I should have mentioned the first time I wrote about swai that its name rhymes with “why” not “way.” And it’s clear from the many comments on that post that swai is showing up all around the country at affordable and sometimes bargain prices.
I don’t usually eat fried fish but when I found this fried swai packaged and priced at $1.99 per pound (a price one commenter found for uncooked swai last month; she wisely stocked up for the freeezer), I had to try it. It gave “dollar meal” a new meaning. Swai is so dense and sturdy that the $1.09 I spent gave me a meal and a snack. It’s that filling.
It’s a mild fish without a “river bottom” taste, as another commenter noted. I see why so many people with children left comments that their kids love it. Many bread and fry it; I honestly can’t remember the last time I had breaded fish but I’m willing to try breading and baking it because here’s the one thing I didn’t like: it left a coating in my mouth, especially on the roof of my mouth. I don’t know if it was the oil the store used, the fact I re-heated it in the microwave or whether that’s just how fried swai is.
But with a regular price of $3.99 per pound, it’s worth exploring. You might still have trouble finding it. I enquired at the seafood counter of a supermarket just 1/2 mile from the one that’s been selling it regularly and the seafood guy hadn’t heard of it. (I guess he hasn’t heard of shopping the competition either.) He checked his book and it wasn’t listed. If you do try it, you’ll find a lot of ideas for preparing it in the comments of the earlier post. It would be ideal on the grill.
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I remember your earlier post! But no one around here has swai! I’m still on the lookout, though. Maybe it’s still a regional thing. Tilapia here is very cheap, and it’s available live, frozen, and fresh.
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Hi, Tess! I don’t think it’s regional. Commenters on the other thread who’ve tried it and mentioned locations include California, the Gulf Coast and (I assume) somewhere sunbelt/mountains/pac northwest, since Albertson’s was mentioned. It’s also showing up in upscale restaurants, which is kind of crazy.
I’ve never seen live tilapia! Do you buy it that way? This is the time of year here when lobsters are cheap and often the sign on the tank says “Alive and kickin’!” as if their claws aren’t banded.
The first time I tried Swai, about a year ago, I got it from our Super Walmart. I also saw it at Aldi’s last week, but it was the breaded fried style which we don’t care for. However, today I asked at our huge regional fish market that’s been a staple of our city for over 100 years, and they had no idea what it was. I’m taking Tightwad Tod’s column in for them tomorrow. I really like it, but am wondering how stringent the oversight is in regards to mercury. There was also something in one of the write-ups about open cage farming, which I don’t understand.
Hello, Pat — I’m so very sorry it’s taken so long to respond, but I’m in the process of moving and I’m just swamped.
In any case, I’m really not surprised your big market hasn’t heard of it. There are so many products that seem to be dependent on distributors and, as I learned first hand, not everyone is aware what their competition has. My feeling, and I have no facts to back this up — it’s just an opinion — is that the fish industry looked around for another mild fish when the economy hit the skids that could be sold for less than tilapia so there would be a budget fish, so to speak.
I do try to limit fish to 2x per week because of mercury but don’t always succeed. Then again, some weeks I don’t eat any so I guess it balances out in the long run.