The difference between sole fish and basa fish, their pros and cons, and how much does real sole fish cost per jin?

In recent years, basa fish has rapidly become popular in China, widely loved by diners for its tender and delicate flesh, rich nutrition, ease of cooking and lack of small intermuscular bones. Speaking of basa fish, one cannot help but mention another well-known fish——sole fish, also commonly known as the tongue sole. So, are sole fish and basa fish the same? How do you tell the two apart? Which is better? And how much does real sole fish cost per jin?

In appearance, after skinning and deboning, basa fish and sole fish are very similar in shape and flesh color, which easily confuses people and creates the illusion that basa fish is sole fish. In addition, because the market prices of basa fish and sole fish differ by nearly 10 times, some unscrupulous merchants even sell basa fish under the name of sole fish to pocket the price difference. Consumers need to pay special attention to identify this when purchasing.

Below we will identify and distinguish these two fish. There is one simplest difference: sole fish is a saltwater fish, while basa fish is a freshwater fish.

Sole fish belongs to the order Pleuronectiformes, family Cynoglossidae, genus Cynoglossus, commonly known as ziban fish, tongue sole, tami, and ox-tongue fish. It is a warm-temperate large bottom-dwelling fish in offshore waters, living and dwelling year-round in China's offshore sea areas. Sole fish is delicious, smooth in texture, high in meat yield, has few bones and plenty of flesh, is rich in nutrition, does not become tough after long cooking, and has almost no fishy smell or off-flavor. It has long been a fine delicacy for entertaining guests among consumers along China's coast. Because natural resources are scarce and large-scale commercial farming is still in an emerging stage, its current market price is high.

Basa fish, however, is a freshwater fish belonging to the order Siluriformes, the species Pangasius bocourti of the genus Pangasius, that is, a kind of catfish. It is a unique high-quality economic fish species in the Mekong River basin and an important farmed fish species in Vietnam and other Asian countries. Its Vietnamese transliteration is “ca basa” (CABaSa), meaning “three-fat fish”, because during growth this fish accumulates three large masses of fat in its abdominal cavity, accounting for about 58% of body weight. The price of basa fish is relatively cheap.

Sole fish and basa fish are two different kinds of fish. What they have in common is white tender flesh, no small intermuscular bones, and suitability for processing, and their taste is very similar. Therefore, ordinary consumers easily confuse them. But their prices differ considerably. Sole fish is produced along China's coast, but the yield is relatively small and the price is relatively high; the current market price is about 200-350 yuan/kg. Basa fish is mostly imported from Vietnam, and artificial farming yields are high; the current price of frozen basa fish fillets on the Chinese market is about 20-50 yuan/kg. Many sellers deliberately emphasize that the reason their product is expensive is that they are selling sole fish rather than basa fish.

They are clearly two different fish, yet the phenomenon often occurs of selling basa fish under the name of sole fish, and consumers say they are very confused. Is the only way to distinguish the two by looking at price? In fact, there is another way, which is to look at the fish body: after basa fish is made into fillets, it is obviously very thick, while sole fish is relatively thin. In fact, both are good fish, but one should eat with understanding.