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.