Have You Ever Cooked Swai?

[BakerAunt]

I went to pull out two pieces of frozen salmon to thaw for dinner tomorrow and realized upon opening the bag that it wasn't salmon. I looked at the bag, and the fish is "swai," which neither my husband nor I have ever heard of. I googled it:

https://www.consumerreports.org/cro/news/2009/01/what-the-heck-is-swai/index.htm#:~:text=Swai%20is%20a%20white%2Dflesh,and%20fried%2C%20according%20to%20experts.

It is a two-pound bag. The colors are the same as the salmon fillets Aldi's sells, and it was where the salmon usually is shelved, so I grabbed without looking closely at the package.

I'm thinking of breading it and cooking it in the oven. Suggestions--other than that I carefully look at all packages of food before buying them?

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[Mike Nolan]

The odds are good you've had swai because it is often used for things like fish sticks. You can cook it like you would cod. It is a fairly neutral tasting fish and not very oily, so it works well breaded and fried.

[Joan Simpson]

I've seen this at the seafood counter but never bought any.

I've wondered what orange roughy tastes like anyone ever eat or cook that?

[Janiebakes]

We were just talking about this at dinner the other night while eating haddock. Swai, haddock, pollock, orange roughy and cod seem very similar in flavor to us but the texture varies. Just like we had "red flavor" KoolAid as kids, we now eat a lot of "white fish" flavor. The bags of prefrozen pieces we buy are surely not the finest examples of any of these fish. Cod from Mitchell's Seafood restaurent is noticably better in texture for example and I don't think it is because of my fish cooking skills. All these fish with butter, capers, lemon juice or used in a cioppino are good for a tasty and fast dinner.

[Mike Nolan]

When we do fish, my wife has orange roughy and I have salmon. (She doesn't like salmon.) You cook it like any white fish, and it has a very mild flavor.

I cook hers in a pan with butter and lemon juice, better to have too much lemon juice than too little. It makes a great sauce for the fish. We often have fish with broccoli, which she also likes with lemon juice.

[rottiedogs]

Orange Roughy is pretty mild. Our local Jewel has a decent fish counter and i can usually get it there. I cook it the same way Mike but I will either put it on the grill or in the oven with lemon and butter and sprinkle of black pepper. Yum! This has given me a taste for it now!

[Joan Simpson]

Thanks for the information on the orange roughy,it's gonna be on my list of fish to try.

[BakerAunt]

I mistakenly bought frozen swai instead of frozen salmon when we last grocery shopped at Aldi’s. To cook it for dinner on Tuesday night, I played with a fish and chips recipe that I found last year when we could not get salmon at the local grocery and used another white fish. I used a large baking potato, which I cut into eight long pieces, rubbed with olive oil, sprinkled with Penzey’s Mural seasoning, then baked on a parchment-lined baking sheet at 400F for 30 minutes, turning the pieces halfway through the time. I breaded two swai by first dredging them in 2 Tbs. of flour, then dipping them into ½ beaten egg with a bit of milk and some shakes of the Penzey’s Mural, then pressing them into ½ cup panko on each side. When the potatoes had baked for 30 minutes, I moved them around the sides of the pan, then put the two swai fillets in the center. I turned up the heat to 425F and baked for 15 minutes, then another 5 minutes (next time I will turn the pan halfway through for even browning. I thought the fish was a bit dry, but my husband thought it was fine. (Of course, he puts ketchup on fish and chips.) The swai is a bland taste, with just a bit of what my husband called catfish flavor. When I make it again, as I will need to use up the bag, I would like tartar sauce to go with mine.

My husband does not do well with lemon, so while there was a good looking recipe with a lemon sauce, I did not consider trying it.

This thread has made me think that it would be good to expand my fish repertoire. Salmon continues to be my favorite. I usually pivot to salmon and couscous with some spice because I know that my husband will eat it. I did try a salmon with vegetables parchment packet, but he was underwhelmed.

[Mike Nolan]

Swai would probably be a good fish done en papillote (in a parchment bag), I've usually cooked whitefish with lemon, but I've also used white wine or rice wine vinegar and even Worcestershire, and it is good done on a bed of cooked mirepoix (finely chopped onions, celery and carrots,or you can leave the onions out, it'd also be good with some red bell pepper.)

The frozen orange roughy we can get are OK, the fresh ones are better but a lot more expensive. I like red snapper, but Diane doesn't. I seldom buy cod and won't buy tilapia any more.

I grew up within a few miles of the Mississippi, catfish was pretty common, but also bluegill. My mother loved smelt, probably because there wasn't much to preparing it.

I'm not surprised your husband thought the swai tasted like catfish, it used to be sold as 'Asian catfish' before the US Government prohibited that.

[chocomouse]

BakerAunt, you should try fresh tuna also. It has a nice firm flesh, but the flavor is a bit stronger than the usual white fish. When we travel to Michigan every summer (and YES, the trip is a go this year!) we always visit a small deli in Saugatuk to get their smoked white fish - it's a real treat. It doesn't need to be cooked, and is delicious added to a salad. I've never seen it in any other markets.

[chocomouse]

BakerAunt, and others -- SORRY! In my previous post, I was talking about swordfish, not tuna!! I have no idea where the word tuna came from, except I was keeping my old brain up past its bedtime.

[Mike Nolan]

Swordfish is quite a bit fattier than tuna, that affects cooking methods. I've ordered it in restaurants on the coast, was never really excited by it. I'm not sure if any of the local 'fresh' (often actually frozen and thawed) fish outlets have it.

[cwcdesign]

I grew up near New Bedford. The swordfish was abundant in the waters off the Atlantic coast. We have a great seafood restaurant and market up there and they still have really good swordfish.

The best swordfish is harpooned not line caught. If it is harpooned, the blood drains away and if it is line caught, it does not. I am a fish snob and won't but frozen swordfish - it just is not as good. It is a fatty fish, but can easily dry out if overcooked.

Two great ways to cook it are 1) grilled it, coated with mayonnaise and 2) baked in a low oven with lots of cream and butter, salt and pepper and crumble saltines.

[Janiebakes]

Chocomouse, sometimes our Costco carries whole smoked white fish. Near one of the Jewish holidays but I can't remember which one.

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