Fish for making 'fish & chips'.

[Carlosm]

First off, if there is a thread for this please post the link as i cannot find one (but i'm sure there is).

I've been using Dory fish frozen from Makro's but its become tasteless and textureless and all there seems to be when cooked is the batter or breadcrumbs. 15 years ago i lived in Bangkok and you could buy Red snapper fillets which were the best i've had whilst in Thailand but now i've moved up north cannot find it anywhere.

So, the question is, what fish do you use ? or am i doing something wrong with my dory fish fillets such as not 'priming' them right ? do you need to do something to the fillets first ?

Plus, in Makro's there are many different fish types, whats your view on them not just for fish and chips but variations of cooking.

[Crazy chef 1]

sea bass or white snapper are quiet ok. Barracuda even better...

[ChangMaiSausage]

I always buy snapper (white / red) when available in one of the main supermarkets (Chiang Mai)

Gave up using the frozen fillets as they seemed to have no taste.

[Pungdo]

Most of the "Dory" fillets are not dory at all, but Catfish, to me they taste like mud or at least the filthy ponds they are reared in, I'm lucky and live close to the coast, I use fresh reef fish for my crumbed fish & chips hit.

For anyone that doesn't believe the Dory - Catfish claim, then check your fillets, if they look like the fillet below, then it is Catfish, Dory is a clean white fillet without the distinctive blood lines running all through it.

Dory looks like this

[steveG]

Any fish from the Grouper family of fish makes very good deep fried Fish.

[Gsxrnz]

Whatever you use, fresh is always going to cook better and taste better than the frozen equivalent.

Saltwater fish will also always be better than freshwater in Thailand. The rearing ponds here aren't exactly the crystal clear streams and lakes snow fed from the mountains that I'm used to.

Gimme a brown or a rainbow caught in a mountain stream or river and a few wild sweet potatoes (Kumara) and I'll show you a good feed.

[Carlosm]

I always buy snapper (white / red) when available in one of the main supermarkets (Chiang Mai)

Gave up using the frozen fillets as they seemed to have no taste.

totally agree... tasteless !!!

[mamypoko]

Most of the "Dory" fillets are not dory at all, but Catfish, to me they taste like mud or at least the filthy ponds they are reared in, I'm lucky and live close to the coast, I use fresh reef fish for my crumbed fish & chips hit.

For anyone that doesn't believe the Dory - Catfish claim, then check your fillets, if they look like the fillet below, then it is Catfish, Dory is a clean white fillet without the distinctive blood lines running all through it.

Dory looks like this

Dory looks like something else, too.

[Bangkok Barry]

You don't say where you live so it's difficult to advise. But Villa supermarkets, or at least the one I use in Bangkok, has cod steaks, probably from China. Three for about 360 baht. Or if you find a place that claims to sell cod and chips, ask them for their supplier.

[Gandtee]

The so called Dory has a strange taste to it. I solved the problem of it disintegrating by dipping it into flour and then into a stiff beer batter, Chang seems to be the best for a crisp batter. But now I have given the Dory impostor the elbow and use Pla Insee which my wife buys from the local fish market, fillet it and what I don't cook on that day, I freeze. A firmer flesh, but very tasty.

[gamini]

sea bass or white snapper are quiet ok. Barracuda even better...

So-called seabass or white snapper sold in Thailand have nothing to do with the sea. they are estuary perch raised in huge freshwater ponds all over Thailand. They are then sent back to Bangkok, frozen and palmed off on unsuspecting Thais and foreigners as a sea fish. Sometimes a fresh one can be found from the river but never in the sea. They have no relation to the snapper family of fish and it's a real big scam. Because they have a monopoly they overcharge. They managed to market them because the Thais have a way of cooking them with lots of chilies to give them some taste otherwise they are a pretty tasteless fish.

Fresh barracuda is okay as long as they are not too big. The larger ones contain toxic substances and the fishermen use expression as long as your arm will do no harm. Personally I think the Pla chon, a freshwater fish is very much better provided they haven't been frozen. You can find red snapper and grouper but it's quite expensive and hard to find. I use the cod fillets and bake them in foil with plenty of spices.

[Crazy chef 1]

pretty much spot on except the white snapper description.

i buy them here from our local fisher for 200THB a kg and they are from the sea...

red snapper is 150THB a kg...

but es described above Cod is the best...

[RT555]

SNOWFISH.

[Mekong Bob]

pretty much spot on except the white snapper description.

i buy them here from our local fisher for 200THB a kg and they are from the sea...

red snapper is 150THB a kg...

but es described above Cod is the best...

The Brits favor Atlantic Cod and Atlantic Haddock for fish and chips.

Rimping in Chiang Mai has nice (frozen) Atlantic Cod. Grouper (pla kao) is good - firm and flakey.

Avoid the dreaded Mekong catfish (aka "Dory" aka Pangasius" aka "Panga") at all cost!!!

[Jip99]

Anyone tried frying snakehead fish.

[sanuk711]

Salmon...........at Makro's price I eat it 3 times a week----------

[Crazy chef 1]

pretty much spot on except the white snapper description.

i buy them here from our local fisher for 200THB a kg and they are from the sea...

red snapper is 150THB a kg...

but es described above Cod is the best...

The Brits favor Atlantic Cod and Atlantic Haddock for fish and chips.

Rimping in Chiang Mai has nice (frozen) Atlantic Cod. Grouper (pla kao) is good - firm and flakey.

Avoid the dreaded Mekong catfish (aka "Dory" aka Pangasius" aka "Panga") at all cost!!!

taste wise is the mekong cat fish not bad but is ecological disaster how they get farmed...

[Crazy chef 1]

SNOWFISH.

philistine...

[Jip99]

pretty much spot on except the white snapper description.

i buy them here from our local fisher for 200THB a kg and they are from the sea...

red snapper is 150THB a kg...

but es described above Cod is the best...

The Brits favor Atlantic Cod and Atlantic Haddock for fish and chips.

Rimping in Chiang Mai has nice (frozen) Atlantic Cod. Grouper (pla kao) is good - firm and flakey.

Avoid the dreaded Mekong catfish (aka "Dory" aka Pangasius" aka "Panga") at all cost!!!

What was your issue with Pangasius ?

[SunsetT]

Dory is catfish: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pangasius.

It is being sold everywhere in Thailand now, often 'as if' it is sea fish. It is also now very common in the West, sold in the UK as 'basa'. Edible if well seasoned but, in essence, tasteless and takes longer to cook than sea fish. I have had to send it back undercooked a few times in Thailand so try to avoid it now.. I think tilapia fillets tastes much better and makes a good deep fried battered or breaded option. I know because the nearest to juicy English chip shop cod I have found in Thailand being sold as deep fried breaded 'fish steak' in Pricha night market, Udon Thani. The man cooking it is fastidious, and must buy it super fresh and sells out every night.

Fresh 'sea perch' is sold in the supermarkets, and my Thai lady says in thai in Thai it is labeled as 'snapper', so Im not sure what it is. Macro sell it as fresh chilled steaks, Tastes OK. I have bought small frozen grouper fillets in Macro. They were very tasty and I like it. Im told by a friend they stay to soft for 'fish & chips and he prefers Macro's frozen grunt fillets.

[Suradit69]

sea bass or white snapper are quiet ok. Barracuda even better...

"sea bass or white snapper are quiet ok"

Is noise level important when making fish & chips?

[Jip99]

Dory is catfish: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pangasius.

It is being sold everywhere in Thailand now, often 'as if' it is sea fish. It is also now very common in the West, sold in the UK as 'basa'. Edible if well seasoned but, in essence, tasteless and takes longer to cook than sea fish. I have had to send it back undercooked a few times in Thailand so try to avoid it now.. I think tilapia fillets tastes much better and makes a good deep fried battered or breaded option. I know because the nearest to juicy English chip shop cod I have found in Thailand being sold as deep fried breaded 'fish steak' in Pricha night market, Udon Thani. The man cooking it is fastidious, and must buy it super fresh and sells out every night.

Fresh 'sea perch' is sold in the supermarkets, and my Thai lady says in thai in Thai it is labeled as 'snapper', so Im not sure what it is. Macro sell it as fresh chilled steaks, Tastes OK. I have bought small frozen grouper fillets in Macro. They were very tasty and I like it. Im told by a friend they stay to soft for 'fish & chips and he prefers Macro's frozen grunt fillets.

In Buriram Makro they kindly provide a wall chart of all the fish types with English translation.

I had a restaurant for 3 years and we sold beer battered fish and chips with mushy peas. It was our best seller - but I accept your comment about taking longer to cook and being relatively tasteless (compared to cod), seasoning was important.

However, I would take Pangasius any day to the muddy tasting farmed fish that I have had too many times in Thai restaurants.

[chiang mai]

The so called "red snapper" that we see in supermarkets and tourist beach towns is really, so I gather, a Thai fish know as "tub tim", am not sure I've ever had real red snapper in Thailand.

[SunsetT]

Anyone tried frying snakehead fish.

These are one of those fish offered cooked whole in Thai restaurants. One option is breaded and deep fried but ruined for me because covered in mango salad or some other sauce. It is more expensive as it is favoured by Thais. If u can get it served with the sauce or salad separate it is delicious and, if filleted, Im sure would make good fish and chips.

[SunsetT]

The so called "red snapper" that we see in supermarkets and tourist beach towns is really, so I gather, a Thai fish know as "tub tim", am not sure I've ever had real red snapper in Thailand.

Yes, it is orange and so resembles red snapper. I think It actually tastes quite good; much better than Dory.

Edited February 11, 2015 by SunsetT

[glassdude007]

I have bought (not Cheap) fresh whole Flounder (Fluke) at the gypsy market in Rawai.

Filet it myself as the gypsy lady had no clue how to fillet a flounder…..

Was excellent deep fried, topped with my home made tartar sauce (mayonnaise & hot dog relish)

The Mrs. put the remains/skeleton on BBQ and had a meal for herself to…. Alloy maaak

[steve187]

Food Land Pattaya have some nice frozen cod, about 280baht for a large piece which would give 3 good sized meals.

[2fishin2]

Why anyone in their right mind would purchase frozen fish over fresh is beyond my comprehension.

[Jip99]

Why anyone in their right mind would purchase frozen fish over fresh is beyond my comprehension.

So you would prefer 'fresh' Thai fish to frozen cod ?

[steve187]

Why anyone in their right mind would purchase frozen fish over fresh is beyond my comprehension.

we are talking fish and chips here, nothing else, no local fresh fish would be the same or as good as cod, if fresh cod is available then that would be better....