With the depletion of so many stocks of wild ocean fish due to heavy comercial fishing, farmed fish has become the norm.

Farmed catfish and trout go way back. I've always enjoyed catfish regardless of where it came from. A favorite, no-longer-available pastime was catching catfish at the Cross-eyed Cricket Campground west of Knoxville and taking them to be cleaned and cooked at the on-property restaurant where they were served with slaw and hush puppies. The catfish pond was downstream from the trout pound so you know what they ate (trout poop) and it did not seem to have any effect on the flavor since catfish are scavengers in the wild. OTOH, I've never liked farm raised trout which had a bland flavor based on the puppy chow fed them.

Tilapia is native to Africa, I think and seem to thrive anywhere. I've seen them in drainage ponds and city parks in FL and AL. It doesn't look like they die easily. They are fast taking over the seafood freezers in the grocery stores where I shop and appear on almost every menu in the casual dining category.

I have ordered and enjoyed it in various recipes but haven't tried it at home. In restaurants, it is always over-prepared; blackened, sauced, spiced, creamed, smothered, etc. Does it have a flavor or must it be seasoned and combined with other ingredients that lend it flavor? I'm tempted to buy one to cook and serve in it's nekkid glory just to test my belief.

I cook tilapia all the time. It is a very mild fish and you may be right labeling it the Tofu of the Sea! LOL!

My favorite preparation is fish tacos. I pan fry it with only a spritz of oil and add a bit of salt, pepper and paprika. It is served is a flour tortilla with homemade pico de gallo. Easy to make, high protein, low fat and yummy!

Deb

Yeah, "Tofu of the Sea" is right.....it does nicely take on whatever flavors you decide to add.........it's sort of the next step after fish sticks for people who aren't sure if they really like to eat fish...... enjoy!

I don't care for it, it's too mild for my taste. It needs all the other stuff to give it some flavor. If you like mild fish, you will probably like it.

I do know it's saved more than a few farms in this area, with many of them converting part of their barn space to raising it.

I avoid both catfish and tilapia.

MisterNice

A friend of mine with decidedly vegetarian leanings once told me that tilapia is one of the most environmentally friendly farmed fish: they take any kind of organic refuse and turn it into high quality lean protein.

Tilapia also lack many of the fatty acids and other nutrients that make fish an in-vogue healthy food. But bang for the buck of cheap protein, it can't be beat.

+1

I tried it in the Montgomery, Alambama (I have never seen it outside of the US) and it really just had zero flavour. It didn't even taste of fish. Tofu indeed.

I would call sole the 'tofu of the sea'. For a nice light fish, I prefer orange roughy, with (quality) tilapia in second place. Wild, cold water trout blow either away IMO, but you can't buy that at the store.

My motto when it comes to fish is simple. If I can't catch it, I don't want to eat it. Tilapia is like most farmed fish. Bland. The same goes for farm raised salmon and catfish.

There is nothing like the flavor and texture of a fresh caught fish. (Almost any species). Even with advanced refrigeration and shipping techniques, I can tell a huge difference in the taste of a fish that I caught in the morning, and one purchased at a really good seafood market.

Orange roughy is a very long-lived species that is slow to reach sexual maturity. Unfortunately, due to its popularity, it is being over-fished and is well on its way to extinction - much like bluefin tuna.

We buy it because it's cheap. Our favorite preparation: cover fillets with Rotel (Mexican with lime & cilantro variety), bake for about 20 minutes at 375 F. One can well drained will cover two nice sized fillets. Put fillets on a foil covered sheet pan, sprayed with a little Pam, before covering with Rotel.

We're trying to commit to about 2 fish meals a week. For a second meal, we might simply cover fillets with olive oil, lemon pepper, sometimes Mrs. Dash. Same sheet pan in the oven at 375, maybe only 15 minutes without the Rotel. It's not bad either way.

Take a whole tilapia, salt the inside, and stuff it with ginger and spring onion. Steam it until cooked through. In a separate pan or pot, heat a quarter cup of vegetable oil until it begins to smoke. Once the fish is cooked, pour on some light soy sauce (a bit of sesame oil and Shaoxing wine too, perhaps) followed by the hot oil. Do this in the sink as it will cause a bit of a mess. Serve with steamed rice and some veggies. Delicious!

What a hilarious description "Tofu of the sea". I'm going to use that from now on. Try wrapping your tilapia in bacon.. Bacon wrapped whitefish is AMAZING

What isn't amazing when wrapped in bacon?

I refuse to eat any farm raised seafood.