What’s in a name? What is “Cod”?
When I hear Cod, I think of faraway places and ancient cultures – the stormy North Atlantic, the icy shores of Newfoundland, the Vikings who carried hard planks of dried Cod in one hand and war clubs in the other. Cod played a key role in the history of our species, and in the process was fished almost to extinction. Cod fishing is almost as old as human civilisation.
But when you bite into cod in Singapore, you are almost certainly not eating what the Vikings ate. It’s a totally different fish, a new kind of cod.
To help a bit, I cooked the two fish side by side and show them on this post. The two types of “cod” in the picture below :
The piece in front with grey skin is what most Singaporeans call “Cod”. In the US, they call it “Chilean Seabass”. Its neither a “cod” or a “seabass”. Its scientific name is Dissostichus eleginoides. I shall call it the new cod.
The other piece on fish (background, no skin) is the ancient Cod of the North Atlantic which the Vikings ate. Known to most folks in the US and Europe as simply, “Cod”.
Its scientific name is Gadus Morhua. And you have to look quite hard to find in it Singapore.
Chilean Seabass/Dissostichus eleginoides/雪鱼/”Cod”
This is the new Cod we know in Singapore. It’s a very large fish (up to 2m in length), and lives from the deep cold waters of the southern ocean close to the Antartica. It stays around the cold dark bottom, and grows very slowly.
Public domain image from US FDA website
What comes to Singapore will almost certainly be frozen, as it has to come from far away. Since it is a large fish, it is mostly sold as fillets or steaks, with skin on.
Until recently, no one in the USA, Europe or Asia eat this fish. However, the good folks of South America (Chile etc) must have been eating this fish for ages, and, know what? They probably didn’t like it. It’s an oily fish, with little flavour. If it is even slightly un-fresh, it stinks.
Enter an man called Lee Lantz. He spotted this fish in the markets of Chile in 1977. And he figured the Americans (of USA) would love it. He called it “Chilean Seabass”, and shipped it to the US. Top restaurants loved it, and demand exploded. Suddenly, an unknown fish became a pot of gold! Somehow, when it reached our shores, the chinese name was 雪鱼 (Snow Fish) and it translated into “cod”.
The price of Chilean Seabass has soared, leading to serious overfishing – remember, it grows slowly, just chilling in dark, cold waters. The typical fish you see in the market is likely over 50 years old! It is listed as unsustainable, and I don’t often buy it.
Atlantic Cod/Gadus Morhua
This is what most people in Europe and USA call Cod, and they have been eating it way before Singapore was founded. It lives in the temperate waters of the Atlantic (a closely related species lives in the Pacific). It too is a large fish. As you can see, its nothing like Chilean Seabass!
Photo: Hans-Petter Fjeld (CC-BY-SA)
Cod has been an important food since Viking times. It’s hard to explain how important this fish is – it shaped entire communities along the coast, it changed history. And yes, it is used to make Cod Liver Oil. The United Kingdom and Iceland had the “Cod Wars” over….. Cod. Cod fishing developed the America East Coast around Newfoundland, where Cod drove the economy. In the 1990s, the fish stocks collapsed, along with that, the economy, the very life of Newfoundland.
Stocks have since recovered somewhat, and the fishery today is carefully managed. If you look carefully, you will find this fish in the frozen food section of some supermarkets in Singapore. I got mine from Huber’s Butchery – look in the frozen seafood section, where it’s labelled “Norweignian Cod”. Another great source would be Greenwood Fish Market and Bristol, where they guys will know their stuff.
Let’s eat!
So what is the difference between Chilean Seabass and Atlantic Cod?
Chilean Seabass is a fatty fish, with a flaky, but to me somewhat gelatinous texture. Atlantic Cod is a much leaner fish with vitually no fat (that is why it dries amd keeps well). The flesh is firmer, and to me the taste is more distinct.
So here are my experiments :
Miso Grilled Cod and Chilean Sea Bass
For this recipe, I marinated the fish in miso, mixed with some sake and mirin. I let this sit for a few hours and then grilled them in an oven.
The Chilean Seabass (in front, with skin) is an oily fish, and I think it takes well to dry heat cooking methods that crisp the skin and brown the surface a bit. It was flaky and the cooking method made the oiliness of the fish agreeable.
The Atlantic cod (background) is less oily, with firmer flesh. I thought it was good with this recipe too. It has more bite.
Steamed with soya-spring onion sauce
For this dish, I simply steamed the fish with soya sauce and Shaoxing wine. In the meantime, some oil was heated in a saucepan, then some shredded spring onion added to the oil. The hot oil was poured over the fish.
Cooked this way, I found the Chilean Seabass (foreground, with skin), too oily, gelatinous and cloying. It has a gelatinous texture I did not like. The Atlantic Cod did better with firmer flesh and more bite.
Buying
The best part of writing this post, is, I found “real” Cod is actually cheaper. Buying Cod can be a confusing affair in Singapore, I recommend going to the Greenwood Fish Market and Bistro, where the folks know their fish. Otherwise, you can try a large supermarket.
The Cold Storage supermarkets label Chilean Seabass as “Snow Cod”. NTUC carries Ocean Fresh Brand, simply labelled as Cod. Prices for Chilean Seabass (filleted) can go for up to $60 a kilo. It is widely available, but there are serious doubts if the current level of fishing is sustainable.
Atlantic Cod is sometimes available, as skinless fillets (I have never seen this fish with skin on), if you look in frozen section of supermarts. Some of these packages might carry the scientific name (Gadus Morhua). Prices are lower – generally around $30 to $40 a kilo. Since the collapse of the Cod fisheries, stocks are now carefully managed.
So,
This article is just so you know what you are buying and eating. Given the soaring prices of Chilean Seabass, you might want to give Atlantic Cod a try.