The Food Thread

Fifthelement

Tonight is fish tacos with homemade slaw and pico de gallo and guacamole on the side. I put a lot of garlic in the pico, every bite as a nice burn.  Yum!

F Me In The Brain

Wow, that all looks great!

Fifthelement

Thanks FMe. It was.  Might make the fish crispier next time with a panko batter. It was tasty as it was though.

Get_Right

When you buy frozen fish fillets, check the country of origin.  Just say no to India, Thailand or Vietnam. 

Fifthelement

Get_Right said:

When you buy frozen fish fillets, check the country of origin.  Just say no to India, Thailand or Vietnam. 

Thanks. That’s good advice.  I usually buy local, fresh stuff, particularly with shell fish.  This was the first time trying basa fish.  Thinking I’ll stick with cod or halibut next time.  The texture is firmer.

Get_Right

Fifthelement said:

Get_Right said:

When you buy frozen fish fillets, check the country of origin.  Just say no to India, Thailand or Vietnam. 

Thanks. That’s good advice.  I usually buy local, fresh stuff, particularly with shell fish.  This was the first time trying basa fish.  Thinking I’ll stick with cod or halibut next time.  The texture is firmer.

Frozen filets are perfect for tacos since there are a lot of toppings. You just want to make sure it did not come from a farm in those countries I listed.  I have actually visited those farms and just trust me when I say you dont want to eat what comes out of those ponds.  Same with shrimp.

F Me In The Brain

Can you share a little on what you saw?
I can imagine some bad stuff, curious as to what you witnessed.

Get_Right

F Me In The Brain said:

Can you share a little on what you saw?
I can imagine some bad stuff, curious as to what you witnessed.

Have you ever been to a hatchery?  Imagine man made ponds over stuffed with fish, so full that you can pick them up with your hands. Netted pens on the slow part of a river packed with fish or shrimp.  Antibiotics up the wazoo to prevent the fish from getting sick when they are on top of each other. They overfeed them to make them grow faster.  And that smell. Oh man so nasty.  Basa and Tilapia also eat poop which is part of the reason they are so popular for farming. After processing they also spray the filets with some kind of chlorine/ammonia based fluid and shrimp soak in it before freezing/packing.  I have never been to India but the fish and shrimp farms in Vietnam and Thailand were so gross it took days for me to the smells and the images out of my head. 

F Me In The Brain

Whoa.  Will make me think more on my skrimps.  I get wild fish vs. farmed, generally, but the skrimps I know do come from southeast Asia sometimes.  Will have to look again at that.  I was ordering wild caught brown skrimps from the US gulf but I like white skrimps or white leg skrimps...pink skrimps are probably next.

Will look for wild caught US skrimps of the white or pink variety.  I know I can go back to the wild browns, if needed.

Thanks for the gross-out!

eddiec

F Me In The Brain said:

Whoa.  Will make me think more on my skrimps.  I get wild fish vs. farmed, generally, but the skrimps I know do come from southeast Asia sometimes.  Will have to look again at that.  I was ordering wild caught brown skrimps from the US gulf but I like white skrimps or white leg skrimps...pink skrimps are probably next.

Will look for wild caught US skrimps of the white or pink variety.  I know I can go back to the wild browns, if needed.

Thanks for the gross-out!

I think I read (maybe on here) that unless you buy your prawn/shrimp alive, then they've been frozen. 
I'm with you on the dilemna. A lot of frozen prawns (especially Tiger) seem to come from Asia. Gonna have to do a bit of research. 
Found this on a quick search. https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/15/dining/shrimp-sourcing-united-states.html

Get_Right

F Me In The Brain said:

Whoa.  Will make me think more on my skrimps.  I get wild fish vs. farmed, generally, but the skrimps I know do come from southeast Asia sometimes.  Will have to look again at that.  I was ordering wild caught brown skrimps from the US gulf but I like white skrimps or white leg skrimps...pink skrimps are probably next.

Will look for wild caught US skrimps of the white or pink variety.  I know I can go back to the wild browns, if needed.

Thanks for the gross-out!

Yeah, we are very picky about the shellfish and fish we buy. It is not always possible to avoid farmed fish, but we try to avoid anything from Asia. The pork and poultry industry in the US is not that much better but at least there is some regulation. We try to avoid the standard meat in the supermarket. Makes for a painful and sometimes expensive shopping experience. Also we are not the type of people where everything needs to be super healthy/organic. There are pizza bagels, deli turkey, hot pockets and eggo waffles in our shopping cart.  But when it comes to fish and meat we are picky.  We are lucky in that we have a butcher and real fish monger nearby, the quality is insane, and so are the prices.

F Me In The Brain

eddiec said:

F Me In The Brain said:

Whoa.  Will make me think more on my skrimps.  I get wild fish vs. farmed, generally, but the skrimps I know do come from southeast Asia sometimes.  Will have to look again at that.  I was ordering wild caught brown skrimps from the US gulf but I like white skrimps or white leg skrimps...pink skrimps are probably next.

Will look for wild caught US skrimps of the white or pink variety.  I know I can go back to the wild browns, if needed.

Thanks for the gross-out!

I think I read (maybe on here) that unless you buy your prawn/shrimp alive, then they've been frozen. 
I'm with you on the dilemna. A lot of frozen prawns (especially Tiger) seem to come from Asia. Gonna have to do a bit of research. 
Found this on a quick search. https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/15/dining/shrimp-sourcing-united-states.html

Yes, I follow that same guideline and buy frozen on the skrimps.  Will check that link out, thanks!

F Me In The Brain

Get_Right said:

F Me In The Brain said:

Whoa.  Will make me think more on my skrimps.  I get wild fish vs. farmed, generally, but the skrimps I know do come from southeast Asia sometimes.  Will have to look again at that.  I was ordering wild caught brown skrimps from the US gulf but I like white skrimps or white leg skrimps...pink skrimps are probably next.

Will look for wild caught US skrimps of the white or pink variety.  I know I can go back to the wild browns, if needed.

Thanks for the gross-out!

Yeah, we are very picky about the shellfish and fish we buy. It is not always possible to avoid farmed fish, but we try to avoid anything from Asia. The pork and poultry industry in the US is not that much better but at least there is some regulation. We try to avoid the standard meat in the supermarket. Makes for a painful and sometimes expensive shopping experience. Also we are not the type of people where everything needs to be super healthy/organic. There are pizza bagels, deli turkey, hot pockets and eggo waffles in our shopping cart.  But when it comes to fish and meat we are picky.  We are lucky in that we have a butcher and real fish monger nearby, the quality is insane, and so are the prices.

All good info, thanks! 

My wife is super freak on the organic and related items but for the skrimps our game was off. 

Cliffy6745

Have shrimp defrosting for this evening and yup....India.  

I definitely can't avoid farm raised completely, but do have some great fish spots and butchers in South Philly that have good stuff.

Get_Right

Cliffy6745 said:

Have shrimp defrosting for this evening and yup....India.  

I definitely can't avoid farm raised completely, but do have some great fish spots and butchers in South Philly that have good stuff.

Yeah most of those bags of frozen shrimp are from Asia, but there are exceptions. It is possible to find US origin. Whole foods is pretty good for frozen fish/shellfish. We also tend to prefer the fresh stuff but will use the frozen for dishes like shrimp fried rice.

Cliffy6745

Get_Right said:

Cliffy6745 said:

Have shrimp defrosting for this evening and yup....India.  

I definitely can't avoid farm raised completely, but do have some great fish spots and butchers in South Philly that have good stuff.

Yeah most of those bags of frozen shrimp are from Asia, but there are exceptions. It is possible to find US origin. Whole foods is pretty good for frozen fish/shellfish. We also tend to prefer the fresh stuff but will use the frozen for dishes like shrimp fried rice.

Yeah we’re doing a stir fry tonight. We almost always go fresh seafood but keep a couple frozen bags in the freezer for a pinch.

rgambs

I'm not a huge fan of sea-bugs to begin with, and y'all aren't making me a bigger fan right now lol

F Me In The Brain

Cliffy6745 said:

Get_Right said:

Cliffy6745 said:

Have shrimp defrosting for this evening and yup....India.  

I definitely can't avoid farm raised completely, but do have some great fish spots and butchers in South Philly that have good stuff.

Yeah most of those bags of frozen shrimp are from Asia, but there are exceptions. It is possible to find US origin. Whole foods is pretty good for frozen fish/shellfish. We also tend to prefer the fresh stuff but will use the frozen for dishes like shrimp fried rice.

Yeah we’re doing a stir fry tonight. We almost always go fresh seafood but keep a couple frozen bags in the freezer for a pinch.

Where do you buy fresh skrimps?  They alive when you buy them or do they bring them from the shore?

I never see them where I'm at but I know you are close to the market.

dankind

Highly recommend Red’s Best. 

Two frozen gulf shrimp options here: https://shop.redsbest.com/collections/frozen-products

F Me In The Brain

Saved, thanks!