I was told by the waitress at a Chinese restaurant it was Snow fish.

Anyone know the English name? Is it popular?

"James" > wrote in message
ups.com...
>I was told by the waitress at a Chinese restaurant it was Snow fish.
>
> Anyone know the English name? Is it popular?
>


In Japan, it's a fish in the cod family. Here in the states, it could've
been cod, although it's becoming harder to find due to overfishing.

On 2007-05-29, JoeSpareBedroom > wrote:
> "James" > wrote in message
> ups.com...

>>I was told by the waitress at a Chinese restaurant it was Snow fish.
>>
>> Anyone know the English name? Is it popular?
>>

> In Japan, it's a fish in the cod family. Here in the states, it could've
> been cod, although it's becoming harder to find due to overfishing.

Oh no... Someone asked about snow fish.

I think "snow fish" may be a marketing term for a variety of white-flesh
fish -- Like "snapper". In Thailand snow fish is called pla hima, which give
no clue because it translates as "snow fish".

This is a picture I took in Bangkok last month:

http://www.panix.com/~clay/cookbook/images/pla-hima.jpg

I wondered what kind of fish it was, so I did some research. In China and
Taiwan, snow fish is called "xue yu" or "shwei eu" and it is described as
an Alaskan halibut, Hippoglossus stenolepsis, which is this fish:

http://kasilofseafoods.com/species/halibut.htm

One of the articles about snow fish indicates:

"The codfish is a different species, Boreogadus saida. It is related to
the Atlantic cod and is found in the polar waters north of Russia, hence
its other name of Polar codfish. Both fish have flesh that is snow-white
in appearance, and are equally delicious and interchangeable in many
recipes, but the flesh of the halibut is a little bit more robust and
can stand up to frying better than codfish, which will disintegrate into
flakes. Better to steam it with some black beans, ginger and spring
onions!"

In Japan, a snow fish seems to be a black cod. One reference indicates:

"Codfish live in cold currents, and caught during the winter season. The
name 'tara' in Japanese is written in kanji characters that mean
'snow fish'. The meat is white and soft, and it has refined taste. Its
recipes include 'nabemono' (one-pot dish), fries, etc. The eggs of
'madara' (a sort of codfish) are used in 'nimono' (boiled dishes), and
the eggs of 'suketoudara' (a sort of codfish) are processed and eaten as
'tarako'. Their testes are also processed and eaten as 'tachi'."

The Japanese name "madara" is the Pacific cod, Gadius macrocephalus.

Another reference indicates:

"We sometimes confuse Atlantic Cod with Canadian Black Cod which is also
known in Japan as Gindara. We sometimes call it Snow Fish. This should
be rightly called the Sablefish which is now being farmed in the US and
Canada in the arctic region. In contrast, the Atlantic Cod is now on the
endangered species list. The Snow Fish has got a delicate, oily flesh
(rich in omega 3 fatty acids --good for lowering cholesterol) which is
quite different to the Atlantic Cod which has a dry and flaky texture."

The evidence is starting to point to snow fish being some type of Pacific
artic cod -- Until I found this reference from the Monterey Bay Aquarium.
This organization definitely knows fish. This is what they have to say:

"Both D.eleginoides and D. mawsoni are marketed in the United States as
'Chilean Sea Bass'. They may also be called Antarctic cod, black hake,
Antarctic or Patagonian blenny, and icefish.

In 2002, the North Pacific Corporation of Kirkland, Washington, a
commercial fishing corporation, began marketing a north Pacific flatfish
as 'Pacific SeabassTM', the Non-Endangered Replacement for Chilean
SeabassTM'. Also called snow fish, this fish is described in industry
literature as a hybrid between the Kamchatka flounder Atherestes evermanni
and the Greenland halibut Reinhardtius hippoglossoides. Seafood
Watch has discovered little about this species, other than that it is
caught with bottom longlines in the Sea of Okhost."

The "snow fish" is saw in Thailand appears to be a variety of cod. The skin
around the filet doesn't look like a flat fish.

--
Clay Irving >
P.S. Perl's master plan (or what passes for one) is to take over the
world like English did. Er, *as* English did...
-- Larry Wall in >

On May 29, 7:48 pm, Clay Irving > wrote:
> On 2007-05-29, JoeSpareBedroom > wrote:
>
> > "James" > wrote in message
> oups.com...
> >>I was told by the waitress at a Chinese restaurant it was Snow fish.
>
> >> Anyone know the English name? Is it popular?
>
> > In Japan, it's a fish in the cod family. Here in the states, it could've
> > been cod, although it's becoming harder to find due to overfishing.
>
> Oh no... Someone asked about snow fish.
>
> I think "snow fish" may be a marketing term for a variety of white-flesh
> fish -- Like "snapper". In Thailand snow fish is called pla hima, which give
> no clue because it translates as "snow fish".
>
> This is a picture I took in Bangkok last month:
>
> http://www.panix.com/~clay/cookbook/images/pla-hima.jpg
>
> I wondered what kind of fish it was, so I did some research. In China and
> Taiwan, snow fish is called "xue yu" or "shwei eu" and it is described as
> an Alaskan halibut, Hippoglossus stenolepsis, which is this fish:
>
> http://kasilofseafoods.com/species/halibut.htm
>
> One of the articles about snow fish indicates:
>
> "The codfish is a different species, Boreogadus saida. It is related to
> the Atlantic cod and is found in the polar waters north of Russia, hence
> its other name of Polar codfish. Both fish have flesh that is snow-white
> in appearance, and are equally delicious and interchangeable in many
> recipes, but the flesh of the halibut is a little bit more robust and
> can stand up to frying better than codfish, which will disintegrate into
> flakes. Better to steam it with some black beans, ginger and spring
> onions!"
>
> In Japan, a snow fish seems to be a black cod. One reference indicates:
>
> "Codfish live in cold currents, and caught during the winter season. The
> name 'tara' in Japanese is written in kanji characters that mean
> 'snow fish'. The meat is white and soft, and it has refined taste. Its
> recipes include 'nabemono' (one-pot dish), fries, etc. The eggs of
> 'madara' (a sort of codfish) are used in 'nimono' (boiled dishes), and
> the eggs of 'suketoudara' (a sort of codfish) are processed and eaten as
> 'tarako'. Their testes are also processed and eaten as 'tachi'."
>
> The Japanese name "madara" is the Pacific cod, Gadius macrocephalus.
>
> Another reference indicates:
>
> "We sometimes confuse Atlantic Cod with Canadian Black Cod which is also
> known in Japan as Gindara. We sometimes call it Snow Fish. This should
> be rightly called the Sablefish which is now being farmed in the US and
> Canada in the arctic region. In contrast, the Atlantic Cod is now on the
> endangered species list. The Snow Fish has got a delicate, oily flesh
> (rich in omega 3 fatty acids --good for lowering cholesterol) which is
> quite different to the Atlantic Cod which has a dry and flaky texture."
>
> The evidence is starting to point to snow fish being some type of Pacific
> artic cod -- Until I found this reference from the Monterey Bay Aquarium.
> This organization definitely knows fish. This is what they have to say:
>
> "Both D.eleginoides and D. mawsoni are marketed in the United States as
> 'Chilean Sea Bass'. They may also be called Antarctic cod, black hake,
> Antarctic or Patagonian blenny, and icefish.
>
> In 2002, the North Pacific Corporation of Kirkland, Washington, a
> commercial fishing corporation, began marketing a north Pacific flatfish
> as 'Pacific SeabassTM', the Non-Endangered Replacement for Chilean
> SeabassTM'. Also called snow fish, this fish is described in industry
> literature as a hybrid between the Kamchatka flounder Atherestes evermanni
> and the Greenland halibut Reinhardtius hippoglossoides. Seafood
> Watch has discovered little about this species, other than that it is
> caught with bottom longlines in the Sea of Okhost."
>
> The "snow fish" is saw in Thailand appears to be a variety of cod. The skin
> around the filet doesn't look like a flat fish.
>
> --
> Clay Irving >
> P.S. Perl's master plan (or what passes for one) is to take over the
> world like English did. Er, *as* English did...
> -- Larry Wall in >

Thanks for the info. Eating cod gives me hives. A fish sandwich from
McDonald's will result in itching red blods on my face. I'll be
careful just in case it is cod related.