Basa Fish

Real basa fish is Pangasius bocourti, which belong to the Pangasiidae family of catfish.
It is found throughout most of Southeast Asia.
Vietnamese Basa is grown by fish farmers in cages along the Mekong River.
Traditionally, fry were captured in the wild and caged. They were fed cheap fish.
After a year or so, the fish were big enough to eat.
The Vietnamese have found another fish, tra, which is very similar to basa, but grows quicker and is easier to spawn in captivity.
In just 8 months, tra can grow to nearly 3lbs and that will be big enough to get 2 8 ounce fillets.
It is a lot cheaper than catfish grown in other countries and is taking over in popularity.
The link will take you to a recipe for Indian Pan Fried Basa - it's delicious

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Basa Info

Rumours have been put around that basa fish is grown in filthy water.
A group of American fishing industry people did indeed visit Vietnam, hoping to find fish farming in polluted waters, but it wasn't the case.
So, how can you tell what fish you're buying - is it basa fish, tra or catfish?
Well, there are quite strict guidelines about labelling.
Basa can be called, basa, bocourti or basa bocourti, basa catfish, bocourti, bocourti fish or bocourti catfish
Tra can be called, basa catfish, Mekong catfish or Pangas catfish, swai, sutchi catfish or striped catfish
As you can see, there is some confusion. Both fish can be called basa catfish.
The link below will lead to two recipes - one for Ginger Basa and one for Grilled Basa - both delicious and suitable for any white fish fillets.

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Basa Fish - to Index