The Fish We Cook – Orange Roughy and Mahi Mahi

ORANGE ROUGHY

Sometimes called deep sea perch, red roughy or pacific golden roughy, the orange roughy is caught in the seas off New Zealand sometimes at depths of up to 3300 feet. It has a bright brick-red skin that fades to a yellowish red after the fish dies. The roughy has a comparatively large head and averages 3 ½ pounds and 18 to 22 inches in length but can grow to 15 pounds. It also has a very long lifespan, living up to 149 years. Because of its slow maturity and the fact that they have been very important commercially they are in danger of over fishing. There are some retailers that refuse to sell orange roughy because of the danger of it being over fished. The orange roughy has been compared in taste to petrale sole. It is usually sold as skinned fillets, either fresh or frozen. Compared to other fish orange roughy is rather low in omega-3 fatty acids. Sold primarily in fillet form, its snow-white meat is very mild in flavor and low in fat. The best way to cook orange roughy is to bake, broil, deep fry, pan fry, sauté, poach or steam.

MAHI MAHI

Mahi mahi is a Hawaiian name given to the dolphin fish. Not to be confused with the dolphin that is a mammal, this fish can be found in tropical waters throughout the world. There are two types of dolphin fish that are sold as mahi mahi, the common dolphin fish and the pompano dolphin fish. The mahi mahi does not live a very long life, 4 to 5 years is tops. It averages 2 to 5 pounds but can grow to 76 pounds and 6 feet in length but fish over 40 pounds are rare. It is one of the world’s fastest swimmers reaching speeds of 50 miles per hour. Mahi mahi is very popular for both sport and commercial fishing and are featured in restaurants world-wide. Alive, it is a very colorful fish with a blue-green back and a light belly with tinges of gold, but these colors fade when the fish dies. Mahi mahi has a very firm flaky meat with a distinctive delicate, somewhat sweet flavor and a moderate fat content. Its meat is rather pink in color and remains fairly moist after cooking. The best way of cooking mahi mahi is to bake, broil, grill, deep fry, pan fry or poach.

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