Coho salmon fish - benefits and harms, delicious recipes

Where does the coho fish live?

Coho salmon belongs to the salmon family. It differs from other species in its superior taste; in addition, the fish is very beneficial for the body. It lives in the Pacific Ocean, as well as in the lakes and seas associated with it.

You can meet:

in the Sea of Okhotsk;
on Sakhalin;
in Lake Kotelnoye;
in Kamchatka;
in the Magadan region;
in Lake Sarnoe.

There is a special type of coho salmon that lives in Chile on artificial farms. Fish grown in such conditions is small in size and contains little fat, but it is no less healthy. An accelerated breeding cycle helps to quickly reach the required fishing size.

Coho salmon fish usually reach a maximum of 1 m in length and weigh no more than 7 kg. In Asian waters, specimens weighing up to 15 kg are found. The main living condition is clean, clear water. It was not found in polluted water bodies. They catch fish from a boat or from the shore only in the daytime, since they don’t bite at night.

Important! On the territory of the Russian Federation, the coho salmon catch is small and amounts to no more than 7,000 tons per year, so the delicacy has a high cost.

Social structure and reproduction

Photo: Coho salmon in Russia

Sexually mature individuals go to spawn from the beginning of September to January. The spawning schedule may vary in some regions. The fish moves up the river only at night, very slowly and often stops to rest in deep holes.

Females use their tails to dig out nests at the bottom, where eggs are then laid. Laying is carried out in several approaches and each portion of eggs is fertilized by different males. During the entire spawning period, one female is capable of producing up to 3000-4500 eggs.

The female digs holes for laying one after another upstream of the river, so each previous one is covered with gravel from the one just dug. After completing the last, but most important stage of their lives, adults die.

The incubation period depends on the water temperature and can range from 38 to 48 days. The survival rate is very high, but, nevertheless, this is the most vulnerable stage of life, during which young coho salmon can become prey to predators, be frozen, buried under a layer of silt, and so on. The larvae remain in the gravel for two to ten weeks until they completely consume the yolk sacs.

45 days after birth, the fry grow up to 3 cm. The young are kept near tree trunks, large stones, and in creases. The migration of juveniles down the river begins after about a year, when their body length exceeds 13-20 cm.

Chemical composition of coho salmon fish

The beneficial properties of coho salmon fish lie in its chemical composition. It contains:

magnesium;
saturated fatty acids;
vitamins B2, B3, PP, C, A;
ash;
potassium;
sodium;
thiamine;
fluorine;
phosphorus;
chlorine;
molybdenum;
zinc;
iron;
nickel;
chromium;
calcium.

Because of the bright silver color of its scales, the Japanese nicknamed the fish “silver salmon.”

What are the benefits of coho salmon fish?

Seafood is good for the body, because when consumed regularly:

has a positive effect on mental activity;
normalizes the activity of the central nervous system;
prevents the development of cardiovascular diseases;
improves the condition of bones, muscles and teeth;
helps form muscle tissue;
reduces the risk of developing cancer;
strengthens the walls of blood vessels;
helps improve blood condition;
increases hemoglobin levels;
reduces visceral fat deposits;
strengthens the immune system.

Important! Coho salmon meat has virtually no bones, so it can be given to children.

The fish contains the substance astazanthin, a strong antioxidant. It helps remove heavy metals and radionuclides. Due to its rich vitamin and mineral composition, it improves vision, as well as the condition of the mucous membranes and skin. Thanks to the iodine content, it normalizes the activity of the thyroid gland, and chromium, which is part of the composition, regulates blood sugar levels.

Fish is especially useful for people with atherosclerotic vascular damage and coronary heart disease, but everyone needs to include it in their diet.

Delicious recipes with coho salmon

When purchasing fish, you should focus on certain points:

Coho salmon stewed with vegetables

To prepare the dish you will need:

400 g coho salmon;
2 pcs. sweet pepper;
2 pcs carrots;
3 pcs. tomatoes;
1 PC. onions;
3 pcs. clove of garlic;
1 PC. zucchini;
1 PC. eggplant;
3 tbsp. spoons of soy sauce;
2 tbsp. spoons of vegetable oil;
2 tbsp. spoons of sour cream;
1 tbsp. spoon of vinegar;
2 teaspoons mustard;
40 g of greens;
salt and spices - to taste.

The energy value of the dish is 140 kcal per 100 g of finished product.

The dish is prepared as follows:

The fish is cut into small pieces and marinated in soy sauce and mustard. Then take a frying pan and fry chopped garlic, onions and carrots in it, after which diced zucchini and soy sauce are added. Added here: chopped eggplants, tomatoes and sweet peppers. The mixture should be simmered for about 10 minutes.

Once ready, the ingredients are distributed in the frying pan so that there is a small depression in the center of the frying pan, where the marinated fish is placed. Sour cream and finely chopped herbs are added to the dish. The frying pan is covered with a lid and its contents are simmered for 30 minutes.

Baked coho salmon

To do this you need to prepare:

coho salmon meat – 600 g;
onions – 3 pcs.;
hard cheese – 100 g;
lemon – 1 pc.;
vegetable oil – 3 tbsp. spoons;
pepper and salt - to taste.

The calorie content of the prepared dish is 200 kcal per 100 g of product.

The cooking method is as follows:

First, fry the onion and place in a baking dish. On top, on the onion, fish meat, cut into portions, is laid out. Then salt and pepper are added, and a small slice of lemon is placed on each portioned piece of fish. Finally, the dish is sprinkled with chopped hard cheese. The dish is baked in the oven for 40-60 minutes at a temperature of 200 degrees.

How many calories are in coho salmon?

Fish is especially useful for overweight people who follow a healthy lifestyle, as it is a dietary product. In 100 g it contains 140 kcal. This indicator may vary depending on the cooking method.

Most often, steaks are fried at home. First they are rolled in flour with added salt. Then cook in olive or any other oil for no more than 5 minutes. The calorie content of fried coho salmon increases slightly and reaches 168 kcal per 100 g.

To improve taste and increase shelf life, the product is smoked. As a result, its culinary properties completely change, and the aroma becomes more intense. The calorie content of cold smoked coho salmon per 100 g is 196 kcal.

Fish meat is easily digestible and nutritious. For children and people on a diet, it is better to eat coho salmon cooked in a double boiler. This is the healthiest option, which preserves most vitamins. The recipes use a minimum amount of additional ingredients: spices, salt and herbs. In this case, the calorie content of steamed coho salmon is 135 kcal.

Nutritionists recommend regularly consuming deli meat, as it has a beneficial effect on the body and does not cause obesity.

Advice! Fish is useful for all categories of citizens and is recommended for daily consumption.

The healthiest and lowest-calorie dish is steamed

Description

A number of distinctive features of coho salmon, in addition to its impressive size and bright silver color, include the presence of a wide forehead on a rather large head. The caudal peduncle, unlike other fish of the salmon family, is short and high.

Based on these signs, coho fish can be easily distinguished from other representatives of the salmon genus:

pink salmon,
chum salmon,
trout,
sockeye salmon and others.

The taste properties of their meat became fatal for coho salmon and all salmon species. In this regard, the “hunt” for fish of this genus has become enormous in scale, and the number of fish in this population is inevitably declining. Every year there are fewer and fewer salmon representatives.

The taste and nutritional properties of coho salmon meat are quite high. The juicy, aromatic and tender meat of this fish is used to prepare various dishes in the most popular restaurants around the world. Coho salmon dishes surprise with their variety.

Boiled, fried, salted, baked, smoked, fish soup, steaks and shish kebab - kichuz is good in any form. Fishermen hunt not only for the fish’s delicious red meat, but also for their caviar, which is considered a delicacy.

Here you will find a description of the fish.

Rules for eating coho salmon

Coho salmon recipes are varied. Cooks use simple and intricate cooking options. But for them to be healthy, it is important to purchase a quality product. To do this, when purchasing, pay attention to the condition of the raw materials:

High-quality coho salmon has smooth scales without yellow or brown spots with a matte tint. The skin should not flake or crumble.
Before freezing, coho salmon are glazed with water to preserve nutritional value and muscle structure. If there is snow or ice chips in the package, this means that the fish was thawed during storage and re-frozen incorrectly. It is not worth purchasing such a product.
Fresh fish should have a firm, moist body without sticky mucus. If the carcass is missing, then unevenness and bruising will form on the surface. As a result, the fillet will be tasteless and will fall apart when fried.
In fresh coho salmon, when pressed, a pit appears, which immediately disappears.
If a frozen carcass is sold with the head on, then you need to pay attention to its eyes. If they are yellowish and cloudy, and there are dark stains near the gills, then the product is spoiled.

Freshly caught fish can be stored in the refrigerator compartment for a maximum of five days. Frozen – two months. If you keep it in the freezer for a longer time, the product will acquire an unpleasant aroma and become watery.

We recommend reading: Benefits of bell pepper, properties

Advice! The meat of delicious fish is tender, so the taste can easily be spoiled by hot peppers and alcohol added to the composition.

We recommend reading: Chili peppers: benefits and harms, properties, how to eat them

You cannot marinate frozen fish fillets for a long time. Before you start preparing the chosen dish, the carcass should be salted and flavored with herbs, then left for a quarter of an hour. Fry, bake and steam only for the time recommended in the recipe. Otherwise, the coho salmon will release all its juice and become too dry.

It is tastier to cook fish caught in the sea, which has not lost its beneficial properties and fat accumulation. The Japanese eat it raw in the form of rolls and sushi. But salmon, although in rare cases, can be infected with Giardia, so you should not overuse unprocessed fish. To disinfect, you can snack on it with especially hot sauce.

A delicious light and dietary soup is made from coho salmon.

Features of the view

Fishermen know that it is quite easy to distinguish coho salmon from other species. Individuals are characterized by an elongated body, a short tail and a rather large head. In addition, coho salmon can be distinguished by their beautiful silver scales. The size of an individual greatly depends on where it lives. Thus, on the North American coast, the average length of caught individuals is one meter. The weight of such fish can reach fourteen kilograms. In Russia, coho salmon reaches a length of 70-90 centimeters. The average weight of a caught individual does not exceed five kilograms. As a rule, the life expectancy of representatives of this species does not exceed 5 years.

The spawning period for individuals begins in the third year of life. During this period, males change very much in appearance. A hump appears on their back, and their back is painted a bright crimson color. The appearance of females of this species remains virtually unchanged. The individual chooses for spawning those places where it itself was born. That is why schools of fish have to travel 600 kilometers to reach fresh rivers. For spawning, females choose quiet and calm places with a smooth bottom. They dig special holes into which they bury the eggs. It is known that after spawning all individuals die.

Application of coho salmon fish

Fish is very popular all over the world, as it is not only healthy, but also has high taste. Baked coho salmon dishes are especially popular in restaurants. It is also fried in a frying pan, pure and breaded, and added to various salads. It is customary to serve with fresh vegetables.

At home coho salmon:

baked in an oven. Fish in foil is especially tasty;
cooked in batter;
salted;
fry;
cook soup;
twisted into minced meat for cutlets;
making barbecue. Gourmets are sure that it tastes amazing and is superior to meat in all respects, including health benefits.

A cold appetizer with coho salmon looks impressive in the form of tartlets, sandwiches, thin slices surrounded by greenery.

Taste qualities

Coho salmon meat is rightfully considered one of the best in taste among other Far Eastern salmon. Particularly contrasts with dry pink salmon. Thanks to the high fat content, dense muscle tissue acquires tasty, tender, aromatic shades.

In its composition, consistency and taste, coho salmon is a little similar to oily, juicy sockeye salmon. He successfully competes with her in cooking. It is especially tasty when baked, or fish soup. Lightly salted or smoked balyk and tesha are considered an equally valuable product.

Red or white fish?

Coho salmon is a red fish. The color of the meat is rich, but not as bright as that of sockeye salmon. The peculiarity of salmon is that when salted or smoked it becomes a little darker, and when hotly cooked, especially for canning, it becomes lighter. The taste and composition of the fish do not change.

Baked coho salmon with vegetables and lemon wedges

Can it be eaten raw?

Before being commercially caught, coho salmon spend most of their time in the salty waters of the ocean. The likelihood of helminthiasis is negligible. Fish enters the distribution network after checking for the absence of carriers of viral infections. Therefore, it can be eaten raw – lightly salted.

The consumption of raw coho salmon by the indigenous peoples of Kamchatka: Kamchadals, Koryaks, Itelmens is indicated by the names of recipes for fish dishes from the collection “Gifts of the Country of Kutha”, compiled from the works of the famous Kamchatka researcher S.P. Krasheninnikova:
fish salad with berries - kylykil;
pickled coho salmon - howl-lot;
coho salmon yukola;
stroganina from autumn coho salmon - talyk.

When salting purchased frozen coho salmon, you need to defrost it very slowly, on the bottom shelf of the refrigerator.

Tender lightly salted coho salmon in 30 minutes

Bony fish or not?

Like all Far Eastern red salmon, coho salmon is a low-bone fish. The main skeleton is represented by the spine and ribs. The muscle tissue of the back is supported by a small number of small bones, which are easily separated when processed into fillets. There is no discomfort when eating fish meat.

Fried coho salmon

Is the fish oily or not?

Coho salmon is a fatty fish. In terms of fat tissue content, it is superior to such salmon as masu, pink salmon, and chum salmon. The fat in the carcass is distributed evenly between the plates of muscle mass. By the spawning period, it accumulates in the fatty streaks of the intestines and eggs.

The natives of Kamchatka melted fish oil from the intestines of coho salmon and used it as a remedy for many diseases. Children of Kamchadals raised on fish oil never suffered from rickets.