Invasion of the Viet 'cod' as exotic fish takes over

Published on Tuesday 2 February 2010 21:57

A VIETNAMESE catfish is growing in popularity with UK consumers faster than any other type of seafood.

• Sales of pangasius, or Vietnamese river cobbler, are up 60 per cent

The pangasius, or basa, is being sold in supermarkets as "Vietnamese river cobbler" and has many of the attributes of cod at a much lower price.

Sales have risen by 60 per cent in the past year, with 1,005 tonnes of the fish eaten in the UK.

This puts it almost on the same level of sales as sea bass and coley by weight, and is double the amount of crab and scallops.

In contrast, sales of cod have fallen by 17 per cent over the past year, salmon and tuna by 4 per cent, trout by 11 per cent and plaice by 13 per cent. However, sales in haddock have increased by 2 per cent.

The Vietnamese cobbler is farmed in the Mekong Delta, is relatively bone-free and has a mild flavour.

It started to be intensively farmed there about five years ago. It sells for about 2 for two fillets, about half the price of cod. It is also used extensively in processed meals in the UK.

Sales last year totalled more than 8 million.

The fish, first imported from Vietnam to the UK about two years ago, is one of a series of newcomers taking the market by storm.

Sales of pollock, often eaten as an alternative to cod and usually imported from Alaska, rose by 29 per cent, with more than 15,000 tonnes sold over the past year.

Tuna remains the most popular fish, with almost 77,000 tonnes sold last year in the UK, followed by salmon with 53,000 tonnes, cod with 39,000 tonnes and haddock with 25,000 tonnes.

The figures were produced for Seafish, the trade body that represents the seafood industry.

Karen Galloway, its market planning manager, said: "Cobbler has really taken off because it is relatively inexpensive compared with other types of white fish that are available like cod and haddock and even pollack. It's a good credit-crunch fish."

She added that research showed it initially particularly appealed to Eastern Europeans living in the UK, but has since broadened its appeal.

She encouraged people to give it a try. "From our perspective it's about trying a variety of species," she said.

"We have traditionally been a nation of rather limited tastes and I would encourage people to experiment with as wide a variety of species as possible."

So what exactly are you supposed to do with it?

Cobbler au gratin

THIS dish would be an ideal quick supper meal to serve family or friends.

INGREDIENTS

4 big Vietnamese cobbler fillets

1 lime

1 cup basmati rice

Saltwater for the rice

Butter

Cheese

1 onion, chopped

1 clove garlic, chopped

2 tomatoes, chopped

Olive oil

1 cup water

1 tablespoon of vegetable broth

Vegetables of your choice

METHOD

Wash the fillets and dry them with kitchen towel.

Cut them into eight pieces and squeeze some lime juice on each. Season with salt and pepper.

While boiling the rice, place the fillets on a baking dish and spread some butter on them. Bake in preheated oven at 190C gas mark 5 for about 20 minutes.

Add the cheese until the fillets are covered and let the fish bake for another 5-10 minutes until the cheese turns golden-brown.

Let it cool down and rest.

Meanwhile, chop the onions, the garlic and the tomatoes and saut them in a skillet with olive oil until the onion turns transparent.

Add a cup of water and the vegetable broth.

Let the mixture simmer. Serve the fillets together with rice, the sauce and vegetables of your choice.

Broccoli goes well with this recipe.

Instead of the tomato-based sauce and the rice, you could try potatoes and alfredo sauce, which is made from cream and Parmesan cheese and thickened with flour.