food Swai Not?

Phil

Phil

So I went to the store looking for some fish to toss on the grill. All they had was tuna, salmon (both of which were vetoed in the discussion), catfish, tilapia, and swai. I decided on the swai filets based on the size. What is swai, anyway???? Turns out that it's pretty doggone good with some smoke and charcoal on it! Basted it with a mixture of butter, worcestershire sauce, lemon juice, scotch bonnet hot sauce, and habanero hot sauce. Seasoned the filets after basting raw with salt, pepper, lemon zest, and Old Bay seasoning. The fish tasted good and clean, and the finished product was flaky and tender. I recommend this swai for a good, clean taste. Doesn't hold a candle to red snapper, though.

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I saw Swai on sale yesterday for $1.99lb. I was too scared to try it. If it is that cheap, I thought, it must really suck. I thought it would probably be like tilapia. Maybe I will give it a try.
 
its like catfish. there are even resturants that sell "farm raised" catfish and it swai. its good! id rather go catch me some cats at the river and bring them back to the grill though.



that plate looks great by the way :dance:
 
sicman said:
its like catfish. there are even resturants that sell "farm raised" catfish and it swai. its good! id rather go catch me some cats at the river and bring them back to the grill though.



that plate looks great by the way :dance:
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Thanks! Yeah I've heard that about swai... being subbed for catfish. It's cleaner tasting than catfish, not as thick. I would compare it to tilapia, flavor-wise. It's not great but was worth the effort, for cheap filets. Like I said before though... garbage compared to redfish grilled on the scales
 
Swai is a Vietnamese whitefish similar to Tilapia, but it actually has some flavor. Dirt cheap but quite tasty. It takes lemon, herbs, and butter very well. My family loves it.
 
if the flesh is like that of catfish or monkfish, you could make kabobs with them, that too would be cool. i have never heard of Swai, nor have i ever seen it in my frozen fish section. at times i do get fresh farmed catfish and of course i don't think there is a grocer on the planet that doesn't carry tilapia - just about every grocer here has a live tilapia tank. basa is the new latest fish that has caused a spark, it has little fishy flavour and like tofu demands a good cooking technique to add flavour.

good cooking.
 
Burning Colon said:
if the flesh is like that of catfish or monkfish, you could make kabobs with them, that too would be cool. i have never heard of Swai, nor have i ever seen it in my frozen fish section. at times i do get fresh farmed catfish and of course i don't think there is a grocer on the planet that doesn't carry tilapia - just about every grocer here has a live tilapia tank. basa is the new latest fish that has caused a spark, it has little fishy flavour and like tofu demands a good cooking technique to add flavour.

good cooking.
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The meat is a bit too delicate for that. But the flavor would be great for it. I had to exercise plenty of caution when I took them off of the grill so they wouldn't break.

I'd say the same for swai. Very mild flavor that needs a little spice cabinet work to really make it pop.
 
When we grill Swai, we cook it shanty style, due to its tendency to break apart when flipping (probably related to it being previously frozen). To cook shanty style: butter two heavy sheets of aluminum foil, put fish on one buttered sheet of foil, cover with onions, garlic, pepper, and lemon, then put other buttered sheet of foil on top. Pack it up tightly and throw some shanty potatoes on grill with them (thinly sliced layers of potatoes, onions, butter, and pepper in buttered foil).
 
I kind of have to laugh - both basa and swai are members of the pangasius genus (and have a more similar texture and flavor than to catfish found native in the U.S.), but my grocer has started selling packages of "pangasius" as if this is a species instead of a genus. You may or may not be able to figure out whether it is one or the other until you taste it - to me, basa has a somewhat buttery flavor, while swai does not. Though, admittedly, it could just as easily be another species within the pangasius genus...
 
Oh, I absolutely LOVE swai fish. It's cheap and pretty damn tasty! I usually put white pepper and lemon juice, wrap it in tin foil and put it in the oven for 15 mins @ roughly about 280C/375F.
 
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