Fish

[Jessi]

Perhaps some of the food guru on TV can help me.

 

What is a good fish to buy in Thailand to make "Fish & Chips"?

 

We all have different taste in food but I  do not like a strong tasting fish.

Many thanks for your help.

 

[sirmud63]

battered ?

crumbed?

budget range ? many diferant options, depending on how you like it .

[colinneil]

Jessi something fishy about this.

[Jessi]

11 minutes ago, colinneil said:

Jessi something fishy about this.

Good to see you Colin.

[metisdead]

There are pros and cons, I use frozen dory when doing batter fried fish.  While defrosting the dory,  place in a colander so that the water will drain off.  When ready, cut the dory fillets length wise along that natural line and  then cut the fillets in half. 

[Jessi]

29 minutes ago, sirmud63 said:

battered ?

crumbed?

budget range ? many diferant options, depending on how you like it .

Battered.

Australian style or English.

Price not important.

Many Thanks 

[Jessi]

Just now, metisdead said:

There are pros and cons, I use frozen dory when doing batter fried fish.  While defrosting the dory,  place in a colander so that the water will drain off.  When ready, cut the dory fillets length wise along that natural line and  then cut the fillets in half. 

I have seen the frozen Dory in Makro but never been game to try it.

[metisdead]

Just now, Jessi said:

I have seen the frozen Dory in Makro but never been game to try it.

 

I quit buying the Makro brand of Dory and have gone with the CP brand as the CP brand looked better. 

[Jessi]

29 minutes ago, metisdead said:

 

I quit buying the Makro brand of Dory and have gone with the CP brand as the CP brand looked better. 

OK thanks, I have a CP just up the road. I will check if they have any,

[grollies]

Pla mor hin wife uses, really nice fish, gets it from the grocery van when he has any?

[meatboy]

foodland has frozen pacific COD not bad but you need to drain it.

dory is mekon cat fish otherwise known as pangasius.

best fish for battered deep frying is asia sea bass [makro] thai name PLA KAPONG get them to fillet it for you.

used to be around 140bht.kilo whole.

[steven100]

Meatboy is correct .... Dory is farmed catfish ... it is mostly imported from Vietnam catfish farms, also called pangasius.  If I remember correct ..the packaging indicated an ocean fillet or words similar which was deceiving and not true.

I use to buy it frozen from foodland ... however I stopped buying it as it can be quite bland and tasteless if eaten alone.

You cannot beat ocean fish for flavour but much pricier obviously .....

[meatboy]

i used to buy the dory from fresh mart in the mall[korat] if i remember they had a choice ,the one i thought was ok was farmed in tidal waters hence the taste of salt.

one that i have been waiting to try is indian halibat[foodland].

the asia sea bass [barramundi] is very nice steamed good flesh.

[notmyself]

Red or white snapper is your best bet in my view but it needs to be fresh because if it has been fully frozen the flesh loses its integrity and disintegrates when cooked.  

[tutsiwarrior]

anybody got any good curry recipes using local curry pastes (or indian masala as I got all the spices) and locally available sea fish? gonna go up for my 3 monthly visit to makro soon and that pla kapong sounds mighty fine...

 

 

[meatboy]

17 hours ago, tutsiwarrior said:

anybody got any good curry recipes using local curry pastes (or indian masala as I got all the spices) and locally available sea fish? gonna go up for my 3 monthly visit to makro soon and that pla kapong sounds mighty fine...

 

 

i get indian masala mixed spices direct from india,EVEREST BRAND these are available in bkk.or most indian stores.

for thai curry i use LOBBO BRAND red,green and masaman paste.

2x chicken breasts.

1x packet paste.

1x tin coconut milk.

add for green curry egg plants quatered,for red small pea size egg plants.

[james.d]

On 5/21/2017 at 2:08 PM, tutsiwarrior said:

anybody got any good curry recipes using local curry pastes (or indian masala as I got all the spices) and locally available sea fish? gonna go up for my 3 monthly visit to makro soon and that pla kapong sounds mighty fine...

 

 

Did you manage to get the plakapong from Makro? I too tried the frozen cod from foodland and found it mushy when deep fried as someone else commented.

I am still trying to find a good batter mix (tried several recipes) and found the batter too heavy even after adding more cold soda.

Does anyone have a fail safe batter mix?

 

Cheers.

 

 

[electric]

Occasionally Makro have frozen Barramundi fillets. Probably farmed, but still very tasty and good slab size fillet. Ideal for "fish n chips" in my little home deep fryer. Cook for 6 mins on 170 degrees.

 

Only available with skin on. This skin needs to be removed completely before cooking, as it's tough as leather to eat, and ruins a nicely cooked fillet.

 

I agree with previous posters .... Pagnasius is without doubt the most bland tasteless fish I've ever eaten. Waste of money I reckon. Shame, because they're a beaut big fillet.

 

Batter ? Doesn't come any easier than plain flour and water and juice squeezed from half a big lime. Make sure it's fairly runny, to avoid an overly heavy batter when cooked.

 

Beer, soda etc tends to make batters too bubbly and overly crunchy IMHO

[tutsiwarrior]

17 minutes ago, james.d said:

Did you manage to get the plakapong from Makro? I too tried the frozen cod from foodland and found it mushy when deep fried as someone else commented.

I am still trying to find a good batter mix (tried several recipes) and found the batter too heavy even after adding more cold soda.

Does anyone have a fail safe batter mix?

 

Cheers.

 

 

not bought any plakapong yet...going up to makro next week and will investigate then...

 

got some of that pangasius from the local tescos as they had fresh fillets nicely displayed...gonna try that with my usual teriyaki recipe (marinate then pan fry with the marinade)...in the US never much liked catfish but I'll try it out it the interest of adapting to local ingredients, useta use Pacific ocean fish with the teriyaki; snapper, swordfish, tuna, halibut, etc...hammour in the middle east...

 

 

[notmyself]

36 minutes ago, james.d said:

Did you manage to get the plakapong from Makro? I too tried the frozen cod from foodland and found it mushy when deep fried as someone else commented.

I am still trying to find a good batter mix (tried several recipes) and found the batter too heavy even after adding more cold soda.

Does anyone have a fail safe batter mix?

 

Cheers.

 

 

 

I mentioned that snapper loses its integrity after being frozen but cod usually fares much better as do most other cold water fish. I use the words 'most other' because it is a rule of thumb rather than an absolute. It could be that the cod you got from Makro had been frozen for and extended length of time as that would also cause it to break up.

 

To keep the batter nice and light you want to make it just before use and that everything, including the bowl, has been in the refrigerator beforehand. You also want a weak flour rather than a strong flour such as bread flour along with 50-60% being rice flour or tempura flour. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[james.d]

Thank you all for the feedback, l was possibly trying to be too fancy following the professional web recipes. l shall return to the basic.

 

Thanks again.

 

[Pdaz]

Head to Naklua Seafood Market. Buy fresh fillets of Snapper or Grouper. There is a pretty good of fish but they do mainly cater for Thai taste which is to have a small whole fish rather than a larger fish filleted out. Still fresh is better than frozen.

Edited June 3, 2017 by Pdaz

[notmyself]

4 hours ago, james.d said:

Thank you all for the feedback, l was possibly trying to be too fancy following the professional web recipes. l shall return to the basic.

 

Thanks again.

 

 

Let us know if you manage to nail it as it's always good to learn new things.

 

Sometimes it can be as simple as ambient temperature which can be markedly different in hot climates such as Thailand.

 

You could, as far as fish goes, try snakefish as it tastes lovely for a freshwater fish and is also very firm like monkfish. See it quite often on roadside stalls where it is skewered whole and slowly roasted so as be almost smoked. I don't recall seeing them uncooked (live) except in traditional rural Thai markets where they are simply knows as snakefish.

 

Could not find a picture but it is used in this dish,

 

https://thaifoodmaster.com/thai_food_recipes/thai_main_dish_recipes/918

 

 

 

 

[james.d]

18 hours ago, notmyself said:

 

Let us know if you manage to nail it as it's always good to learn new things.

 

Sometimes it can be as simple as ambient temperature which can be markedly different in hot climates such as Thailand.

 

You could, as far as fish goes, try snakefish as it tastes lovely for a freshwater fish and is also very firm like monkfish. See it quite often on roadside stalls where it is skewered whole and slowly roasted so as be almost smoked. I don't recall seeing them uncooked (live) except in traditional rural Thai markets where they are simply knows as snakefish.

 

Could not find a picture but it is used in this dish,

 

https://thaifoodmaster.com/thai_food_recipes/thai_main_dish_recipes/918

 

 

 

 

Thanks.. would that be plaa-duk?..l shall ask my wife.

 

I shall revert back during my experimentation's of different types keeping a simple batter. 

 

As an aside, we bought a rather expensive stand alone gas oven/cooker and i was experiencing problems getting my scones to rise. l just bought a temperature gauge to hang inside the oven and found its alot more accurate. 

 

That said, l  will be using my deep fat fryer as per usual for fish and sausages etc.

 

Cheers.

[metisdead]

Here's a recipe that I kind of like:

 

http://emerils.com/123647/beer-battered-fish-twice-fried-vinegar-chips-and-basil-mayonnaise

 

A southern USA style recipe.

 

Also, have a look in Makro for SavePak brand Tempura Flour Pepper & Garlic Flavour, (they have other flavors as well) don't need to mix up the entire package, try 2 cups of that tempura flour and mix water into it until it reaches the batter consistency that you feel is right, dip your fish in it and fry it up.

 

[notmyself]

10 hours ago, james.d said:

Thanks.. would that be plaa-duk?..l shall ask my wife.

 

I shall revert back during my experimentation's of different types keeping a simple batter. 

 

As an aside, we bought a rather expensive stand alone gas oven/cooker and i was experiencing problems getting my scones to rise. l just bought a temperature gauge to hang inside the oven and found its alot more accurate. 

 

That said, l  will be using my deep fat fryer as per usual for fish and sausages etc.

 

Cheers.

 

Looking at the video {16 seconds in) I found, plaa-duk would indeed seem to be the same but it is called catfish so guess names are regional at least to some degree.

 

Forum legend metisdead mentioned using pure tempura flour which I find fine for super fast cook vegetables or shrimp but a little too light when used for larger items such as fish for fish and chips. It's all to do with the gluten though it can be activated by working the batter really hard.

 

I got an oven some years back (electric) which wasn't overly cheap but it is something I use very often so worth the cost in my mind. I have to honest and say that for some dishes a gas fired oven beats an electric oven hands down but I do have the use of one at a restaurant in town if I need it. For some things I have managed to adapt the method including my much sought after Yorkshire pudding though I would still say it is a bit better in a gas fired oven. To keep on topic I should also say that an oven is a great way to roast fish.

 

Good idea with the temp gauge as for some reason the ones supplied are notorious for being inaccurate. Very strange why that would be the case.

 

Anyway... video of the plaa-duk, picture of my brother in law eating my cod last year in the UK and my Yorkshire pudding.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[tutsiwarrior]

went to makro today and they had no plakapong...the stepdaughter seemed to think it was the same as canned tuna...

 

also saw a nice liter bottle of japanese mirin which is a sweet sake based cooking sauce, good for marinades and etc...at the checkout I was not allowed to purchase as it was between 1400 and 1700hrs...

 

I - kid - you - not...as I howled with laughter the checkout girl became alarmed thinking that she had a falang mental case on her hands...

 

 

[james.d]

Holy smoke.. that is a beauty of a yorkshire ( my mother would be proud of that)and the fish a good colour like what i aim for. 

I got some garlic / pepper tempura flour as recommended by Metisdead and there was barramundi but i didnt get any as i was unsure. Only now at home  i found out its known here as pla kapong.. Another trip to makro for me

 

 

 

Cheers.

[Turkleton]

2 hours ago, tutsiwarrior said:

went to makro today and they had no plakapong...the stepdaughter seemed to think it was the same as canned tuna...

"Pla kapong" is canned fish, so your stepdaughter seemed to be correct.. ;-)

 

[tutsiwarrior]

2 hours ago, Turkleton said:

"Pla kapong" is canned fish, so your stepdaughter seemed to be correct.. ;-)

 

 

someone said earlier that pla kapong is the name for the local sea bass...from the Paiboon dictionary looks like bplaa ga - pong is the correct translation hence the confusion...

 

thai is a treacherous language...or maybe like martial arts, easy to know enough to get into trouble...

 

 

Edited June 5, 2017 by tutsiwarrior