Species sheet · The Edible River
Barramundi
Born male, it will end up female, between mangrove and river.
- Pan-fried skin side down until crisp
- Whole, steamed with ginger and spring onion
- Barbecued, with lime
- Scientific name
- Lates calcarifer
- In the water
- A predator of estuaries, mangroves and coastal rivers from northern Australia to Southeast Asia, heading down to salt water to spawn. Farmed in tanks on both sides of the equator.
- Season & buying
- Year-round from farms; in Australia the wild fishery closes during spawning in the wet season.
- Common length
- ~60 cm
- How to identify it
- Concave forehead and pointed snout
Large silver scales, grey-green back
Rounded tail, dorsal fin in two parts
On the plate
White, firm, buttery flesh in large flakes, mild without being bland.
Avoid: Taking the skin off before cooking: crisped, it is what sets this fish apart.
It hatches male and turns female after a few years; its name comes from an Aboriginal language of Queensland and means roughly a large-scaled river fish.
In Umay recipes
One Umay recipe calls for it.
