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Basa with Avocado-Tomato Salsa

by Joe G in Rouxbe Recipes

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Step 1: Making the Avocado & Tomato Salsa

Making the Avocado & Tomato Salsa

To prepare the salsa, first roughly chop the cilantro. Core and cut the tomato into small dice. Cut and dice the avocado and transfer everything to a bowl. Season with salt and pepper. Cut the lemon in half and squeeze the juice over your hand to catch any seeds. Finally, add the olive oil and, very gently, mix to combine. This helps to coat the avocado with lemon juice to prevent it from turning brown.

  • few sprigs of cilantro
  • 1 large tomato
  • 1 large avocado
  • 1 lemon
  • kosher salt (to taste)
  • freshly ground black pepper (to taste)
  • 2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

Step 2: Cooking the Fish and Serving

Cooking the Fish and Serving

To cook the fish, preheat a non-stick pan over medium-high heat. Season the fish with salt and pepper. Once the pan is hot, add the oil and butter and let melt before adding the fish.

Once the fish is in the pan, turn the heat to medium-low. You don’t want a lot of color, so just let it gently cook. The fish is ready to be flipped when it starts to cook and turn white around the thicker part of the fish.

Turn the fish over and squeeze a bit of fresh lemon juice over top. To test if the fish is done, lift up the thickest part. If it doesn’t flake, it is not quite done. When it just starts to fall apart along its natural seams, the thinner side of the fillet will be cooked. Remove the thinner pieces and set aside.

The thicker pieces are done when they begin to flake. Test them again by lifting them up with a spatula. Once done, transfer to the platter. Squeeze a bit more lemon juice over the fillets. Gently toss the salsa and spoon it down the center of the plate. Drizzle everything with a bit of quality, extra-virgin olive oil and serve immediately.

  • 2 basa fillets (or other white fish)
  • 1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1 tbsp unsalted butter
  • kosher salt (to taste)
  • freshly ground black pepper (to taste)
  • 1/2 lemon
  • extra-virgin olive oil (for finishing)

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Julie N

how to choose an olive oil

link not working/

Dawn T
Rouxbe Staff

Olive Oil Link

Hi Julie. This is a text Drill-down (not video). Can you see the text Drill-down? There is also a scroll bar on the left.

Joyce E

Basa

The seafood watch says " U.S. farmed catfish is considered a better choice because it’s farmed in a more ecologically responsible manner. "
Would you consider the taste to be about the same?
I love avocado anything and have made salsa similar to your recipe.

Joyce E.

Dawn T
Rouxbe Staff

Substitutions for Basa Fish

Hi Joyce,
Any mild white fish would make a good substitute. Catfish would definitely work. This salsa is even great with chicken.

Kelly M

Basa

Joyce,

The seafood watch likely says that because basa sales are beginning to seriously cut into the sales of domestically farmed catfish. As basa is raised in rivers, in the current, and domestic catfish are generally raised in ponds and tanks, it could be argued that basa farming is the more healthy and ecologically friendly of the two. Fish that are raised in closed environments are subject to a good deal more diseases than are fish raised in open current, and often antibiotics are employed in closed environments to curb them.

Also, in a study done at Mississippi State University they found that imported basa were preferred in a taste test 3-to-1 over farmed catfish. This, in conjunction with much lower prices has led many restaurants even in the south to change from local catfish to Basa.

I'm not necessarily saying buying Basa is the right thing for you to do. It just annoys me when one supplier attacks another with spurious accusations.

In November, 2000, a group of U.S. catfish farmers and processors traveled to Vietnam on a fact-finding mission. One processor was quoted as saying, upon his return, “We thought we’d find them growing fish in polluted water and processing them in crude plants, but that’s not what we found. We came back scared to death.”

So, basa is less expensive and tastes better (to most) than domestically farmed catfish, and environmental and health issues could be argued either way.

On the other hand, it could very well cause the American catfish industry to go the way of the American auto industry. However, competition with the American industry seems inevitable, despite the additional tariffs imposed on basa, and the law preventing them from labeling it as catfish.

I only discovered basa a few weeks ago. I can tell you it has very good flavor, is quite economical, and its texture makes it very well suited to breading and frying. I have yet to try any other methods of cooking, but I would expect equally excellent results.

So, decisions, decisions... :)

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