comparative fish preparation

lrbassmom

Would you say that a swai fish fillet sauteed with butter served with a light cream sauce would be about the same calorie wise as a battered deep-fried version?

Probably wasn't the best healthiest choice as far as recipes go but dang it was good.

And for those of you that are curious...

Swai with a cajun cream sauce...
Spring blend vegetables steamed with a little grated cheese thrown on top.

healthygreek

What kind of fish is swai?

neanderthin

What kind of fish is swai?

It'a similar to basa and much like catfish over here. It's cheap and comes farmed from S.E.A. countries like Cambodia, Thailand and Vietnam. It's not bad, wouldn't serve it in my restaurant, but I would eat it at home for sure and it's better than the popular tilapia, which imo is forgettable and not worth the effort.

rosebarnalice

Calorie-wise, I don't think you did yourself any favors substituting batter-frying with a butter and cream sauce.

I'm more of a spicy tomato sauce gal myself.

lrbassmom

Yeah, I had no idea what kind of fish it was until after I had it home and defrosting. Apparently it's the Asian version of river catfish, only without the sometimes sliminess.

I was a little concerned when I found out it was of the catfish variety. I thought it would be like tilapia, and it is, sort of. It has a little more flavor than tilapia.

I seasoned 4 large fillets with the Kroger version of Tony Cachere's (all purpose cajun seasoning) and might have gotten a little bit much. At least the husband thought so. So, while it was defrosting with the cajun seasoning on it, I sliced up a couple of green onions. Then melted about 2 Tbsp of butter in a large pan, and seared it on high heat to do a milder version of blackened then turned the heat down to med. high. At this point I got a little concerned because the pan started getting watery. Apparently the seasoning is heavy on the salt and was leaching the water out of the fish. So I poured off the water and continued sauteing. Then flipped. When it looked like they were done, I pulled them out and set on the serving dish. To the pan I added about another tbsp of butter, melted it then added 2 chopped green onions. Sauteed until wilted and then added about a 1/4 cup of heavy whipping cream. Reduced heat and reduced until it was thickened and then added the juice of a lime. Stirred to incorporate and then added the fillets back to warm.

So, with that recipe, I managed to obliterate any healthy aspect of the fish. Didn't I?

neanderthin

Yeah, I had no idea what kind of fish it was until after I had it home and defrosting. Apparently it's the Asian version of river catfish, only without the sometimes sliminess.

I was a little concerned when I found out it was of the catfish variety. I thought it would be like tilapia, and it is, sort of. It has a little more flavor than tilapia.

I seasoned 4 large fillets with the Kroger version of Tony Cachere's (all purpose cajun seasoning) and might have gotten a little bit much. At least the husband thought so. So, while it was defrosting with the cajun seasoning on it, I sliced up a couple of green onions. Then melted about 2 Tbsp of butter in a large pan, and seared it on high heat to do a milder version of blackened then turned the heat down to med. high. At this point I got a little concerned because the pan started getting watery. Apparently the seasoning is heavy on the salt and was leaching the water out of the fish. So I poured off the water and continued sauteing. Then flipped. When it looked like they were done, I pulled them out and set on the serving dish. To the pan I added about another tbsp of butter, melted it then added 2 chopped green onions. Sauteed until wilted and then added about a 1/4 cup of heavy whipping cream. Reduced heat and reduced until it was thickened and then added the juice of a lime. Stirred to incorporate and then added the fillets back to warm.

So, with that recipe, I managed to obliterate any healthy aspect of the fish. Didn't I?

Blackening fish should never be done with oil, especially butter, it burns and turns acrid. A dry cast iron pan is best. The water was because they were frozen and frozen to close to cooking time......next time try a fresh fish and a dry pan, you'll see a big difference. The sauce can be made separately. Calories have nothing to do with health, so no you didn't obliterate that aspect, you just have to account for the calories.

lrbassmom

So, I constructed the recipe in 'my recipes'
4- 6 oz fillets
4 tbsp butter
3 tbsp lime juice
1/4 cup heavy cream

And ding ding ding, we have a winner! The swai with cajun cream sauce checked in at 259 calories per fillet compared to 310 for a battered and fried same size swai fillet.

Thanks for the heads up on the blackened thing. It wasn't "really" blackened, more just kind of browned.

healthygreek

Sounds delish.
I make a very tasty fish dish!
I finely chop:
Carrot
Onion
Garlic
Red pepper

I add to that (in a bowl):

Peas
Corn
Juice of 1 lime
1-4 tablespoons of olive oil depending on how many servings
Salt/pepper

I mix it all together.
I spray some non-caloric cooking spray in baking dish and place
a firm fleshed fish filets such as wild salmon or halibut in the pan and cover the fish with the
veggie mixture.
Bake in pre-heated oven for 20 minutes or until a knife passes easily through the flesh.
This is a very tasty, healthy and satisfying dish.