kookielendmeyourcomb Posted February 4, 2017 Report Share Posted February 4, 2017 Ok, so I was at the Brew House today and asked what fish they use for their beer battered fish and chips. I was told, as in other restaurants I've been to, they use sea bass. So I asked if that meant BASA....the waiter said yes. I explained basa isn't sea bass. Folks, BASA is CATFISH.... catfish catfish catfish. I hate catfish. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dcstroker Posted February 4, 2017 Report Share Posted February 4, 2017 Too bad you don't like catfish. I've had the fish and chip at the Brew House and I think it was some of the best that I've had down here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lakesider Posted February 4, 2017 Report Share Posted February 4, 2017 I'm glad someone posted this topic. I ordered the same at Brew House and the fish was bad in a mushy way. The fish portion is small and between the greasy puffy batter and the equally greasy soggy fries, I just couldn't finish it. Had Fish and Chips at Lake Taco before and I think they are way way better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bdlngton Posted February 4, 2017 Report Share Posted February 4, 2017 Basa is catfish (also known as panga fish) farmed in the Mekong River, an extremely polluted river. Because of its origin, many websites warn against consuming it. Many local places serve basa in fish and chips and other fish dishes. I have heard several waiters describe it as sea bass, which it definitely is not. In the past I heard waiters at Lake Taco and describe basa as sea bass, one of the reasons I always ordered mahi mahi fish and chips at Lake Taco. It seems that most of the fish sold at Walmart is basa. I don't know us claiming basa is bass is just a mistranslation/ignorance or an actual effort to deceive. I think it's wise to always ask what kind of fish is being used at a restaurant. If they say bass ask if it's basa. If they say yes, correct them by saying basa is not bass. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tomgates Posted February 4, 2017 Report Share Posted February 4, 2017 At least beef, pork and chicken aren't raised in polluted rivers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dcstroker Posted February 4, 2017 Report Share Posted February 4, 2017 9 hours ago, Lakesider said: I'm glad someone posted this topic. I ordered the same at Brew House and the fish was bad in a mushy way. The fish portion is small and between the greasy puffy batter and the equally greasy soggy fries, I just couldn't finish it. Had Fish and Chips at Lake Taco before and I think they are way way better. Maybe they had an off day when you were there or I just got lucky. We were the first customers of the day and my fish portions were quite large and cooked perfectly. As opposed to the Poutine Place when we were the last customers and my fish and chips were over cooked and greasy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snowyco Posted February 4, 2017 Report Share Posted February 4, 2017 18 hours ago, kookielendmeyourcomb said: Ok, so I was at the Brew House today and asked what fish they use for their beer battered fish and chips. I was told, as in other restaurants I've been to, they use sea bass. So I asked if that meant BASA....the waiter said yes. I explained basa isn't sea bass. Folks, BASA is CATFISH.... catfish catfish catfish. I hate catfish. Basa is not really 'catfish'. Basa is raised in some of the cleanest river water in the world. The water that feeds the Basa river farms do NOT have any big industrial plants nor factories, do not have big runoffs of agricultural pesticides, herbicides, fertilizers & big Ag usage like Canada & USA ... nor are their runoffs from big pig farms nor runoffs from tar sands oil production. Basa farm river water really is some of the very cleanest in the world. The Australian Government health authorities very frequently test both the Basa farm's river water, and the Basa, because the Australian people eat so much Basa. Decades of Austrialian test results show that Basa is clean, and the river farm water is clean. Freshwater Shrimp testing gives very different results however, so not all SE Asian fish,shrimp etc are good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lakesider Posted February 4, 2017 Report Share Posted February 4, 2017 2 hours ago, dcstroker said: Maybe they had an off day when you were there or I just got lucky. We were the first customers of the day and my fish portions were quite large and cooked perfectly. As opposed to the Poutine Place when we were the last customers and my fish and chips were over cooked and greasy. That was my second time to order that dish after a long while and still was disappointing. I agree bdlington, the mahi-mahi fish and chips at Lake Taco were really good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ibbocat Posted February 4, 2017 Report Share Posted February 4, 2017 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basa_fish https://www.quora.com/Is-Basa-fish-good-for-health Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ComputerGuy Posted February 4, 2017 Report Share Posted February 4, 2017 Basa is most definitely a catfish, as reported on many, many knowledgeable sites. I agree with bdlington: I think half the time the wait staff doesn't even know how to answer the question. And while we have a lot of cooks here, we have very few trained chefs who would be able to tell the difference, or even care. Bagre is the Spanish word for catfish. And there is nothing wrong with catfish, as long as I am told it's catfish. I've been here for a bit, and I can remember when this started happening... this misnaming thing. It now happens all the time, and I tend not to eat at restaurants who don't or won't know the difference between bass and catfish. It should be noted that not all catfish comes from the Mekong delta, either. But do be aware that many fish farms use a chemical in very crowded conditions to keep the fish from becoming sick, and this particular chemical can cause a mushy feel to the meat and a dusty taste. Dusty flavour in no way indicates a bottom-feeder: think for a second. All food is digested, and dirt does not "leak" into the flesh. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snowyco Posted February 4, 2017 Report Share Posted February 4, 2017 Potato... Po-tah-to ... Potatoe ?? In the world of catfish eaters & scientists from Canada and the USA, the Basa fish is very different from US or Canadian catfish. Yes, in strict Biological Officials Nomenclature : Basa are a VERY distant relative of US & Canadian catfish, as a distant cousin inside the very large order Siluriformes ... Reality: Basa are not even in the US/Canadian catfish biological family level, because they are so different. How different? If we use Computer Guy's definition ... EVERYONE reading this post .... is a LEMUR.... Note that in Computer Guy's definition... each & every Chapala.com forum readers is also just another monkey ... Reality: Basa are in a completely different FAMILY (Pangasidae) ... than far less tasty US & Canadian catfish of the FAMILY ( Ictaluridae )... Further Comparison... Just as the HUMAN FAMILY (Hominidae - Great Apes) does NOT include Monkeys or Lemurs ... the Basa family... does not include the Canadian/US catfish.Everybody who wants to insist that Basa are 'catfish' just like in the USA/Canada, should also consider themselves to be Lemurs... How many of these do we see around Chapala area streets & restaurants:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Order_(biology)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Family_(biology) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hensley Posted February 4, 2017 Report Share Posted February 4, 2017 All I have learned is that Basa is mushy and I don't like it. No flavor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snowyco Posted February 4, 2017 Report Share Posted February 4, 2017 16 minutes ago, hensley said: All I have learned is that Basa is mushy and I don't like it. No flavor. Is it possible that your restaurant is using Basa that has been frozen, thawed, & refrozen, rethawed & then sitting around thawed for days ? Is it possible that your restaurant is using Basa that has been badly overcooked? Really, we eat Basa for 4 meals a week, frozen just once at the farm, shipped frozen, maintained frozen purchased frozen... and only thawed just before eating, and then, good Basa (like most fish) is taken off the heat while the flesh still a little translucent (clear), and every fillet is then tasty, and firm enough to be flaky .... and tastes great with a mild salsa like tomatillo. Because fish continues to cook after we take it out of the pan, excellent fish preps are taken off the heat while still slightly translucent, and the fish finishes cooking while you plate it. If your restaurant is cooking it to thoroughly white when on the heat, then yes, Basa becomes mushy ... and if your Basa is frozen, thawed, refrozen and then re-thawed and sitting out for hours, then yes, it loses flavor & becomes mushy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zeb Posted February 4, 2017 Report Share Posted February 4, 2017 7 hours ago, tomgates said: At least beef, pork and chicken aren't raised in polluted rivers. That's true. They are only pumped with lots of hormones and the chicken flooded with anti-biodics and, of course, the adrenaline that pumps through their body as they are killed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kookielendmeyourcomb Posted February 4, 2017 Author Report Share Posted February 4, 2017 Well, regardless, I still hate any catfish...basa or otherwise. I especially don't like the idea of eating Vietnamese catfish after having spent an inordinate amount of time on the Mekong river and in the delta, and going out to the fish farms at least a dozen times. Yucky yucky yucky, smelly, icky ...and yes many kinds of catfish. A large portion of catfish here...basa...does come from VN. It doesn't much matter to me where the catfish comes from...there is a catfish/tilapia fish farming project off Mezcala Island. But I never liked tilapia either, in spite of running development programs with tilapia fish farming components. The word Basa is so similar to bass, that this is undoubtedly where the confusion lies. I would really just like restaurant owners and chefs to understand Basa is NOT sea bass, and educate staff accordingly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ComputerGuy Posted February 5, 2017 Report Share Posted February 5, 2017 Snowyco, you really went out on a limb to come up with those comparisons. Also, as usual, your posts are far too long for anyone to be interested. If you want to stick with the plan, great. Otherwise, please don't bother. And kookie, I totally understand. But, I have had lots of catfish in the winters in Florida, and quite enjoyed it, so each to his own. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yo1 Posted February 5, 2017 Report Share Posted February 5, 2017 I love catfish, even farmed catfish. But not from Vietnam. I don't care what it's called, if it's from Vietnam I don't want it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ComputerGuy Posted February 6, 2017 Report Share Posted February 6, 2017 Why not? 90% of all catfish consumed in the U.S. is imported from Vietnam. 90 percent. Vietnam is the largest exporter of catfish to Mexico. "Vietnam catfish farmers and other international exporters of fish need to show proof that the water used to farm fish is safe and unpolluted and provide observational data related to their farming practices in order to meet American food safety requirements." http://www.foodsafetynews.com/2010/02/does-imported-catfish-pose-a-health-risk/#.WJe9mjiQ6Q8 "On the Internet, there are more outright lies about these fish than just about any other food item - lies spread mainly by unethical catfish farmers who, faced with competition, chose smear campaigns and political manipulation rather than improving their methods to compete." http://www.clovegarden.com/ingred/sf_catvnz.html " Today, 100 percent of our companies farm in ponds away from the Mekong River, not in the Mekong River itself." http://www.fatifish.com.vn/NewsDetail.aspx?id=16 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zerbit Posted February 8, 2017 Report Share Posted February 8, 2017 I have been in the F&B industry for 35+ years, the last 11 as a food buyer for a casino in Nevada. I can't count all the Basa / Swai recalls I have been alerted to. Pretty much gave up buying it, not willing to deal with backlash on recalls and potential health dept issues. But to each his / her own. If you have a source that is safe, enjoy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Halfglass Posted February 8, 2017 Report Share Posted February 8, 2017 OK, so Basa is in the catfish family, sort of. I have always liked catfish much better than Talapia. My question is, is there a red Basa. I see Wal-Mart sells red and blanco Basa. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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