gaobest

this frozen concept really is a life changing piece of information for myself!

YVR Cockroach

Why bother with fresh, let alone frozen scallops when you can get them live in the shell? Link with Chinese food. Funny how the preference is either for frssh (recently live) in shell and dried (for the extra umami?)

Pacific cod is a related species to atlantic cod. Not eaten much for whatever reason. There is also balck codsablefish which is not related to cod (Gadus spp.)

Dodgy to buy in supermarkets as there is a lot of fish species misrepresentation so unless you can see the whole fish, there are no guarantees.

I can't find the source but there was some little-known fish species in the northern Pacific. Difficult to market because it doesn't preserve well.

gaobest

I’m hoping that Kirkland / Costco brand of frozen wild seafood is acceptable and honest and not dodgy.
yes, I probably would buy your bridge or free stock tip.

moondog

Now, you've got me thinking about a topic I might have already touched upon here.

First of all, regardless of which ocean or sea, there seems to be an inverse correlation between water temperature and deliciousness for most varieties of sea food. For example, New England and the east coast of Florida share the same ocean, but the former has more fish species, and fatter (i.e. more flavorful) fish intra-species.

As for Atlantic v Pacific, I might be slightly biased due to spending my formative years on Cape Cod and in Boston (divorced parents), but I found the fish selection and quality there was generally much better than California/Oregon/Washington. For example, at most normal grocery stores on the West Coast, you're limited to salmon, halibut, tilapia (yuck!), and maybe something like Dover Sole. Higher end markets have a bit more variety, but a lot of the good stuff isn't local.

Meanwhile, in New England (as well as France/England), you could easily eat a different type of fish every day of the week. As cliché as it sounds, cod (especially haddock) is actually my favorite fish from Cape Cod Bay, but I also like flounder, bluefish, striped bass, black sea bass, etc. I don't care so much for swordfish myself, but it's also popular, and I would always choose it over mahi mahi (which has similar flavor and texture profiles).

Within the Pacific, I'd like to make a specific recommendation for Hiroshima (and nearby cities) if you like ,sushi because the Seto Naikai Sea has outstanding fresh fish (e.g. yellowtail, red snapper, sea urchin), especially during colder months. When you eat sushi in Tokyo, the variety is obviously the best in the world, but odds are it has passed through the The Tsukiji Market, which adds at least a day in terms of (un) freshness.

I partially overlook my anti warm water bias when staying on beaches in certain parts of Southeast Asia where fresh fish comes in every evening. Sea bass, red snapper, and white snapper seem to be common, and all taste fairly similar to me. What I really like, apart from the freshness, is that you can usually have it prepared according to your tastes (personally, I like to bring a little bit of non-terrible white wine myself, and sometimes olive oil).

MSYtoJFKagain

Colder waters produce fish with more fat.

Re: Scallops and really all fish

There is no difference between fresh and properly frozen fish. I catch and eat fish here on Cape Cod and freeze them to consume later. Bluefish, black seabass, scup, tautog. All of them taste exactly the same if frozen immediately after gutting and filleting. I freeze them in ziplocs with as much air removed as possible. Same goes for scallops. We buy 1-3 lbs of fresh scallops a week from some friends that run a boat here and freeze a lb or two every other week. They keep perfectly and we've eaten them as sashimi/sushi after defrosting more than once.

I have to disagree on the diversity of fish on West vs East coasts. The diversity of fish in the supermarket may be different but the west coast has a slightly larger variety of easily catchable eating fish. Rockfish (3 or more varieties), drum, striped bass, salmon, lingcod, surfperch, greenlings, cabezon, halibut, sheephead and yellowtail tuna are all fishable.. Here on the Cape we have striped bass, bluefish, tautog, black seabass, scup, haddock, pollock, cod, flounder/sole (rarely), dogfish (very rarely). Bluefin tuna are also fishable but I don't consider those a target species for most people due to the cost.

One of the current problems with climate change out here is that we're now getting some very rarely seen fish (Bonefish, triggerfish, mahi) that show up en masse every year. While fun for fishing, they are eating the feeder fish that sustain our local biomass.

gaobest

Thank you! I’m saving money because of you saying stuff like this. It’s huge. Costco has frozen wild scallops and even wild crab. Maybe next time.

I bought frozen wild salmon again. All thanks to you.

TWA884

What's sold as Dover Sole on the West Coast is usually Slime Fish. It's disgusting and, in my opinion, inedible; it turns into a gelatinous mess when cooked.

moondog

I've only bought it in Portland, usually at Zupan's, which is sort of like Whole Foods. In terms of preparation, my girlfriend at the time typically made a sashimi salad out of it, similar to why you get from Matsuhisa, and it was always delicious. Not especially difficult to make either; basically place the filets between bamboo planks after dousing them in a citrus based (including ponzu and/or yuzu sauce) marinade, which does the "cooking".

Speaking of preparation, I went to a restaurant here last night called Ministry of Crab (first floor of Barbarossa in People's Park for those of you who know Shanghai). They only offer one type of fish each day, and the quality is usually decent. You just get to choose between 3 cooking styles: teriyaki (no thanks), butter, and olive oil plus a little soy sauce.

I tried each of the latter, and felt a 10-year old could have done a better job. The fish itself (Australian sea bass) wasn't mind blowing, but was certainly up to my standards. Unfortunately, the chefs didn't give it the love it deserved. Had I cooked it myself, I probably would have gone with olive oil, lemon slices, white wine, maybe ginger and/or garlic, and wrapped it in foil prior to baking. But, the foil isn't necessary, and the same ingredients work fine on the stove top. I almost never bread sea bass, but doing so would have resulted in a better final product than what the restaurant dished out.

I don't plan on returning to Ministry of Crab because, apart from the disappointing fish, those guys are way too into themselves.

My favorite fish dish in Shanghai is Cod Mediterranean, and it's available at a handful of mid-range restaurants. Sure, it includes a lot of "stuff" in addition to the fish, but the fish always makes its presence known. Supposedly, it comes from Iceland.

corky

Say what?? I have been eating SLIMEFISH??? I have always bought Dover Sole frozen at Trader Joe although I haven't been able to find it for a long while. And it does not turn into a blob....it is very good. But slimefish?

moondog

Explanation here:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_sole
(skip down to the "Other Species Named 'Dover Sole'" section)

MSYtoJFKagain

I love the grey sole we get up here. Slimefish seems... unappetizing. Sometimes a name change or rebrand is necessary. Looking at you Whore's Egg (Sea urchin), Patagonian Toothfish (Chilean seabass), and Slimehead (Orange roughy).

gaobest

I’m torn about the Chilean sea bass - first had it at a restaurant in 1993. Sometimes I notice the moniker when I’m reading fish pamphlets. Then I thought that I saw it at Costco in the frozen seafood section, as I’ve naturally changed my lifestyle when it comes to buying seafood for the house (thank you this thread!!!)

so I just googled it and saw this quote in Martha’s website:
” According to Monterey Bay Aquarium's SeafoodWatch.com, the Patagonian toothfish (otherwise known as Chilean sea bass) should be avoided due to overfishing. It is still being overfished in Chilean waters and the stock around Prince Edward and Marion Island in the South Atlantic Ocean is nearly depleted.”


so we should not buy it, correct? I’m surprised that Costco is selling it but I’ll ignore and just continue to buy their other wild seafood.

I did recently buy Costco hot smoked salmon as i used to buy the hot smoked salmon plus salmon candy at Whole Foods. Btw I’m also now torn about the sustainably farmed lox that I’ve been regularly buying because it’s farmed and not wild; naturally Costco has wild lox which I’m more inclined to buy because it’s wild and of course because it’s cheaper (50%) being Costco....

MSYtoJFKagain

Yeah, chilean sea bass should be avoided. Only way to get them to stop stocking it is to leave the freezers full.

gaobest

thank you! I’ll definitely not buy it. Temptation exists but I’ll probably succeed with this one...
I remain perplexed with Costco raw sea scallops; the packaging doesn’t indicate Wild in big font. The price tag indicates it so either the tag is inaccurate or I just missed it with the packaging; I can further investigate in the future. Bit moot of course as my freezer is full.

YVR Cockroach

+1

Yes, Patagonia tootfhfish should be avoided, as should many larger seaf fish, if one has any environmental conscience. Demand for fish protein has far outstripped sustainable supply for most fisheries in the world. The only ones hat might be sustainable to eat are the small feeder fish.that feed bgger fish (herring, anchovies, sardines) but these could be fished out too (or deprive food for other marine life).

I refuse to eat farmed salmon for many reasons. One of those - related to overfishing - is that wild fish is caught and converted into feed pellets for farmed salmon. Though I live by the sea, I've (to the best of my recollection) only eaten farmed steelhead trout (a native species to where I am) though I am still unsure of how environmentally sound their method of raising is.

Costco and most other seafood retailers are amoral. If you can (and/r must eat fish), buy your fish from someplace that buy fish certified by MSC (Marine Stewardship Council). May be green (or blue) washing but perhaps better than nothing.