by SRD » Sun Feb 10, 2013 8:30 am
I've not come across basa, probably because I only buy fresh fish, but if wiki is anything to go by I'd be more inclined to think that negative comments about it are more to do with American protectionism than much else; the import of cheap basa has decimated their catfish industry. It would appear that the fish has been thoroughly tested in this country with virtually no contaminants found and salmon and trout have a pretty bad reputation for the state of the water they're farmed in and, as I've said before, the best cod is always to be found at the sewage outfalls.
I would, however, treat with suspicion the idea that food companies are using basa as part of a cod protection programme but feel that, in reality, it has more to do with the cheapness of it.
From what I've read it's a fairly soft fleshed fish and I'm not too fond of those, the closest I get is Brill, which is so good that we treat ourselves to it sometimes, it's a hell of a price though. Being so good we simply grill it with butter. I might make up a Café de Paris butter (also known by several other names) by mashing up an anchovy fillet, garlic, parsley, capers and lemon zest with butter, forming it into a log and chilling so that it can be sliced into rounds to dress fish or meat (it's remarkably good with steak or lamb chops). The log can be sliced and frozen with little bits of cling film between each slice and then slices can be retrieved as required.
Currently investigating the Hillmans of Sussex.