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There is nothing wrong with this fish! It wouldn’t be my death-row last wish fish, but I’ll scoff it down in less troublesome times.

巴沙鱼 (bā shā yú), Pangasius bocourti, Basa Fish is one of the world’s most under-rated fish while also being unjustly libelled and vilified in certain sectors. Known variously as “basa” or “river cobbler” in the UK, "basa fish", “swai” or "bocourti" in the US and Australia and “dory" in parts of SE Asia, this is a freshwater type of catfish, native to the Mekong river in Vietnam where it is extensively farmed.

In Vietnamese, it is “cá ba sa”. It is also found in Thailand’s Chao Phraya river basin where they call it "ปลาเผาะ (plā p̄heāa)”. China farms it in lesser amounts.

Basa Ramen

Much of the species is sold as frozen fillets. The mild-tasting flesh of the fillets is firm, white and boneless with a texture not dissimilar to that of cod or haddock. In fact, it has been illegally sold as cod in some fish and chip shops in the UK. It can be sold legally if described simply as “fish and chips”, but “cod and chips” must be cod. I have often used it happily in fish and chips when cod was unavailable, as well as using it in fish stews and soups.

Quote

Despite all the controversies the truth is we need fish like pangasius, it’s just the kind of cheap and nutritious protein essential to feed a growing and ever-more hungry world..

For more information on the vilification may I refer you to this 2013 article on “the money-maker that nobody loves”?

For a more recent report see this 2020 “more balanced appraisal of Vietnam’s pangasius sector”. The article includes this video which I will also link to separately for those in a hurry!

There is nothing wrong with this fish! It wouldn’t be my death-row last wish fish, but I’ll scoff it down in less troublesome times.

巴沙鱼 (bā shā yú), Pangasius bocourti, Basa Fish is one of the world’s most under-rated fish while also being unjustly libelled and vilified in certain sectors. Known variously as “basa” or “river cobbler” in the UK, "basa fish", “swai” or "bocourti" in the US and Australia and “dory" in parts of SE Asia, this is a freshwater type of catfish, native to the Mekong river in Vietnam where it is extensively farmed.

In Vietnamese, it is “cá ba sa”. It is also found in Thailand’s Chao Phraya river basin where they call it "ปลาเผาะ (plā p̄heāa)”. China farms it in lesser amounts.

Basa Ramen

Much of the species is sold as frozen fillets. The mild-tasting flesh of the fillets is firm, white and boneless with a texture not dissimilar to that of cod or haddock. In fact, it has been illegally sold as cod in some fish and chip shops in the UK. It can be sold legally if described simply as “fish and chips”, but “cod and chips” must be cod. I have often used it happily in fish and chips when cod was unavailable, as well as using it in fish stews and soups.

Quote

Despite all the controversies the truth is we need fish like pangasius, it’s just the kind of cheap and nutritious protein essential to feed a growing and ever-more hungry world..

For more information on the vilification may I refer you to this 2013 article on “the money-maker that nobody loves”?

For a more recent report see this 2020 “more balanced appraisal of Vietnam’s pangasius sector”. The article includes this video which I will also link to separately for those in a hurry!