Monday menu: Broiled basa a “best choice”

Basa is considered a “good choice / alternative” by Seafood Watch – a group of scientists at the Monteray Bay Aquarium who “encourage consumers and businesses to purchase seafood that is fished or farmed in ways that don’t harm the environment,” reads the Monteray Bay website.

“Basa is a species of river catfish farmed extensively in Asia. Catfish farmed in the U.S. is considered a ‘Best Choice,’ as it’s farmed in a more ecologically responsible manner.”

Seafood Watch Pocket Guides for your region to help you choose ocean-friendly seafood wherever you live or travel.

Now I see some information about basa on Seachoice.org – a group of five conservation organizations from Canada, including the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society, the David Suzuki Foundation, Ecology Action Center, Living Oceans Society and Sierra Club British Columbia. They give basa a rating “Some Concerns.”

One reason for concern is: “The high occurrence of open-cages and the high stocking densities within indicate that there is a clear risk of pollution and habitat effects. This risk is tempered by the already degraded state and high water flow of the Mekong River Delta where the farms are located.”

I ate it anyways…

I thawed two basa filets from the freezer, and prepared them based on a recipe by Jamie Oliver in his 2009 book Jamie’s Food Revolution (Broiled Trout Topped With Mustard and Oats, p. 253).

fyi, this is the first time I’ve written out a recipe – and I have changed some details from the above, so maybe I don’t even need to tell you where I got the idea originally, but it seems like credit is due. Except I didn’t use trout; I used basa.

Basa filet recipe

1) Turn the oven on to broil
2) Put the basa filets in a pan with olive oil and a little salt and freshly ground pepper
3) Spread dijon mustard on the fish.
4) Put 1/2 cup rolled oats in a bowl and add a tablespoon of olive oil.
5) Arrange the oat-oil mixture onto the fish (on top of the mustard, salt, and pepper)
6) Broil for 10 to 15 minutes (and keep a close eye on the fish, because all broilers are different and I don’t want yours to burn, if you try this at home…)

Serve it with some kind of carb – pasta, baby potatoes, or rice – and some kind of veg item like green salad or maybe steamed asparagus.

Tags: fish list, seafood, sustainable fish