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Eco-Friendly Fish

On a wave of fresh interest, tilapia swims into the mainstream

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BARRY WONG / THE SEATTLE TIMES Mild, affordable and amenable to all sorts of preparations, tilapia offers it all. At McCormick and Schmick's, the fish is served in a sauce spiked with rum, vanilla, habanero and lime.

TILAPIA CAUGHT my attention for the first time a few years ago when chef Tom Douglas was grilling one whole at Palace Kitchen. When I asked Tom what kind of fish it was, he looked surprised. "You don't know tilapia?" he said. "This is the fish of the future."

Future fish, I thought, and an animated World's Fair scenario flashed before my eyes; Dr. Seuss-style fish driving little cars on a diorama of the interstate highway system. I kept this vision to myself and said simply, "Tell me more."

"Oh, they're cool," said Tom. "They used to be served mostly in Chinese restaurants, but they're breaking out, becoming more and more mainstream."

I tried hard to banish images of those Seussical fish leaping from aquariums in Chinese restaurants to make their way uptown and said, "I'm sure you have something to do with that." After all, whatever Tom does, the rest of us chefs tend to do, too.

"Well, I like to think so," said Tom, "but these fish were bound to get discovered; they're so eco-friendly, and they taste so good."

The fish is indeed eco-friendly. Unlike some other fish raised in captivity, tilapia and its ilk present an amazing opportunity to feed a crowded planet. For one thing, the fish is an herbivore. Farm-raised carnivores such as salmon present sustainability challenges because every pound of fish raised in captivity requires about two pounds of feed from wild fish — usually "bycatch," other fish caught unintentionally when a boat is out fishing for, say, salmon. But tilapia can be raised on grain. Ocean fish are raised in nets where they might escape and cause problems. There are issues with antibiotics added to their feed and an over-concentration of nitrogen from their waste. But tilapia is raised in a closed system, typically a man-made pond or tank, and the water that comes out of a closed, fresh-water aquaculture system is as pure if not cleaner than the water that goes in.

But what about the taste? Turns out tilapia taste about as good as whatever the cook decides to do with it; in and of itself, it's not very flavorful, and as far as most people are concerned, that's a good thing. Lighter than halibut, snapper and cod, tilapia is mild and low in fat. Like other freshwater fish — think catfish and trout — tilapia responds well to grilling and frying. So the fish presents chefs with an opportunity to play around.

Not long after I first encountered tilapia at Palace Kitchen, I attended the annual conference of Chefs Collaborative in Portland. The tilapia board was providing fillets to any chef willing to cook them at the food-fair segment of the conference. At the same time, the Oregon Hazelnut Marketing Board wanted a chef to feature hazelnuts, so I made Tilapia in a Hazelnut Crust with Apple Cider Glaze.

Not long ago, I discovered that tilapia is regularly featured on the menu at the very mainstream McCormick and Schmick's restaurant on First Avenue in Seattle. Then I saw frozen tilapia fillets at Costco, and it dawned on me that Tom Douglas' prediction had come true; the once obscure "future fish" has arrived. I let my imagination run wild. I pictured them walking on their tail fins with hobo sacks tied to their walking sticks. Now that tilapia is available at Costco, these fish are going to home kitchens in the suburbs.

Greg Atkinson is author of "Entertaining in the Northwest Style." He can be reached at greg@northwestessentials.com. Barry Wong is a Seattle-based freelance photographer. He can be reached at studio@barrywongphoto.com.