Bass carp is not cold hardy, suitable for growing in the temperature of 25-30 ℃ in the environment, the domestic only Guangdong, Guangxi, Hainan and other places of culture, the production is not much, so most of the bass carp on the market at present are imported from Southeast Asia and other countries.
The meat of balsa fish is white and tender, flavorful, nutritious, and has few spines, making it a cost-effective food.
And the fat content of balsa fish is less, and chicken breast is not comparable to the people who are losing weight if the chicken breast is tired of eating, balsa fish is also a good choice.
The market price of balsa fish is not very high, and most of the balsa fish on the market is processed balsa fish fillet, the price is about 20-30 yuan, which is not very expensive.
The practice of balsa fish is very much, can be steamed or fried, and can also be boiled in soup or do stir-fry. Among them, steamed balsa fish with garlic, pan-fried balsa fish and tomato balsa fish are common ways of eating balsa fish in general households because of their simple ingredients and convenience.
Selecting Balsa Fish
1. Selection of Balsa Fish Fillets
Currently, the most common type of balsa fish on the market are frozen balsa fish fillets. Careful partners should have noticed that the same balsa fish, the color of the fish meat is different, some balsa fish fillets are white, but some are light pink and yellowish.
The different colors of balsa fish fillets have something to do with the original quality of the balsa fish and the treatment process.
Generally speaking, white fish is the best quality, indicating that it was processed when the balsa was fresh and therefore has the best taste. So try to buy balsa fish fillets with white fish flesh, followed by light pink, and light yellow balsa fish is of the least quality.
2. Fresh Balsa Fish Selection
If you are buying fresh balsa fish, then you can determine whether the balsa fish is fresh or not by the following 3 ways.
a. Press the body of the fish.
Gently press the balsa fish with your finger, if the pressed area can recover immediately, then the fish is fresh. If the rebound is slow or even non-rebounding, the balsa fish is no longer fresh.
b. Look at the gills.
Fresh balsa fish has bright red gills. If the gills are dark red or purple, it means the fish has been stored for too long and is no longer fresh.
c. Look at the shape.
The shape and scales of fresh balsa are very complete, and you can feel the scales are very strong when you gently pluck them with your hand.
Bass carp selection summary:
Bass carp fillet to buy white flesh; fresh bass fish shape is complete, gills are bright red, press can quickly rebound.
How to thaw balsa fish
Because most of our balsa fish is imported from abroad, in order to reduce the cost of transportation, so most of the balsa fish are processed frozen fillets, then before doing so, we need to thaw the balsa fish fillets, the thawing of the seafood is very delicate.
1. It cannot be thawed in a hurry.
Because in the process of thawing, when the temperature rises to a certain value (usually from 0 ℃ to 6 ℃), the water crystallized inside the food will be reabsorbed into the seafood cells.
If rapid thawing is used, then the water cannot be reabsorbed and will flow out, so that water-soluble nutrients such as proteins and vitamins in the seafood will also be taken out, and this will result in the loss of nutrients.
2. Correct thawing method.
a. Natural thawing in the environment of 1 ℃ - 5 ℃, that is to say, you can put in the refrigerator frozen thawing.
b. Thaw in flowing water at a temperature of 10℃-15℃, that is to say, thaw by rinsing under tap water.
3. Incorrect thawing methods.
a. Do not thaw by immersion in standing water.
b. Do not thaw in warm or hot water.
Summary of thawing balsa fish:
Balsa fish fillets can be thawed with running water or thawed naturally in the freezer layer of the refrigerator, not thawed by immersion in water.
How to remove the alkali flavor of balsa fish
Frequent eaters of balsa fish must know that balsa fish fillets have an alkali flavor, the taste is not very good, so how to remove the alkali flavor of balsa fish?
1. Why does Basa fish have an alkali flavor?
In fact, not only BaSha fish, the frozen fish on the market will have an alkali flavor. This is because phosphate is used as a humectant during the freezing process, which is mainly to retain moisture and prevent nutrient loss. This method is very common in the market, is harmless to the body, we do not need to worry.
2. How to remove the alkali flavor?
a. Marinate with lemon and cooking wine
The balsa fish is thawed and put into a container, squeezed into the juice of half a lemon, then add a little cooking wine, scratched and mixed evenly and marinated for 30 minutes, which can effectively remove the alkali flavor.
b. Soak and rinse with water
Thaw the fish, put it into a container, add cold water into the container, the water can be submerged in the fish, soak it for 30 minutes, then take it out and rinse it with running water for 3-5 times.
c. Bass carp special marinade
Today there are many marinades on the market specifically for removing the alkali flavor of balsa fish, buy the marinade directly and develop it according to the instructions, it can be very good for removing the alkali flavor of balsa fish.
Mushroom sauce tip:
Everyone's acceptance of the alkali flavor of balsa fish is different, if you still feel that the balsa fish has an alkali flavor after treatment, you can make the balsa fish into a "heavy" type of dishes or use heavy ingredients with it, such as spicy balsa fish, garlic balsa fish, etc., can also be very good. The fish's alkali flavor can also be masked well.
Balsa Fish Preparation
(1) Steamed Balsa Fish with Garlic Mushroom
Preparation:
1 piece of balsa fish fillet, 5 cloves of garlic, 1 handful of enoki mushrooms, 2 chili peppers, green onion and ginger.
Preparation steps:
1. Handle the balsa fish:
a. Thaw the balsa fish and cut it into small pieces.
b. Add shredded green onion, ginger, a little cooking wine, 1 tablespoon of cornstarch, 1 tsp of pepper, 1 tablespoon of soy sauce to the balsa fish pieces and marinate for 15 minutes.
2. Prepare the side dishes:
Cut off the roots of enoki mushrooms, wash them, absorb the water with kitchen paper and divide them into small stacks and lay them flat in a container.
3. Make the garlic sauce:
a. Chop the garlic and chili peppers.
b. Boil oil in a pan, when the oil is 5 minutes hot, add minced garlic and millet chili, stir-fry over low heat to extract the flavor.
c. Add 1 tablespoon of soy sauce, 1 tablespoon of oyster sauce, ? tablespoon of sugar and 1 tablespoon of water, bring to a boil and turn off the heat.
4. To make steamed pasar fish with garlic enoki mushrooms:
a. Lay the marinated pasar fish pieces flat on top of the enoki mushrooms and drizzle in the prepared garlic sauce.
b. Boil water in a pot, add the mushrooms and garlic pasar fish when the water boils, steam over high heat for 10 minutes, sprinkle with green onion and serve.
Making Points:
1. When making the garlic sauce, be sure to stir fry slowly over low heat, if the fire is too high, the garlic will easily burn, and the flavor will not be as delicious.
2. Be sure to add the golden mushroom and garlic balsa fish after the water in the pot boils, remember to just the right time, steaming for too long, the balsa fish becomes old, the taste will be very bad.
(B) pan-fried balsa fish
Preparation materials:
Balsa fish fillet 1 piece, 2 cloves of garlic, a little ginger, a little starch, star anise.
Preparation steps:
1. Thaw the balsa fish and set aside.
2. Make the sauce:
2 spoons of soy sauce, 1 spoon of cooking wine, 2 cloves of garlic sliced, 3 slices of ginger, 1 clove of star anise, 1 spoon of white pepper, mix well.
3. Marinate the balsa fish:
a. Pour the mixture into the balsa fish, massage gently for 3 minutes, and then leave it for 20 minutes.
b. Add 2-3 tablespoons of cornstarch to the marinated balsa fish and coat well.
4. Pan Fried Balsa Fish:
a. Heat oil in a pan or electric pancake pan, add the balsa fish when the oil is hot and fry slowly over low heat for 3 minutes, turn the balsa fish over when it is set and fry until both sides are golden brown.
b. Sprinkle some black pepper and salt after removing from the pan and it is done.
Making Points:
1. If the taste is light, you can not add white pepper, but star anise must be added, so that the marinated balsa fish taste better without alkali flavor.
2. Because the fish need to be coated with cornstarch to fry, the pan used must be non-stick.
3. The flesh of the fish is soft and fragile, so it is important to turn it over less when frying.
4. Add granulated black pepper for better flavor.
5. While frying the balsa fish, you can also fry a few asparagus for a nice color and balanced nutrition.
(C) Tomato Basa Fish
Preparation materials:
1 piece of Basa fish fillet, 1 tomato, 1 small handful of enoki mushrooms, a little green onion, ginger and garlic, starch.
Making Steps:
1. Handle the balsa fish:
a. Thaw the balsa fish and cut it into small pieces, because the tomato balsa fish needs to be boiled, so the pieces can't be too small or it will be easily boiled to pieces.
b. Add 2 tablespoons of cornstarch, sliced green onion and ginger, and cooking wine to the balsa fish pieces and marinate for 20 minutes.
c. Boil water in a pot, when the water boils, add the balsa fish pieces, 1 minute, then fish out and set aside.
2. Prepare side dishes:
a. Peel and chop tomatoes. Make a cross cut on the top of the tomato, put it in a container, then pour boiling water and scald it for 3 minutes to remove the skin easily.
b. Cut off the roots of enoki mushrooms and wash them, then divide them into small stacks.
3. To make tomato balsa fish:
a. Heat oil in a pan, when the oil is hot, add onion and garlic and stir-fry to get the flavor.
b. Add crushed tomatoes, tomatoes stir-fry juice and add 1 tablespoon of tomato paste, 1 tablespoon of soy sauce, 1 tablespoon of oyster sauce, a little sugar and stir-fry well.
c. Add balsa fish pieces, gently stir fry evenly and add half bowl of water.
d. When the water boils, turn off the heat, add a little salt, chicken seasoning, and sprinkle with chopped green onion to serve.
Making Points:
1. Balsa fish must be blanched after marinating, this is to set the shape, in the later production of balsa fish is not easy to fall apart.
2. During the stir-fry process, the movement must be slow and gentle to avoid breaking the balsa fish.
Finally
Bass carp is an affordable and healthy ingredient, with soft meat and few spines, it has become a regular feature on many family tables.
Compared with traditional freshwater fish such as grass carp, guppy and carp, balsa fish is also much simpler to prepare, and is now commonly eaten by pan-frying, steaming and boiling.
While the practices vary, there are still a few similarities between these common practices when it comes to making balsa fish.
1. Basa fish needs to be thawed naturally, never thaw it rapidly to avoid affecting the taste and causing nutrient loss.
2. Balsa fish needs to remove the alkali flavor, common methods include adding lemon juice and cooking wine, soaking in water to rinse and treating with a special balsa fish marinade.
3. When making balsa fish, you need to master the heat and flavor, and the cooking time should not be too long.