The upcoming Easter season is the perfect opportunity to support Australian east coast seafood suppliers, who are now returning to normal trade following prolonged treacherous conditions, including widespread flooding across Queensland and NSW.
Our auction data from Easter 2021 suggests that a number of species will be in strong supply – which you can explore in this recent article – but on any given day you can find over 100 seafood species at Sydney Fish Market, so we want to encourage you to be adventurous with your species choices over the long weekend!
Here are a few tasty and affordable species swaps to try this Easter.
Swap Blue Mackerel for Murray Cod
Due to the recent flooding, there is potential for supply of Blue Mackerel to be impacted, which means that if you can find it, you should absolutely buy it in order to show your support for fishers in flood-affected regions; plus, it is a truly delicious (and visually beautiful) fish.
If you miss out on Blue Mackerel this year, a great readily-available alternative is Murray Cod. This species is solely farmed in the commercial arena (to prevent the overfishing of wild populations), which means it is almost always in strong supply, and is guaranteed to be responsibly sourced. It has a slightly more medium flavour and oiliness in comparison to Blue Mackerel, but is just as tasty!
Swap King Prawns for Banana or Endeavour Prawns
Banana and Endeavour are two slightly lesser-known prawn species, but those in the know will tell you that they are absolutely delicious when they are in season – which they are for Easter!
Endeavour prawns have a sweet flavour that is stronger than most other Prawns (sometimes with a slight iodine taste); this stronger flavour means they are better suited than other Prawns to punchier spicing and seasoning.
Banana prawns have a taste that is closer to your classic Tiger or King, but they are most commonly used in hot dishes, rather than bought cooked and served cold. Their firm flesh holds together well in soups and curries, and threaded on skewers for kebabs.
Swap Tuna for Bonito
Tuna is mostly fished for by longline boats off the Eastern coast of Australia, meaning that adverse weather can sometimes prevent the boats from setting sail. While the lull in weather conditions in the lead-up to Easter has ensured strong supply of Tuna in time for Easter, if you'd like to try something different, we recommend Bonito!
Bonito is in very strong form and supply at the moment, and is actually a family member of the Tuna, making it the perfect swap! Bonito is usually sold whole, though fishmongers will fillet it upon request, and it is also sometimes available as sashimi. Another bonus? They have very few bones to worry about!
Photo by David Griffen Photography.
Swap John Dory for Red or Mirror Dory
Did you know that Australia has around a dozen species of Dory? While – thanks to the influence of French cuisine – John Dory is the most popular and well-known, this means that there are so many other options to choose from!
Alex shows off a delicious Red Dory in this fun video, which is a much more affordable species of Dory that has a similarly mild flavour, and is perfect for steaming, poaching, deep-frying, pan-frying, baking, grilling, and barbecuing... As is the Mirror Dory, which you can try in this tasty and unique Sydney Seafood School recipe!
Swap Garfish for Eastern School Whiting
While Garfish is absolutely delicious, and in season right now, its supply can sometimes be impacted by adverse weather. It is often cooked whole due to it being too small to fillet, making Eastern School Whiting (a similarly small fish), a great substitute!
Whiting comes into its best form as the weather gets colder, due to it putting on fat to keep warm. While Eastern School Whiting can be filleted, we implore you to try it whole! Deep-frying is the absolute best method, in our opinion... Check out this Sydney Seafood School video for a simple, moreish recipe!
Swap Vongole for Mussels
In the bivalve arena, going for farmed species is a great way to ensure that your cooking plans aren't derailed by supply fluctuations. Vongole are harvested from tidal flats and estuary mouths, and as filter feeders, they can sometimes be impacted by flooding due to increased sediment flow.
Blue Mussels are a fantastic alternative as they are solely an aquaculture species, meaning that their environment is kept much more stable, and they aren't susceptible to such weather events.
You can pretty much use Mussels in any recipe that you would originally use Vongole in, and be sure that the dish will turn out fantastically!
