicates taste and texture differences of fish categories. Learn them and if you see an unfamiliar name in the fish display, ask the monger what that fish resembles. The answer will give you a good idea not only of whether it fits your preference but also of how to cook it.

I grew up in a resort town on a barrier island. Fish was plentiful and usually prepared to highlight its freshness; just broiled or baked with butter and lemon. Well, restaurants sprang up and now these simple presentations are the most expensive, because they require the best cuts. On the other hand the great variety of other preparations on the menus shows the versatility of seafood and how much we have come to enjoy it in all different ways from many cuisines. There’s no reason not to extend that pleasure to our own dining tables.
Categories of Fish

Occasionally a recipe asks for a fish that isn’t available that day. Substitutions can be made within the fish type. For example:
A. Full flavored with firm meaty texture and high in omega-3 fatty acids :
tuna, marlin, swordfish, shark
B. Mild tasting, lean, fine flake and sweet flavor:
Sole, flounder, tilapia, halibut, orange roughy
C. Mild tasting, lean, large flake, and sweet flavor:
Cod, haddock, bass, rockfish, ocean perch,
D. Firm, moderate flavor and medium oil content:
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E. Rich oily fish, firm flake and medium to strong flavor depending on species:
Salmon, wild or farmed, trout, artic char, steelhead
Some Recipes to Get You Started
:
COCONUT CRUSTED TILAPIA
4 Tilapia filets – about 1lb
1 cup plain Panko
½ cup sweetened coconut flakes – toasted
½ cup + mayonnaise
Lemon pepper
Step I- Preheat oven to 350 degs. Toast coconut on a piece of foil until golden, about 4 mins. watching that edges don’t burn. When cool mix with Panko.
Step 2 – Place fish on a lightly oiled cooking surface, a pan or baking sheet. Completely cover the tops with a thin sheet of mayonnaise, more like a veneer. Dust lightly with lemon pepper.
Step 3 – Sprinkle with Panko-coconut mix, and bake 8 mins. per 1 inch width of filet, until top is golden, fish puffs slightly and edges bubble. Serve at once
Note: I put the breading mix in an empty herb bottle with a shaker top. It’s easy to apply, and any extra can simply be stored in the bottle.
Mediterranean Bronzino;
This is a delicious way to cook fish and a wonderful way to serve vegetables. Mackerel is originally recommended but I find the technique works well with almost any skinned fish fillet, even a white fish like Tilapia or flounder. I use a variety of vegetables, cut beans, broccoli, usually peppers and always onions. For the tomatoes, anything goes, leftover sauce, any type fresh or canned. I allow for at least 1 ½ cups cooked vegetables, per portion.
Microwave the diced raw onions, peppers and any others you’re using in a bit of oil for 1 min. Add any frozen ones and cook 1 min. more. Mix with any cooked items and the tomatoes or tomato sauce. Put in a pan, cover with the fish fillet. Lightly spray the fish with cooking oil and sprinkle with a little lemon pepper and paprika. Bake at 350 deg. 8 min. per 1 inch width of the fillet-about 20-24 min. until fish flakes and vegetables bubble. Serve at once while very hot.
This is excellent with rice, or an ear of corn or a potato, split, microwaved until just soft, split and broiled with a thin coating of butter until golden.

Mahi-Mahi This Hawaiian fish loves a tropical touch—reference Tuna
4 fillets of fish 8oz. each
2 tsp. sesame oil
4 Tbs. sesame seeds
2 Tbs. oil
2 cups pineapple chunks or melon cubes
2 Tbs. diced onion
2 Tbs. Diced green pepper
½ cup cilantro chopped ( good but optional)
Juice of a lime
Combine last 5 ingredients in a bowl to make salsa and chill. Rub each fillet with the sesame oil, sprinkle one side with the sesame seeds and press them in. Heat 2 Tbs. oil in a skillet and cook for 4 min. Turn and cook another 3-5 min. depending on the thickness of the fillets until just opaque. Serve hot with the salsa.

If you don’t feel comfortable experimenting with a new recipe and a new type of fish, try the recipe with a fish you’ve cooked before, or an old recipe with a familiar type of fish.

Join us next week for a look at Easter Brunch—-

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