Fish & Co,as many in Singapore and Malaysia would know, is a popular local western seafood restaurant chain. Their fish and chips is outstanding and has a loyal following in Singapore. Since their establishment in 1998, the company has expanded their business to include a Teochew Restaurant(Chaozhou Inn) , a Mediteranean Fusion western restaurant (F.I.S.H) and now, as I have just learnt, a quality seafood wholesaling and distribution business.
The food & beverage business is a very competitive industry in Singapore. Not only has Fish & Co. made their business sustainable, I am impressed that they have actually identified market needs and opportunities and found ways to bring additional value to the market. Specialising in processed seafood with longer, more economical shelf life, Oceana Seafood, Fish & Co Group's distribution arm, distributes a range of Black Tiger Shrimp, Fish Fillet, Mussel, Sea Bass and Squid.
When I was asked to develop a recipe with their frozen Sutchi Fillet, I was keen but had my reservations. The Sutchi fish, a specie of the shark catfish is primarily fished from the big rivers in Asia . The flesh of the Sutchi is flaky and tender making it very suitable for a battered or breaded fry... and yes, Fish & Co. uses this for their famous Fish & Chip dish. I don't normally cook with frozen fish, with the exception to the cod and I have never really liked river fish due to their muddy odour. As much as I was tempted to just deep fry it to mask any possible fishy staleness and muddy smell, I decided to take a chance and work with a more healthy recipe that would call for baking it with herb infused bread crumbs.
The bread crumbs gave the fish a lot of structural stability,making it easy to handle. The use of fresh bread crumbs needs to be stressed. I pulverised some lightly toasted baguettes for my crumbs but you can use practically any kind of bread you have. The fresh crumbs bring a whole new dimension of texture to the dish. Upon baking, the crisp bite from the herbed crumbs contrasted beautifully with the tender flaky flesh of the Sutchi fillet. Served with a light squirt of fresh lemon juice, I am not coy to proclaim that this is one the tastiest fish dish I have ever prepared. I would gladly order this in a restaurant or serve it at a formal dinner.
Available at NTUC Fairprice and priced at S$3.30 per packet of 3 long fillets, this, I feel is one of the most economical way to enjoy a fish dish.
So, share with me if you will - have you ever prepared Sutchi fillets? How did you prepare it?
Recipe :
1 cup (70g) Fresh bread crumbs
1 tbsp Chopped dill
1 tbsp Chopped flat leaf parsley
Dash Salt & Pepper
50g Melted butter
2 fillets Oceana Sutchi Fillet (thawed)
Preparation :
1. Preheat oven to 200C.
2. Mix bread crumbs, chopped dill and parsely together with salt and pepper. Add melted butter to bread crumbs and mix well.
3. Season fillet with salt and pepper on both sides.
4. Pack (2) onto the top of fillet and bake in the oven at 200C for 20mins or until fish is cooked.
5. Serve with lemon wedge and salad.
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26 comments:
a creative and healthy way to serve fish :) i'm tired of seeing battered fish and seafood
I like this bake version, sound healthy and good.
A perfect way to cook this type of fish! The seasoned breadcrumbs definitely give that special taste!
a new fish for me... Will it be nice, spiced, then wrapped in banana leaves then grilled? :)
Anh, good idea! I certainly think it will taste good. Will experiment when I get home from my travels!
Price is right..you would never guess judging by your photos.:).we eat fish a lot..I love it.
I never heard of this fish but it look very much like tilapia fillet. My husband like this kind of white fish. I will usually put some stuffing on it and roll it up and bake it in the oven.
Shirley, thanks for the info. I am going to try this. Some of the brand has this "fishy" taste to it. I hope this one doesn't.
Edith,I didn't have any problem with the fishy taste/smell. Hope you will try it soon :)... by the way, I replied to your question on the tart but there is still something wrong with the email. It was non-deliverable. Please check the post for my reply.
Never tried Sutchi fish. Your take of herb-crusted definitely done justice to the fish :)
This is one of our fav staples.. grill is another way of enjoying this fillet.. :D
I don't think I've ever seen sutchi, unless it has a different name here which they sometimes do! :)
I often make herb crusted fish or chicken, so simple but so delicious!
Can you substitute it with dory fish fillet? Have never tasted sutchi fish.
Ooo I love crumb-coated fish. This looks deeeelish!
Mei Teng, this is now a common fish in our region. The fish is caught in the rivers in Vietnam and Thailand (e.g. Mekong River). You definitely can do this with dory fish fillet!
Shirley, my yahoo mail is a goner and that explains why.
I am hoping yahoo will reactivate that account.
Will check your post comment box instead.
Thanks.
Crumbed anything works for me... a sucker for breadcrumbs ;)
Hi Shirley, thanks for the revelation! So Teochew Restaurant belongs to Fish n Co. too. hmm... I'd been teaching at the block next to PP all these years but never eaten at Teochew restaurant before. Just read your timsum review and perhaps its time to give it a try. :)
I'd always had problems with the muddy odour from sutchii as well. So much so that I'd stopped trying altogether. I guess using herbs really help to musk all that unpleasant tastes and smells.
Wonder if it would be good as well with lots of different cheeses in an English Fish Pie. My preferred fish for this is cod or cream snapper but I guess sutchii's moist and succulent texture would be a major bonus as well.
Great recipe! And I love the fact that it does not require frying.. one thing that I hate doing. I am sure the crust must have been crispy and crunchy too!
Oh Shirley, i can almost feel the crunch, crunch, crunch you know, just by looking at your photos!
And it's baked!
I don't think I've ever had sutchi fish. Love the cispy crust!
Nice crunchy fish fillet! I can never have enough of this.
Beautiful fillets of fish. Love the crust.......
You are so clever!
They've asked me whether I wanted to use this too, and I'm wondering if I can actually bring any new ideas to the table.. how many ways can you cook a fish fillet??
Clare, you should take up their offer and have fun with it. There are a myriad ways to cook fish fillet!
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