Broiled Swai (Basa) with Salsa

Fish and I.

Fish and I have a history and it's not a good one.  I have had a hate/hate relationship with fish since I was old enough to eat solid foods.  I ate my fish while growing up, but under protest and lots of grumbling complaints. I really, truly never thought fish was good.  The only fish I'd really enjoyed before was the ones I'd caught myself.  Later in life, I've come to understand that this fish was flavored with something else besides fishy taste... it was flavored with fun memories and that type of flavoring can make anything taste good :-)

Anyway, since I came to the USA, I have found a very few fish that I actually like.  I have a list that is my "Fish VIP list" and so far there are only 4-5 fish on there.... and ironically enough, most of these fish are loaded with mercury so go figure.... I guess I enjoy poisoning myself ..... with fish of all things.... aren't fish supposed to be healthy?
On my fish VIP list, I have the following fish: Shark, Tuna (preferaby Alabacore and NO tartar! I want it cooked darnit! lol), Swordfish and Swai/Basa. I also recently had catfish and it has BARELY made it on to the list... I guess you could say the catfish is on probation.

The Swai is actually a "man made" fish and doesn't have much mercury at all, so it kind of stands out. It is a fish that is farmed, their pens use natural flow from the river, and it is a type of catfish infact, but it tastes much better.  I've heard also that the basa/swai is a mixed breed of catfish and carp.
The first time I had it, it was deep fried and came with some kind of tartar sauce.... and we all know that anything deep fried is bound to be tasty.  So I wasn't 100% convinced, but was willing to take the chance last night.  I went to the market to get tuna, because I'd found a recipe I wanted to try. Well, what do you know... no tuna was to be found!  I spotted the Swai and I circled the store a couple of times while deciding and finally decided to gamble and buy some Swai instead. 
I found quite a few recipes actually, but I wanted one that was low in calories as I'm on a diet at the moment, so I decided to go with the recipe below:

Broiled Swai with Salsa
(This is for 1 serving so do your math and figure out what is needed for the amount of people you are cooking for..... :))

One Swai Fillet
4 tbsp of your favorite Salsa
Garlic Powder
Smoked Paprika
Pepper

1. Rinse and pat dry.
2. Put filet(s) on a cookie sheet lined with foil and sprayed lightly with PAM or similar spray, preferable one with canola oil. (Important step, unless you want to eat a few bits of fish that you are able to pry from the foil...)
3.Sprinkle spices on the fillet.

4.Spoon 4 tbsp of salsa on top of filet and spread to cover the fish.
5.Place cookie sheet under broiler about 6" below flame for about 15 minutes.
6. When timer goes off check the fish. It should flake to fork and not be translucent. You want to see white flesh, not translucent. Add some more time to your timer and keep an eye on the fish so not to burn it.

 

I served it alongside brown rice and a pea/carrot mix of vegetables, and it amounted to about 300 calories for the entire meal. Not bad!

 

It was my first time cooking fish and I must say, it turned out rather good. I ate my entire fillet, although I must admit that in the end, it started to remind me of FISH .... I still have a rather low tolerance for fish taste (apparently unless the fish is soaked with mercury....), but I kept up with this one until the last bite.

 

Fish on the cookie sheet, waiting to go in the oven

Fish on plate, after oven, before going into somebody's belly ;-)

Here's the fish with all the fixings!

So fish and I ... we'll never be best friends. But I think we've reached a mutual agreement and we've come to a truce.