Something Fishy, and the Weekly Specials with Mary Anne

Kroger has meat on sale this week. Bumble Bee Tuna is 59 cents for a 5 ounce can. Boneless pork loin is $1.89 a pound. Don’t forget you can slice it into boneless pork chops if you want to. Ground beef (73% lean, in three pound chubs for $5.97) is $1.99 a pound. They also have celery for 99 cents a head and Roma tomatoes for 99 cents a pound.

Marsh has iceberg lettuce for 99 cents a head and frozen whole bone-in turkey breasts for 99 cents a pound.

Aldi has four-pound bags of oranges for $1.99. Strawberries are $1.49 for a one-pound box. Grapefruit are 39 cents each. Pineapples are $1.49 each. Bananas are 44 cents a pound. Cantaloupe are $1.89 each. Nonfat plain or vanilla yogurt is $1.79 a quart (32 ounces).

IGA has Roma tomatoes for 99 cents a pound.

I expected corned beef and cabbage to be on sale this week, but they’re not. Well, Aldi and Marsh both have corned beef for $1.99 a pound, but there should be better prices next week for St. Patrick’s Day.

The best deal this week is probably the hamburger, but it’s still pretty expensive when you consider how much shrinkage there is. Besides which, I can’t think of anything special to do with it and didn’t find any recipes that looked enticing. Anyway, you probably have lots of hamburger recipes of your own.

So it looks like we’re back to the Swai (catfish) fillets at Kroger. They still had them for $1.29 a pound when I was there about a week ago. That’s their regular price, and it’s about half the cost of the next cheapest fish anywhere in town. It’s easier to use fish fillets or steaks unless you’re making fish soup, but for the difference in price, I’m willing to fiddle with the nuggets.

When I lived in Northern California, I lived right on the coast. I could see the tops of the fishing boats from my office windows. Salmon was big around there, both with sports fishermen and commercial fishermen. I was fortunate to have some friends who were avid (and successful!) salmon fishermen, and I ate a lot more of it than I would have if I had had to buy it. My favorite way of cooking the salmon was my friend’s method of marinating it in soy sauce, brown sugar and fresh ginger. I suppose it’s sort of a teriyaki treatment. It works for other fish, too, as in this recipe for SWAI NUGGETS A LA HILDA AND HOWARD. I’m not sure how much the soy sauce, brown sugar or ginger cost, but I’m guessing that the total cost of this is about $3.40.

Something that Hilda used to serve with the fish was STIR-FRIED CARROTS, BROCCOLI AND MUSHROOMS. Unfortunately, none of them are on sale this week, but maybe you have some left from when they were? Anyway, the fish is cheap enough that we can have the veggies even though they’re not on sale. At non-sale prices, the vegetables will run about $2.50, for a total cost of about $5.90, or just under $1.50 per person for four people. 

If you’ve ever watched Chopped on the Food Network, or other shows of that type, you’ve probably heard that fish and cheese just don’t go together. I don’t know how many times I’ve heard Scott Conant criticize a contestant for using fish and cheese in the same dish. Fortunately, we’re not on competing for $10,000 so we can do whatever we want! BAKED COD WITH BOURSIN HERB CHEESE calls for both Boursin (an expensive herbed cheese – see the copycat recipe to make your own) and Parmesan. If you make your own Boursin herbed cheese, this will cost about $4.50. Half a head of lettuce is about 50 cents, and say another 25 cents for some dressing. Half a pineapple would be another 75 cents, bringing the total to $6.00, or $1.50 per person for four people. Half a cantaloupe instead of the pineapple would be 95 cents, bringing the total to $6.20, or $1.55 per person.

As far as I can tell, I haven’t talked about one of my favorite ways to fix fish. Don’t know why I haven’t. It’s good and easy and cheap. It’s sort of like Fish Florentine, which is a fancy name for fish with spinach. There are two steps to it. Well, three, I guess. You make CREAMED SPINACH and you make TILAPIA WITH GARLIC BUTTER (except at my house it’s more likely to be Swai nuggets than tilapia fillets) and then you combine them to make GARLIC BUTTER FISH WITH CREAMED SPINACH. The fish will cost about $3.10 and the creamed spinach will cost about $3.00, so it will come to about $6.10 for four servings, which is just barely over my goal of $6.00, or $1.50 per person. Oh, well. If you use just 1 pound 15 ounces of fish, you’ll come in under $6.00. Chances are the packages of fish won’t come in at exactly two pounds anyway. The servings are big, and you don’t need anything to go with it. That’s the way I eat it anyway. Just a big serving of fish with creamed spinach.

Herbs and Spices and Fish Stew

Remember last week, when I gave you a couple of recipes for Chicken Wings? Well, wings are on sale this week at IGA in Ellettsville and Bedford - $1.29 a pound. 14-ounce bags of frozen meatballs are 99 cents each. Eckrich Cotto Salami, Sliced Bologna, and Franks are $1.00 for a 16-ounce (1 pound) package. (Some of the franks are in 12-ounce packages.) Broccoli and cauliflower are both two for $4.00, or $2.00 each. How good a price this is depends on how big the heads are. Both make great dippers instead of chips. “Jumbo” lemons and limes are two for $1.00, or 50 cents each. 5-pound bags of red potatoes are two for $5.00, or $2.50 each, or 50 cents a pound. Friday and Saturday (January 31 and February 1) only, 1-pound bags of baby peeled carrots and pints of grape tomatoes are 99 cents each.

Kroger has asparagus for $1.49 a pound and sour cream for $1.00 a pint. Pears are 99 cents a pound, as are Roma tomatoes and jalapeno peppers.

Aldi has organic baby carrots for $1.29 a pound and organic grape tomatoes for $1.49 a pint. Those aren’t bad prices even for regular unorganic baby carrots and grape tomatoes. Cucumbers are 99 cents for a three pack, mushrooms are 99 cents for 8 ounces, and broccoli crowns are 99 cents for a one pound package. Celery is 89 cents a head. All of these make good dippers, too. Avocados are 49 cents each. Avocados are really good for you and go great in a lot of Mexican dishes.

It’s not a very inspiring bunch of specials this week. Seems like a lot of the “specials” are prepared and processed foods and drinks for watching the Super Bowl. Check last week’s column about how to keep the cost of your Super Bowl down to a reasonable level. Of course, the actual prices will be different this week, but most of what I said still applies.

Since the specials didn’t give me any ideas for what to talk about, I’m going to talk about seasonings (herbs and spices, mostly) and three recipes for fish soup. Kroger still has Swai (catfish) nuggets for either $1.29 or $1.39 a pound, or at least the store near Seminary Park did when I checked there about a week ago. Or you could use the catfish fillets that the HUB has had recently instead of the nuggets.

The three fish soups are very similar, although they come from all across the globe. All are made with Swai (catfish) nuggets (though that’s not the fish in the original recipe – I substituted Swai for the more expensive types of fish called for) and all have onion, tomatoes, pepper and garlic. They’re very similar – but they’re also very different! The difference is in the seasonings. I hope it will inspire you to vary your menus with different herbs and spices.

I’ll get to the recipes in a minute, but first I want to talk about herbs and spices. They can be hideously expensive, especially if you have to buy a whole jar and only need a tiny bit. However, BUYING IN BULK can bring the cost way down.

The first recipe, BRAZILIAN SEAFOOD STEW, originally called for shrimp in addition to cod, striped bass, or snapper. What makes it different from the others is coconut milk and lime juice. I come up with a cost of about $4.00 for this, depending mostly on how much the green onions and cilantro cost. You’d lose the visual effect, but you could substitute a fourth of a cup of chopped onion for the green onion. If you don’t want to spring for fresh cilantro, you could use Italian parsley instead, though I’m not sure it’s any cheaper. Or you could use a couple of tablespoons of dried cilantro. Be sure it’s the leaf, not the seeds. Just be aware that you’re losing some of the ethnic flavor of Brazil by not using fresh cilantro. However, it should make a good fish stew anyway, even if it’s not very Brazilian. This looks like it should make about six cups, or four servings of about a cup and a half each. That seems a bit skimpy for a main dish soup, without something to go with it. You could add another pound of Swai nuggets, bringing the cost up to about $5.40 and the servings up to about two cups each. How about some cucumbers in sour cream to go with it? Or leave the fish at one pound, and have devilled eggs and carrots and celery (or maybe some broccoli or cauliflower) with ranch dressing. Either way, the total cost of the meal would be around $6.00, or $1.50 per person.

The second recipe is for CARIBBEAN FISH CHOWDER. The original recipe called for shrimp and clams in addition too generic “fish fillets.” What makes it different is the burgundy wine (a red wine, and usually white wines go with fish) and all of the herbs and spices. Don’t be put off by all the ingredients; most of them are just dabs of seasonings. This one is definitely the soupiest of the three.

If you don’t have burgundy wine, or you don’t have wine at all in your home, there are some substitutions you can make. Any wine made with Pinot Noir grapes will be similar to burgundy. Examples are Merlot and Cabernet or Pinot Noir. If you want to avoid the wine altogether, you can use a non-alcoholic wine, or a combination of rice wine vinegar and grape juice. Try about 2 tablespoons of vinegar and 6 tablespoons of grape juice in place of the half cup of burgundy. If you only have white vinegar, just use a tablespoon of it. You could also use half a cup of red wine vinegar.

This will come to about $6.00 by itself, but should make about ten cups, or two and a half cups per serving. That doesn’t leave any room for something to go with it, but the servings are big enough that they should be enough on their own. Or call it six servings of a little over a cup and a half each, and add some salad as I suggested for the Brazilian Seafood Stew.

The final recipe, FISH STEW, isn’t identified as to country but looks like it may be Mediterranean. Not that either of the others is necessarily at all authentic, either, especially after substituting Swai nuggets for the fish and shellfish in the original recipe! It has the more usual white wine to go with the fish. The original recipe calls for fillets of “sole, halibut or other firm white fish.” Unlike the other recipes, the original recipe does not call for shellfish in addition to the fish. It’s interesting that it says to serve it on a platter and not in a bowl. The almonds are another unusual touch. This should make about eight cups, or two cups per serving, which is a reasonable size for a main dish soup. It comes to a little over $4.00, which leaves about $2.00 for something extra to go with it. Again, the salad suggestions from the Brazilian Seafood Stew would be good. Or Marsh has jumbo cantaloupe for $2.99 each (not a great price – they were $1.50 each a couple of weeks ago), and you could have four nice wedges for $1.50.

You didn’t hear it from me, but GARLIC BREAD would go well with any of these soups. Or hard rolls. You can buy pre-made garlic bread, but you might as well make you own. It's cheaper and better and better for you, too. 

Cheap Fish and the Weekly Specials with Mary Anne

I found a great deal on fish at Kroger’s last week, and since I haven’t talked about fish before, I’ll give a few recipes using it. But first, on to this week’s specials, which are mostly geared to Thanksgiving.

Aldi has Butterball turkeys again for 99 cents a pound, and hams ranging from 99 cents to $1.99 per pound. Sweet potatoes are $1.49 for three pounds, and potatoes are $1.89 for a 10 pound bag. That’s a lot of potatoes for $1.89! Celery is 89 cents a head and onions are 99 cents for 3 pounds. Fresh cranberries are 99 cents for twelve ounces. Candied yams are 99 cents for sixteen ounces, and yams in syrup (not as much sugar) are $1.29 for 29 ounces. Cranberry sauces are 89 cents a can and pumpkin (just plain pumpkin, not pumpkin pie filling) is 89 cents a can. French fried onions (like to put on top of a green bean casserole) are $1.99 a can. Six ounces of pecans (about a cup and a half) are $2.99. Stuffing mix is 69 cents a box, instant mashed potatoes are 99 cents a box, and condensed cream of various things soups are 49 cents a can. But I hope you’re not using any of these, but making your own, instead! Cream cheese is 99 cents for eight ounces and butter is $1.69 a pound. These are pretty much all the same as they were last week.

Kroger has their store brand turkeys for 77 cents a pound with $25 in additional purchases. Eggs are 4 for $5.00, or $1.25 a dozen. Sour cream and cottage cheese are both $1.00 for a pint, or 16 ounces. Hams range from $1.29 to $1.99 per pound and chicken drumsticks and thighs are 99 cents a pound. They have most of the same things on sale for 50 cents off if you buy at least ten of selected items, mix-or-match that they did last week. Various cheeses are $2.99 a pound. Frozen veggies are $1.00 each for 10 to 12 ounce bags.

Marsh has seedless red or black grapes for $1.28 a pound. Yum! Norbest and Honeysuckle turkeys are 69 cents a pound and Butterball turkeys are 99 cents a pound, if you buy at least $25.00 of other stuff there. Libby’s canned vegetables are 29 cents a can if you buy at least $30 of other stuff. You can get $10 off a half ham or $20 off a whole ham, but they don’t say how much the hams cost originally. That always makes me nervous, though sometimes they really are good deals.

And now, back to the fish. I accidentally stumbled across a great deal on Swai nuggets at Kroger. It’s 99 cents a pound on sale, and the regular price is $1.39 a pound. I asked if they would be having it on a regular basis and was told that they were just trying it out to see if there was any demand for it. So go demand it! If you can’t find it, ask for it. That is by far the lowest price I’ve seen on fish in a long time. In fact, the next cheapest has been about $2.50 a pound for quite a while, and $4 or $5 is more usual. And up. Way up!

But what is Swai? It's basically catfish that are farmed in the rivers in Vietnam. It can be substituted for several other kinds of fish. HERE'S a list of them. You can use catfish or Swai in any recipe that calls for any of the fish listed, though of course you need to consider the size of the pieces, too. Substituting Swai nuggets for a halibut steak, for example, wouldn’t work, though you could use the same seasonings and adjust the cooking time and method for the smaller pieces.

The traditional way to cook catfish is to roll it in cornmeal and fry it in bacon grease and serve it with hushpuppies or cornbread. It’s delicious that way, but cornmeal is out as far as I’m concerned. CRISPY BAKED CATFISH NUGGETS is a grain-free alternative. It’s probably gluten free, too, but check the ingredients for yourself if you’re sensitive to gluten. I know it shows up in the strangest places.

If you use olive oil and bottled lemon juice, this will cost you about $3.60 for four servings, or about 90 cents per serving. Serve the Crispy Baked Catfish Nuggets with TARTAR SAUCE and COLESLAW. A serving of catfish, plus a fourth of a cup of tartar sauce and a big serving of coleslaw will cost about $1.20. An unbelievably low cost for a fish dinner!

The next recipe is for ITALIAN FISH SOUP, which is kind of like a Manhattan (tomato based) clam chowder, except with fish instead of clams. The original recipe called for fish and scallops, but I always just use fish. It’s a lot cheaper that way, and the one time I did use scallops, I couldn’t tell the difference. This is a full meal in itself and makes four good servings. The total cost, if you use Swai nuggets, is about $4.75, or $1.20 per serving. If you happen to have a bit of extra room in your budget, COLESLAW would go well with it, and would bring it to about $1.45 per person. Some raw veggies and maybe some dip would be good with it, too.

The final recipe is for BROILED CATFISH WITH MUSTARD. You can use pretty much any kind of fish for this, but it’s especially good with catfish or Swai. And it’s really easy, too, which is another big bonus! There is basically no cost to this except for the fish, if you use the onion and bottled lemon juice alternatives. The whole recipe costs just a few cents over $2.35, or about 60 cents per serving. COLESLAW would go well with this (I think coleslaw goes well with just about all fish, except maybe salmon.) and would bring the cost to about 85 cents per serving. Add a couple of cans of green beans (half a can per person) and that brings it to $1.10 per person. Everything else is so cheap that you might as well splurge and get a real lemon or two. They generally run about 50 cents each. 

Baked Fish with Boursin Herb Cheese

If you’ve ever watched Chopped on the Food Network, or other shows of that type, you’ve probably heard that fish and cheese just don’t go together. I don’t know how many times I’ve heard Scott Conant criticize a contestant for using fish and cheese in the same dish. Fortunately, we’re not on competing for $10,000 so we can do whatever we want! BAKED COD WITH BOURSIN HERB CHEESE calls for both Boursin (an expensive herbed cheese – see the copycat recipe to make your own) and Parmesan.

(based on a recipe from allrecipes.com)

2 T butter, melted

2 lbs Swai nuggets (recipe called for cod fillets)

4 oz (1/2 c) Boursin cheese with herbs, at room temperature (or make your own)

1 14.5-oz can diced tomatoes with garlic, onion, and peppers, drained

            (Italian style is basically what they’re looking for. Be sure to save the

            juice for soup.)

salt and pepper to taste

2 T shredded Parmesan cheese

Preheat the oven to 400. Pour 1 tablespoon of the melted butter into a baking dish to coat the bottom. Arrange the nuggets in the dish. They should fit snugly but in a single layer. (It doesn’t matter how many pans you have in how many sizes, you won’t have one the right size. Just do the best you can.) Pat the fish dry using a paper towel. Spread the Boursin cheese evenly over the fish. (Just sort of dab it on, since it probably won’t spread as nicely over the nuggets as it would over fillets. But it will spread a lot better at room temperature than if it’s cold.) Pour the drained tomatoes over the top. Season with salt and pepper and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Drizzle remaining tablespoon of butter over the top. Bake for about 15 -20 minutes, or until the fish is done and the cheese is bubbling.

Swai Nuggets a la Hilda and Howard

When I lived in Northern California, I lived right on the coast. I could see the tops of the fishing boats from my office windows. Salmon was big around there, both with sports fishermen and commercial fishermen. I was fortunate to have some friends who were avid (and successful!) salmon fishermen, and I ate a lot more of it than I would have if I had had to buy it. My favorite way of cooking the salmon was my friend’s method of marinating it in soy sauce, brown sugar and fresh ginger. I suppose it’s sort of a teriyaki treatment. It works for other fish, too, as in this recipe for SWAI NUGGETS A LA HILDA AND HOWARD. Fresh ginger is best in it, but you can use powdered if that’s all you have. Or Chinese Five Spice Powder. I think Kikkoman is the best soy sauce, but that may just be because that’s the kind I grew up with. Did you know that most soy sauce has wheat in it? Be sure to read the label carefully if you’re sensitive to wheat.

2 lbs Swai nuggets

1 c soy sauce

2 – 4 T brown sugar (I like it extra sweet, myself)

1 T grated or minced fresh ginger

1 T oil (not needed if you use an oily fish like salmon)

Combine soy sauce, brown sugar, ginger and oil in a zip lock bag. Mix well, making sure that the brown sugar is all dissolved. Add the fish and marinate for about half an hour. Cook it however you like – nuke it for a few minutes, or bake it for about 10 minutes, or broil it. Or, if you have a grill basket, you can grill it, which is the way Howard used to cook the salmon.

Fish Stew

(adapted from Peasant Cooking of Many Lands)

1/4 c olive oil

4 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 c diced onion

1/2 c minced red or green pepper

2 c chopped ripe tomatoes (or 1 can diced tomatoes)

1/2 c water

1/2 c dry white wine

1-1/2 lb Swai nuggets

3 T roasted chopped almonds

minced parsley

Sauté vegetables in olive oil.  Add water and wine and bring to a boil.  Add fish and cook gently until fish is just done.  Remove fish to heated serving platter and pour sauce over it.  Sprinkle with almonds and parsley.

Caribbean Fish Chowder

(adapted from a recipe at fooddownunder.com)

2 lb fish fillets or nuggets

1/2 c burgundy wine

2 c water (or fish stock)

1 T oil

1/2 c chopped onion

3 cloves garlic, crushed

3 celery stalks, diced

1 can chopped stewed tomatoes

1 green pepper, diced

1 t basil

1 t oregano

2 bay leaves

2 t paprika

1 t celery seed

1 t dry mustard

1 t dried cilantro

1/2 t salt

1/2 t pepper or to taste

Heat the oil in a large soup pot. Sauté the onion and garlic until the onion is translucent. Add all of the other ingredients except the fish. (You may add 1/4 cup rice to this recipe as it is good that way too.) Simmer for 1 hour or until the vegetables are tender. Add the fish and cook for 7 to 10 minutes at a low boil.

If you don’t have burgundy wine, or you don’t have wine at all in your home, there are some substitutions you can make. Any wine made with Pinot Noir grapes will be similar to burgundy. Examples are Merlot and Cabernet or Pinot Noir. If you want to avoid the wine altogether, you can use a non-alcoholic wine, or a combination of rice wine vinegar and grape juice. Try about 2 tablespoons of vinegar and 6 tablespoons of grape juice. If you only have white vinegar, just use a tablespoon of it. You could also use half a cup of red wine vinegar.

Brazilian Seafood Stew

(loosely based on a recipe from fooddownunder.com)

1 lb Swai nuggets, cut into bite-size pieces if necessary

2 T lime juice (fresh is best, but bottled will do), divided

1/4 t Tabasco sauce, divided

1/2 t salt, divided

1 T olive oil

1/2 c chopped onion

1/2 c chopped green bell pepper

1 large clove garlic, minced

1 can (14 oz) canned tomatoes, undrained

1/3 c coconut milk (preferably not light)

1/2 c chopped green onion

1/2 c chopped fresh cilantro

In a shallow, non-aluminum bowl, combine fish, 1 tablespoon lime juice, 1/8 teaspoon Tabasco sauce, and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Toss to mix. Cover and marinate in fridge for 30 minutes. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion, green pepper and garlic and sauté until tender. Add tomatoes, coconut milk, and remaining tablespoon of lime juice, 1/8 teaspoon of Tabasco sauce, and ¼ teaspoon of salt. Mix well. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer 2 to 3 minutes. Add marinated fish and simmer 15 minutes, or until fish is cooked through. Just before serving, stir in green onion and cilantro.

Broiled Catfish with Mustard

(based on a recipe from Jane Brody’s Good Seafood Cookbook, 1994)

24 oz catfish (Swai) nuggets                                       

1 T oil or bacon grease                                                

Salt and pepper to taste                                             

2 T Dijon style mustard

2 T chopped fresh chives (see note below)

4 to 8 lemon wedges for garnish (see note below)

Place the broiler rack about 6 inches from the heat source. Heat the broiler. In a small bowl, combine the oil, salt and pepper, and mustard. Lightly grease a baking pan. Place the nuggets in the pan, then top with the mustard mixture. Place the pan on the broiler rack and broil the fish for about 5 minutes or until it is done. The mustard will become rich and dark in color but should not burn. Sprinkle the nuggets with the fresh chives and garnish with the lemon wedges.

Instead of using chives for garnish, you could add 1/2 teaspoon of onion powder to the mustard mix. Use fresh parsley instead to garnish, or just leave off the garnish. While fresh lemon is best, you could sprinkle the cooked nuggets with a bit of bottled lemon juice instead.

Italian Fish Soup

(adapted from a recipe in Jane Brody’s Good Food Book)

2 carrots, finely diced                                                 

1 onion, finely diced (about 8 oz)                                     

2 T olive oil                                                                 

2 large cloves garlic, minced                                             

3/4 t thyme                                                                  

1 14-oz can diced tomatoes (Italian or regular)  

2 lbs fish, in 1" to 2" pieces

4 c fish stock, heated (or water or a combination of water and chicken stock)

2 T minced fresh parsley (or 1 T dried)

salt and pepper to taste

In a large, heavy saucepan, cook the carrots and onion in the oil, stirring, until the onion is translucent, about 5 minutes.  Stir in the garlic and cook the vegetables for another minute. Add the thyme and tomatoes and simmer the mixture for 5 minutes. Add the fish and simmer the mixture for another 5 minutes. Add the hot stock, bring the soup to a boil and simmer it for 5 minutes. Stir in the parsley, salt and pepper.

Crispy Baked Catfish (Swai) Nuggets

(based on a recipe from catfishinstitute.com)

3/4 c grated parmesan cheese or finely grated sharp cheddar cheese        

1/4 t garlic powder                                                      

Dash pepper

1/3 c lemon juice (preferably fresh, but bottled will do)

2 T olive oil (or other oil)

24 oz catfish (Swai) nuggets

1/2 t paprika

Position oven rack on the bottom shelf of the oven. Preheat oven to 400. Grease a baking sheet well. In a shallow dish, combine cheese, garlic powder, and pepper. In another dish, whisk the lemon juice and olive oil together. (Note – if you don’t have lemon juice and olive oil, you can just use mayo instead.) Roll catfish nuggets in the lemon juice mixture (or coat with mayo). The easiest way is to add the nuggets to the oil and lemon juice (or put the nuggets in a bowl and add some mayo) and then get your hands in there and mix it up really well. It’s messy on the hands, but easy. Wash your hands, then roll the nuggets in the cheese mixture. (If you don’t wash your hands first, you’re going to have that cheese coating your hands instead of the fish.) Dust with the paprika. Place catfish on the prepared baking dish. Bake for 10 – 12 minutes. Reduce the heat to 350 and bake for another 8 to 10 minutes, or until the crust is golden and the fish flakes easily.

Hey! What's Swai?

From what I’ve read, it’s mostly just a fancy name for catfish, designed to get you to think you’re getting something special instead of plain old catfish. (Note: It's farmed in Vietnam, in case you're concerned about imported fish.) My favorite seafood cookbook, Jane Brody’s Good Seafood Book, which came out in 1994, doesn’t mention Swai, but does talk about catfish. Here’s what she had to say about catfish.

Fish with similar taste and texture to catfish - carp, mullet, perch, porgy, salmon trout, sea bass, smelt, Spanish mackerel, striped bass, tilefish, and walleye

Fish with similar taste but more delicate texture than catfish – pollack, sea trout, trout and whiting

Fish with similar taste but firmer texture than catfish – char, grouper, mahi-mahi, and red snapper

Fish with similar texture but more delicate flavor than catfish – blackfish, cod, croaker, halibut, ocean pout, pike, pompano, redfish, skate, triggerfish, turbot, wahoo, and whitefish

Fish with similar texture but stronger flavor than catfish – bluefish, eel, mackerel, pomfret, sablefish, salmon, and yellowtail

What I found when I cooked some was that it fell apart easily and didn’t taste particularly fishy. I guess I would call that delicate taste and texture, though Jane Brody’s book calls them both medium.

You can use catfish or Swai in any recipe that calls for any of the fish listed above, though of course you need to consider the size of the pieces, too. Substituting Swai nuggets for a halibut steak, for example, wouldn’t work, though you could use the same seasonings and adjust the cooking time and method for the smaller pieces.