Vietnamese River Cobbler.

funkymonkey849

Kittikins wrote: »

Yuk, it's horrible in my opinion I made a thai fish curry with it back when I used to eat fish and had to pick out all the fish as it was so nasty, repulsive, horrible texture

I agree, it has a very squishy texture and never seems 'cooked' for some reason. I never buy it

kochi1

Tried the non smoked version and wasn't too keen on it. Might give the smoked version a try and see if its any better - didn't know you could get it smoked.

rosie383

I got some yesterday and did fish n chips with it. Not the smoked one I hasten to add. I am not a fish lover, but am trying to use it a bit more. I thought it was lovely, not 'fishy' at all. Made beautiful battered fish, and I will definitely be buying it again. All the family loved it, even the fussy kids.

Ladyhawk

River cobbler (aka pangaseus) is a really good alternative to other white fish. If you are happy with the taste and texture of cod/ haddock you should be absolutely fine with this.

As for the negative publicity - yes there are some farms which aren't great - but that is the case of all agriculture/ horticulture/ aquaculture.

Over the next few years a logo will start appearing on farmed fish called the ASC (Aquaculture Stewardship Council) which will show that the fish has been sustainably farmed, kind of like the little blue logo of the MSC (Marine Stewardship Council) for wild caught fish. The ASC is being developed in conjunction with the WWF (the wildlife people not the wrestling people! ) so you know it will be good.

I seem to remember that pangaseus will be the first fish to be certified by the ASC (though maybe it was tilapia that was first and pangaseus that was second...) either way look out for it on a fish counter near you!

HTH

carriebradshaw

well finally got round to trying this yesterday, it was smoked fillets (didn't see any unsmoked) and I poached it in milk for a few minutes and we had mashed pots, peas and broccoli with it. It was really lovely and OH liked it too so will definitely be buying this again :j Thanks everyone for encouraging me to have a go

themull1

I like river cobbler, i think that they do a lightly dusted one in tesco, pack of two, £2.00.

loocyloo

i use it alot in fish pies, or smoked on its own in kedgeree. the children and DH never comment!

i only eat fish once in a blue moon, and never smoked, so i couldn't say myself !!! LOL !!!

kymbogs

I bought basa fillets (one of the river cobbler's other names), not smoked, to use in a fish pie. I was curious, having never heard of a basa, so googled it. I font know if it was the look of it or what I read but when I ate it I thought the texture was awful and it tasted really muddy. Wouldn't eat it again I'm afraid.

patchwork_cat

I have heard that these fish whilst cheap are best avoided because of the way they are farmed . Can someone tell me if these fish are the same as Basa fish fillets and what else are they called?

Pink.

Hi Patchwork cat,

You're right, it is known as basa and also pangaseus.

I haven't tried it because some of the reports I read put me off, but lots of other Old Stylers have and liked it. You can read the discussion and find links on this thread:

Smoked River cobbler

I'll add your thread to that one later to keep the replies in one place.

Pink