Depends on its provenance. I agree in general that the farmed tilapia, with dense populations and poor water quality, often (but not always) produce shitty tasting fish.
BUT wild-caught tilapia (yes, such a thing still exists) can be a revelation. While traveling through Nubian Egypt (near Sudan), I was treated by a local fisherman’s family to a dinner of grilled wild-caught Nubian tilapia (cichlid) with onion rice and pea casserole served with cornflour bread - sumptuous and incredibly flavorful!
You will soon understand as you get more familiar with FTC, that @J_L and @PorkyBelly do not conform to the constraints of normal human beings. “1st Lunch” and “2nd Lunch”, “1st Dinner” and “2nd Dinner” are totally normal for our FTC trailblazers.
That’s true for me as well. Perhaps I notice more mushy texture but flavor-wise i don’t see what makes everyone so incensed by Tilapia other than it’s ubiquity.
yes, i don’t mind tilapia at all and would go so far as to say that in many cuisines where fish recipes originate with freshwater fish, it works better than fish with stronger marketing departments in the u.s.
Yeah, I only sometimes have issues with Talapia. I’ve enjoyed it or not noticed anything negative in heavily spiced Chinese dishes. Probably the one time I’ve had a non-farmed version, prepared as tibs in Ethiopia, I thought it was great.
I’m not a tilapia hater at all. However, there have been occasions when the fish had a “muddy” taste, for lack of a clearer term. Mostly, it’s just okay fine.
@frommtron I don’t work at a restaurant. I just fill my wide cooking pot or wok with water, then set my plate on top of the steam rack when the water boils and call it a day. The key to steaming fish on a plate is to put something between the plate and the bottom of the fish (I use the whites of scallions). This allows the steam to circulate and thus cooks more evenly.
As far as fish goes, any fish that isn’t too fatty like a Chilean seabass will work fine IMO. Steaming cooks the fish gently and allows you to taste the freshness of it. It’s a poor man’s sous vide in a way.
