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Panga

Posted: Mon 16 Mar 2009 17:08
by opas
I have never heard of this fish and couldn`t recognise one if I needed to. Today I have bought some , its fresh version looks a bit of a cross between a fatter place and a thin cod :roll: anyway it looks lovely.

BUT I have just done a search for it and although the article I found say the French have fallen for this lovely fish in a big way because of its price and taste the next line says it is full of Toxins because of where it comes from...Vietnam, anyone have any good or bad comments to say about it.

Posted: Mon 16 Mar 2009 17:20
by Tiffany
Hi Opas,

I haven't actually worked with it myself, but it is sold extensively within the restaurant trade by the big suppliers and certainly would not be sold by anybody if poisonous!! So don't worry, cook it up and enjoy it!

Posted: Mon 16 Mar 2009 17:25
by Roger O
It's of the catfish family of which many are bottom scavengers, therefore vulnerable to poluted water conditions where they exist. Perfectly OK in wild state from clean water!

Description in French with video:
Depuis deux ou trois ans, le filet de panga fait un malheur sur les étals des poissonniers et dans les hypermarchés, notamment du fait de son prix très compétitif. Ce que beaucoup de clients ignorent, c'est que ces filets ont beaucoup voyagé pour arriver en France. Le panga est un poisson d'élevage, de la famille du poisson-chat, qui provient quasi-exclusivement du delta du Mekong. Les vietnamiens ont litteralement "lancé" ce nouveau poisson sur le marché mondial dans les années 96-97, un poisson qui supporte une densite record, et qui grandit très vite, dans une eau à 28 degrés. C'est toute une industrie qui est née dans les 10 dernieres années grâce au panga, une industrie qui fait vivre des milliers de familles.
http://ma-tvideo.france2.fr/video/iLyROoaft4Ei.html

Posted: Mon 16 Mar 2009 17:32
by Kathy
Out of curiosity Tiffany, if it is sold extensively to the restaurant trade do you know if will it be on the menu as Panga or will it have a different name?
I personally like to know where the food I eat is sourced from if at all possible.

Posted: Mon 16 Mar 2009 18:46
by edann42
Thought this article might be of interest in this debate!


The SKY IS FALLING. I’ve been in the seafood industry as a buyer, seller, importer and trader for 15 years in the United States. The EU has the highest standards in the world for illegal chemicals, compounds, and antibiotics. Last I checked, France is in the EU. Every load of seafood must be inspected, and a random sample from EACH lot must be tested in an EU-endorsed laboratory to detect the author’s described poisons. If it possesses these poisons/antibiotics/chemicals, the whole load is rejected.

When it comes to sustainable aquaculture, only a handful of seafood can be raised: catfish, tilapia, hybrid striped sea bass, rainbow trout, shrimp, crawfish, and salmon are about it. Readers, think about it; to compare feed fish to fish to the feeding of bovine byproducts to bovine (cows/steers) is ridiculous! Bovine eat grass naturally - they are omnivores. Meat is not part of a bovine’s natural diet. Fish do eat other fish as part of their natural diets; they are carnivores. Perhaps if Pangas were being fed turkey meal, they might contract the bird flu????

Get a grip on reality. The world’s wild Pollock and Cod fishery has been severely over-fished, and its supply is wholly inadequate to meet the world’s needs. Aquaculture is the only way to meet the world’s needs. Vietnam is at the forefront in the fight to promote safe, eco-friendly farming.

The largest export market in the world for Pangasius Hypophthalmus (called Tra, Sutchi Catfish, or Swai in the US) is the United States. There has not been one reported incident of illness caused by this species. Same goes for Pangasius pangasius (called Ponga in the US). Same for Pangasius bocourti (called Basa in the US). Oh, same with shrimp, either Panneus Monodon (Black Tiger) or Panneus Vannamei (White shrimp), oh, same as with Tilapia, and on and on and on.

Mercury becomes an issue only when consuming seafood at the higher end of the food chain. Tuna and many sharks, as an example, possess a real risk of mercury and other compounds because they eat fish that eat smaller fish, that eat smaller fish, that eat smaller fish and so on. The mercury is concentrated in such types of fish. This is not so with Panga

Posted: Mon 16 Mar 2009 18:50
by PaddyFrog
removed by PF :(

Posted: Mon 16 Mar 2009 19:29
by Kathy
Thanks for that Michael. Interesting reading! I shall store the name in the memory bank.
What I like about one of the restaurants we go to is there is a note saying Toutes nos viandes sont d'origine française.
I realise this cannot be said about fish.

Posted: Mon 16 Mar 2009 19:40
by blackduff
Mercury becomes an issue only when consuming seafood at the higher end of the food chain. Tuna and many sharks, as an example, possess a real risk of mercury and other compounds because they eat fish that eat smaller fish, that eat smaller fish, that eat smaller fish and so on. The mercury is concentrated in such types of fish. This is not so with Panga

In Canada there has been problems with Mercury in the water. The Indians were eating the fish which had too much Mercury, which came from the Paper Pulp processes.

I'm not sure if this finally fixed this problem but it was a serious problem.

So, don't eat fish with mercury.

Blackduff

Posted: Mon 16 Mar 2009 19:56
by Serge
Thought there was something fishy about you Edann!
:lol: :lol:

They started serving Panga in our restaurant at work instead of Cod, knowing our lot it would not be down to economics it is more likely to be a sustainbility thing.
I've had it a few times and it tastes like cod, should I be worried ........................ :?


Opas, I'll put an image on for you ..... :wink:

Posted: Mon 16 Mar 2009 20:06
by Santiago
Sounds like it's not a health problem. It may be a taste problem though. I've found that those tropical farm fish like Panga and Tilapia are pretty tasteless and a bit lacking in texture. They are related (I think) to catfish, which is the same.

Some people say it's like cod but it doesn't have the fresh taste and the flaky texture.

So, it's a fish that needs spicing up a bit. In Louisiana they make good gumbo and creole dishes with catfish. It would be good in a tagine or with a rich Catalan sauce. But you;re right Opas, it is cheap at the moment so profitez-vous!

Posted: Mon 16 Mar 2009 21:37
by Tiffany
Kathy, whenever I've seen it on menus here it has been labelled as Panga - as that is how it is labelled on its' packaging. I've never heard of Carangue. Correction, I've just googled Carangue and it appears to be a huge thing that is hunted for sport, so I think you've got your poissons in a twist, PF.

Do you particularly like French beef?
And Edann 42 where is your article from?

Posted: Tue 17 Mar 2009 07:26
by Kathy
In the UK I buy organic meat or meat from my butcher then I know where and how the animals are reared. It is my understanding, but correct me if I am wrong, that the French do not go in for intensive farming so that is why I take notice of such information. It is not a preference for French beef it is the animals quality of life that influences my choices.

Posted: Tue 17 Mar 2009 07:46
by PaddyFrog
removed by PF :(

Posted: Tue 17 Mar 2009 07:48
by Kathy
Well Opas are you still with us after your Panga dinner? :lol: :lol:

Posted: Tue 17 Mar 2009 09:18
by Roger O
I was just noting that the Viet version is raised in the Mekong Delta - and with all that went on and goes on in (and into!) that water?

PS I didn't think our Irish frog would be with us today, rather galivanting about in Green Pond?
http://www.adventure-travel.org.uk/img/ ... n_pond.jpg

Posted: Tue 17 Mar 2009 10:49
by Tiffany
yes, Opus, how was it?

Posted: Tue 17 Mar 2009 11:28
by PaddyFrog
removed by PF :(

Posted: Tue 17 Mar 2009 12:55
by opas
Still here.............but it`s for tonights meal, so ask me again tomorrow :roll:

Posted: Tue 17 Mar 2009 14:32
by PaddyFrog
removed by PF :(

Posted: Tue 17 Mar 2009 16:32
by Roger O
Well, if the Chinese like black eggs.. don't knock peoples' preferences!

Posted: Tue 17 Mar 2009 17:42
by opas
PaddyFrog wrote:But its over 24hrs old and we all know your fridge dosen't work!!

Image

Freezer dahling Freezer! The fridge works fine.

Posted: Tue 17 Mar 2009 21:39
by PaddyFrog
removed by PF :(

Posted: Tue 17 Mar 2009 22:04
by opas
You had too many Guinness and chasers Froggy?

It was fish not Duck :lol:

Which was enjoyed by all the family. See you all in the morning.

Posted: Wed 18 Mar 2009 07:41
by opas
Good Morning Campers! :lol:

Still all living and no ill effects :lol: :lol: :lol:

Posted: Wed 18 Mar 2009 07:51
by thumbelina
good news Opas - was it any good?

Posted: Wed 18 Mar 2009 08:14
by Kathy
Still all living and no ill effects
Good news. Let us know when the super powers kick in? You know when you turn green and have mammoth strength. :lol:

Posted: Wed 18 Mar 2009 08:53
by opas
Tasted just like any other decent white fish, cod ,ling or coley.

When you think about what other fish/moluscs eat then I think I should have turned a funny colour years ago :lol:


I await the quips from the usual brigade of jesters.

Posted: Wed 18 Mar 2009 09:35
by PaddyFrog
removed by PF :(

Posted: Wed 18 Mar 2009 12:59
by opas
:lol: :lol:

I have a cast Iron stomach.....it`t the other members of the family sat in A&E :oops: :oops:

Posted: Wed 18 Mar 2009 14:19
by PaddyFrog
removed by PF :(