Make no bones about cream dory fillet
Dear chef claude, ?
Good day, chef! I’m a follower of this column. I regard your authority and expertise in culinary with high esteem. Your opinion and perceptions matter to us. I’m bothered and concerned about the toxicity of pangasius cream dory fish fillets from Vietnam. I received an e-mail about it, and found it disgusting since we have been enjoying dishes of cream dory fillet. Do you think there is any truth to this issue? Thank you and wishing for your continued success.
Your avid fan,
May-Ann Coronado
Hi, may-ann.
Thanks for sharing your concern. First of all, I’d be the very first to say I’m not qualified to make a judgment on the veracity of the “disgusting” e-mail on the toxicity of the pangasius fish, a.k.a. pangas or cream dory. As a matter of fact, I received a similar e-mail more than two years ago, saying that “pangasius fish from Vietnam are teeming with high levels of poisons and bacteria from the industrial effluents, arsenic, toxic and hazardous byproducts and waste of the industrial sector, dumped directly into the Mekong River where the pangasius are farmed.” Though I initially read it with keen interest and concern, I finally concluded that it was probably just a demolition job initiated by rival fish producers somewhere out there in the world. Because of its ever-increasing popularity due to its low price and good flavor, it is inevitable that black propaganda will follow its success (“crab mentality” is not exclusive to us Pinoys). It’s a tough competition out there in the real world. If you search further on the Internet, you’d find the same negative “reports” and concerns voiced in the US, France and other parts of the EU, and yet there’s not a single official pronouncement by any government agency (specifically the USDA, EU, and our own Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources [BFAR]) saying otherwise. There hasn’t been any report of mass poisoning on the scale of the pandemic bird flu in China and mad cow disease in the United Kingdom. My own conclusion is, if it passes the stringent standards of the USDA, EU (the highest in the world) and BFAR, then it must be okay.
The cream dory comes in boneless fillets, making them kid- and elderly-friendly and convenient. It has a neutral (rather bland) flavor and buttery texture that could compare to the pricey cod and sole. It is a close relative of our own hito (catfish) and kanduli. According to the BFAR website, “The pangasius sp. is commonly called river or silver stripped catfish, Siamese shark, sutchi catfish, or swai catfish. This fish species live in freshwater and are endemic to the Mekong basin. It is a riverine catfish belonging to the members of the family pangasidae. It exhibits fast growth when cultured, given a good environment. It is cultured due to its strong market demand, fast growth, few countries dominate the culture production, and being the third most important freshwater fish group within aquaculture sector. Pangasius is now cultured in several countries in the world like Thailand, Nepal, Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar, Indonesia, and Cambodia. Pangasius is an air-breathing fish that can tolerate low Dissolve Oxygen (DO) of the water. It can be cultured in fishponds, concrete tanks, fish cages or fish pens.” Because of its fast-growing properties, BFAR is in fact encouraging local entrepreneurs to raise them in the fishponds of Bataan.
Still and all, if you cannot shake off the scare of its toxicity, why not give our local tilapia fillets a chance? Not only they are as good, if not better, than its imported counterparts, but you’ll be buying Filipino, and leaving less of a carbon imprint at that. These fillets I can vouch for personally, as I’ve seen firsthand how the tilapia are raised in ponds in Arayat, Pampanga, whose water comes from a spring well on the slopes of Mt. Arayat, as well as its seafood-processing facility with air-blast freezers in Clark, Pampanga.
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Fire away your questions at Facebook Claude Tayag or email claudetayag@gmail.com
