Swai

[deestafford]

I have seen swai fish in the Commissary for awhile and finally decided to try it because we were becoming less than satisfied with talapia.  We don't like a fishy tasting fish.  Swai is sort of an Asian catfish raised in Viet Nam and is a mild tasting with a nice texture.  So far, I mainly flavored it with Old Savannah Seasoning (which is like Old Bay but has a better flavor to me.), dredged in flour, then in an egg wash, and then panko crumbs and then sauted it in butter/olive oil. 

So, if you want a mild fish this maybe the one for you.  Oh.  It's also the least expensive fish in the store...I think.
Dee

[teesquare]

Dee, it is with heavy heart and hat in hand that I bear this news....

If you search for a YouTube video - I think it is called "Dirty Fish Dirty River" - or similar I trust that you will not buy Swai or any other catfish from Viet Nam.

Apparently the Me Kong ( where the Viet Namese do the preponderance of their catfish farming ) has become one of the most polluted rivers in the world.

Just a concern for our mutal good health urges me to bring this up. I have no hidden agenda, or prejudice.
T

[deestafford]

Tim,  Thanks.  That Mekong has been dirty I think since God invented it.  Every river I saw in Viet Nam was dirty looking. Dee

[teesquare]

The video harkens back to the Ganges....And - if you have ever seen how the kids are playing, urinating, and - garbage and human waste are dumped where folks wash themselves, their food,a their clothes, etc...well - gives one pause

[RAD]

Dee, I have been eating Swai for years, well, most of have been before the fish police stepped in. Most restaurants and fish markets passed swai off as grouper for many, many years. Now we call it the poor man's grouper. As for the Nam thing, I chose put my head in the sand

[Smokin Don]

I just did some Swai awhile back and forgot to see where they came from at Krogers. They tasted great but were from Nam. I trust the farm raised sea food from Thailand but not the rest of Asia. I will not be buying them again. Don

[muebe]

[drholly]

On a recent trip to Thailand (and surrounding countries) I visited some of these "farms". It was beyond bad. I am a seafood / fish lover, but this was enough to make me swear it off. As I talk about sustainability with my clients, these practices are exactly what I talk about NOT doing. Like anyone else, I appreciate lower prices and the practices that can help lower prices. However, there are ethical and healthful practices and there are those that are dangerous and just wrong. Sustainable fisheries can keep prices in check if they are managed properly and ethically.

David

[teesquare]

I don't want anyone here to get the impression that we look down anyone else's choices, nor are we the "police" on any issue - and I should have made that more clear: My comments are not a castigation on anyone's choices. My comments are not a judgement of anyone else's decisions. Everyone here is entitled to their own opinion - and without feeling be-littled for it.
If you believe in the principle of Freedom of Choice, then this should be obvious to all of us.

But, I also believe that we have a moral compass that tells us it is wrong to hide something potentially harmful from others. It is up to them to decide - I just try to be "Sgt. Friday"....Just the facts - 'mam.

T

[Smokin Don]

On a recent trip to Thailand (and surrounding countries) I visited some of these "farms". It was beyond bad. I am a seafood / fish lover, but this was enough to make me swear it off. As I talk about sustainability with my clients, these practices are exactly what I talk about NOT doing. Like anyone else, I appreciate lower prices and the practices that can help lower prices. However, there are ethical and healthful practices and there are those that are dangerous and just wrong. Sustainable fisheries can keep prices in check if they are managed properly and ethically.

David

Thanks a lot for this input drholly! It's good to have input from someone who has been there. I may have to just stay with fish that is farm raised here in the USA and wild caught. Don

[cookiecdcmk]

DrHolly:  I too have spent time in Thailand, and I always look at the package of any fish or shrimp product.  I will not buy anything from Southeast Asia, which includes China for the reasons you mentioned.  The companies that sell these products have only one objective, low cost.

[drholly]

I don't want anyone here to get the impression that we look down anyone else's choices, nor are we the "police" on any issue - and I should have made that more clear: My comments are not a castigation on anyone's choices. My comments are not a judgement of anyone else's decisions. Everyone here is entitled to their own opinion - and without feeling be-littled for it.
If you believe in the principle of Freedom of Choice, then this should be obvious to all of us.

But, I also believe that we have a moral compass that tells us it is wrong to hide something potentially harmful from others. It is up to them to decide - I just try to be "Sgt. Friday"....Just the facts - 'mam.

T

I am sorry if my comment sounded preachy or moralistic. That wasn't the intent. I am a proponent of good fish farming and other sustainable methods of providing healthy flavorful food. I meant simply to report what I saw and the impact it had on me. My concern is the lack of information we have when we purchase things at the market. Had I not seen the conditions for myself, I would have happily bought and consumed the products. Also, I must be clear, I was not there inspecting fish farms and only saw a couple because we were in the area. There may have been some very clean, well run farms that I did not see! I am totally in agreement with T re: everyone having their own opinion. BTW the "farms" in Thailand looked pretty good. The other countries (especially Viet Nam) that caused my concern. Actually, almost everything we ate in Thailand was pretty darn good (including the bugs!)

Cheers,

David

[Smokin Don]

Myself I took drholly's input with good faith and it will make me more conscience when buying fish or seafood. I was in Thailand back in 1965 and I thought as a people they were clean, we could not eat the local food back then. I imagine some of the fish farms there are not clean as well as some here in the US may not. One good thing about Krogers they have it on the signs where the fish came from or will tell you when ask. Sometimes the packaging can be miss leading, I bought some seafood one time that had the American flag on the front of the package & when I got it home it was actually from China. I say just use good judgement when buying fish or seafood. Don

[Albert Rivera]

I see an opportunity for a KNOW-IT-ALL like me to put 2 cents worth of opinion into the restrained fray.

I worked the Catfish Association crowd a few years back and heard "our" side of the story about why we would do better to buy "American".

I heard enough reasonable concerns about production, harvesting of fish from Asia to have me watch more carefully where the fish came from.

I also discovered that the packaging method was not subject to identification standards we might prefer or expect in order to better determine the true origin of the fish.

The Catfish Association at that time, was very actively lobbying to have country of origin become a requirement regardless of packaging or shipping method/container used.

After showing all this concern about fish I am with Pam Gould... I would rather have beef tongue any day of the week.

Right Pam?

[teesquare]

I don't want anyone here to get the impression that we look down anyone else's choices, nor are we the "police" on any issue - and I should have made that more clear: My comments are not a castigation on anyone's choices. My comments are not a judgement of anyone else's decisions. Everyone here is entitled to their own opinion - and without feeling be-littled for it.
If you believe in the principle of Freedom of Choice, then this should be obvious to all of us.

But, I also believe that we have a moral compass that tells us it is wrong to hide something potentially harmful from others. It is up to them to decide - I just try to be "Sgt. Friday"....Just the facts - 'mam.

T

I am sorry if my comment sounded preachy or moralistic. That wasn't the intent. I am a proponent of good fish farming and other sustainable methods of providing healthy flavorful food. I meant simply to report what I saw and the impact it had on me. My concern is the lack of information we have when we purchase things at the market. Had I not seen the conditions for myself, I would have happily bought and consumed the products. Also, I must be clear, I was not there inspecting fish farms and only saw a couple because we were in the area. There may have been some very clean, well run farms that I did not see! I am totally in agreement with T re: everyone having their own opinion. BTW the "farms" in Thailand looked pretty good. The other countries (especially Viet Nam) that caused my concern. Actually, almost everything we ate in Thailand was pretty darn good (including the bugs!)

Cheers,

David

That was mighty gracious of you David - but by no means do I think you or anyone was out of line, I just wanted to be sure that I was not pushing my viewpoint too hard.