Have you had a crispy fried fish or tangy sauced fish at a local restaurant or pub lately?

 

If you answered yes, you probably have already tasted Swai.  Swai was originally presented to the foodservice and restaurant industry as a versatile substitute for more expensive white fish.  Today it is more appreciated for its mild, sweet taste, year round availability, firm texture and ability to hold up to extended cooking and reheating.  Despite its popularity in the foodservice industry, Swai is still relatively unknown to the average consumer. 

 

Swai is farm raised in the rivers of Vietnam and Cambodia and suffers from a bit of an identity crisis.   Swai was initially introduced to the market in the early 2000’s as Vietnamese Greysole, Catfish or even Grouper.  Sometimes this misidentification came from an attempt to introduce the fish in a context that customers could understand.  Other times, unscrupulous importers sold it as Grouper to make a profit from the perception of higher value.  Earlier this year, two executives from a Florida-based distribution company were sent to prison for knowingly mislabeling Swai as Grouper.  There was also a plea bargain on a similar case in Massachusetts as well.

 

Adding to the confusion, Swai has gone through a number of name changes.  Initially it was identified as Catfish which is an accurate description since it comes from the Catfish family.    However, U.S. processors petitioned that labeling it Catfish was misleading. Just a few years ago it was also commonly called Basa bocourti.  It was later determined that it was not this specie, but a similar one called Pangasuis hypophthalmus.  Currently the FDA allows Pangasuis hypophthalmus to be called Swai, Tra, Striped Pangasuis or Sutchi.

 

All this confusion about the correct name might be the main reason why many consumers do not know about Swai.  One thing for sure is that they have probably already tasted it.  It is a very versatile fish, ideal for almost any style of cooking and adaptable to most recipes.  Recently, the Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood WATCH rated farmed Swai as having good potential for being a sustainable species.  As seafood prices continue to soar, expect to see Swai, a healthy and versatile fish, become a mainstay on menus and in retail seafood cases and for consumers to start knowing much more about it.

What's in a Name?

By Richard Stavis

Atlantic Monkfish (Lophius americanus)

 Atlantic Monkfish is a highly prized fish caught in the north Atlantic Ocean.  While it’s commonly found in upscale restaurants in Europe it’s often overlooked in America.  It’s mild flavor and dense meaty texture have earned this fish the nickname “poor man’s lobster”, but it’s more delicate and versatile in cooking than this name would suggest.   Monkfish’s ugliness is legendary.  One wonders how this fish was ever brought to the table.  Don’t get intimidated.  Here’s a how-to that’ll help you bring this tasty fish from the ocean to your table.

 

 

This is a whole Monkfish. Monkfish average 7 to 9 pounds.  They are wild caught in the Atlantic Ocean from the coast of Nova Scotia down to the Carolinas as well as on the European side.

 

 

 

The head of the Monkfish is disproportionally large.  We’ve separated the head from the tail in this picture.  There are 2 parts of the Monkfish which are used- the liver (which is primarily for export) and the tail. 

 

 

 

This is a picture of the skin-on monkfish tail.  This is also the form that we freeze Monkfish for off-season thawed production.  Leaving the skin on protects the meat and gives the monkfish tail a shelf life of 12 to 18 months.

 

 

 

This picture shows the a whole Monkfish tail with the skin removed.  If you look closely you can see a large cartilage that runs down the center of the tail.  The color of the fish’s blood is a good indicator of the freshness of the fish - the brighter the red the more fresh the fish.

 

 

 

The picture above is of a fishmonger cutting the two sides of the monkfish tail into fillets. There is only one bone (which is actually cartilage) that runs down the center of the tail. That bone is discarded, leaving two loins of meat - wider at one end and tapering down to a point.

 

 

 

Here is a finished Monkfish fillet. Each  fillet can run from 12 to 20 ounces. The fillet to the left is the inside and the fillet to the right is showing the outside skin side, containing the membrane that would be typically be removed before cooking.

 

 

 

 This picture is an example of a finished monkfish dish - scrumptious monk medallions. These monkfish pieces are sautéed in a lemon butter sauce and ready for any fish lovers’ enjoyment!

What's in a Name?

What’s In a Name? The True Langoustine (aka Scampi)

By Robert Landy

What is Scampi? There’s shrimp scampi, which is shrimp cooked in garlic butter, but that’s not scampi. Scampi is a type of lobster and is one of the world’s finest delicacies. There are, however, other species frequently referred to as scampi. For example, in the Midwest region of the US freshwater shrimp (Macrobrachium Rosenbergii) are referred to as scampi. So again, what exactly is scampi?

Is scampi a crawfish? Is scampi a crayfish? No, scampi are small clawed lobsters that unfortunately look a little bit like a crawfish. But they definitely shouldn’t be confused with the freshwater crawfish, which is primarily from the Gulf of Mexico and China. Crayfish is another name used for spiny lobster, and if that’s not confusing enough, in the southern US crawfish is called crayfish!

Is scampi a langostino? No, the Spanish word for shrimp is langostino, so we know it’s not that! A langostino is a squat lobster caught in Chile (Cervimunida Johni) and on the Pacific coast of Central America (Pleuroncodes Planipes).  These are very small lobsters that are sold mainly as cooked IQF meat.

So what are we talking about here? To start with, the French name for scampi is Langoustine, and so a scampi lobster is the true Langoustine.  It’s commercially caught in the North East Atlantic and in the North Sea. The Latin name for this species is Nephrops Norvegicus. There are also commercial quantities caught off of New Zealand and the Latin name for this subspecies is Metanephrops Challengeri. There are small quantities of scampi caught elsewhere, but the numbers are so few these are usually consumed locally. Most of the true Langoustines are sold head on, however Iceland and Ireland mainly process headless tails.

What do we call these buggers? These little lobsters are commonly called Scampi, Danish Scampi, Norway Lobster, Dainty Tails, Lobster Dainty, Dublin Bay Prawns, or, for you French buffs, Langoustines. Regardless of what you call them, they are truly one of the finest eating specialties from the ocean. Scampi have an amazing delicately sweet flavor and are served in the fanciest of restaurants.

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What’s in a name? Grouper

by Richard Stavis

One of the biggest strengths of Seafood is also its biggest weakness- the incredible variety of species available.  A well recognized Seafood “name” is very valuable.  It has the power to drive consumption and to maximize its value.  In days past fishmongers would give these fish the name of the fish that they most closely resembled OR the name of a similar fish that had a high market value.  Thankfully this practice is behind us for the most part, but there remains a patchwork quilt of products that resemble “famous name” fish as well as some fish that are able to claim those names even though they may not taste or look as you might expect them to.  Our goal with this recurring column is to help consumers make informed choices, as well as, to make lesser known species more accessible.

The FDA defines Grouper as a number of subspecies in the Epinephelus genus of fish.  It has a mild white fillet that is moist, dense, and a bit chewy.  It’s a high value fish and it’s highly prized, especially in the southeast.  Demand for it outstrips supply.  It’s also the poster child for name fraud, and it’s rare in that the fraud still goes on to this day.   Sometimes the importer is in on the scheme, sometimes it is being scammed from the processor.  As this issue has come to the forefront most responsible importers (Stavis Seafoods included) have started DNA testing all incoming shipments of frozen Grouper to ensure that what they are selling is truly Grouper.  This is less practical on fresh fish as it is often harvested and sold in smaller quantities.

What are some of the more common Grouper imposters?  Historically exporters from Indonesia and Thailand have sold Sweetlip, Emperor fish, and Bonefish as Grouper.   Swai/Basa/Pangassius (a future “What’s in a Name” subject) from Viet Nam took the U.S. by storm in the early 2000’s.  One importer was convicted this past May of selling more than 1 million pounds of the fish as grouper, and that was just the tip of the iceberg.

A myriad of fresh fish have also been passed off as Grouper.  Some of the wild species used have included Tripletail, Corvina, KingClip, Snook, and Snapper.   We’ve also seen some farmed fish including Tilapia and Catfish being passed off as Grouper.

It is possible to ensure that what you’re selling can be or what you’re buying is legally Grouper, but is this the whole story?  What comes to mind when you hear the name “Reef Cod”?  Guess what- it’s a Grouper!  This fish has now become very popular because of its name cachet, but is it the best option if you want to replicate the experience of Atlantic Grouper?  Probably not- I’d go for Corvina! I ask again, what’s in a name?

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