West Australian Dhufish
Overview
West Australian dhufish and pearl perches are grouped together as they belong to the same genus (Glaucosoma) and produce similarly highly esteemed products. These species have excellent taste and yield thick, white flesh. Sold mainly as fillets, they are highly sought after.
They are suited to most cooking methods, particularly steaming or grilling with a light dressing of citrus flavours, in either a beurre blanc with chives or olive oil, lemon juice and snow pea runners. They have delicate and moist flesh, so the less handling during cooking the better. Remember to score thick fillets and tuck the tail end under the rest of the fillet for even heat distribution and cooking.
If fried, these species are superb lightly crumbed and pan-fried, or coated in a light tempura batter and deep fried and served with saffron mayonnaise.
West Australian dhufish is prized for sashimi, especially when prepared with a complementary pink- or red-fleshed finfish.
John Mead from Meads Fish Gallery in Perth has an excellent recipe that accentuates the delicate flavour of the West Australian dhufish with a warm potato and leek salad (p. 302).
