Swai Creole Style Fish - Deal of the Day

It must be the Golden Age of 99c only Store deals, and nothing epitomizes this so well as with my latest Deal of the Day: Swai Creole Style Fish by Oceanside Cuisine. According to the back label, this is a product of Canada - hey Canada, keep your Keystone Pipeline, instead send more Oceanside Cuisine our way!

Creole Style means a tomato based sauce with some veggies like, onion, bell pepper and garlic, similar to a Cajun Etouffee (like this one.) It's all there plus a healthy dash of Tabasco (hot) sauce. This is probably why my latest Deal of the Day ended up in the 99c only Store frozen deli case. I sometimes like my food spicy, so I'm fine with it. The sauce is not as hearty and deeply flavorful as typical Louisiana fare, but it will do.

The main ingredients is a nice thick fillet of skinless and boneless swai fish. I'm not familiar with this species (click her to read about it.) It's mild, not fishy at all, like cheap and pungent tilapia. While a thick piece of fish, it's still on the small size, as expected for such a cheap price. The texture is like butter, very pleasing. I like that it's not breaded or overseasoned.

You want to check the raw fillet while cooking - when it goes from pink to white, it's done. Fish is best not overcooked. The rice underneath steams to perfection. It's not mushy like so many other cheap frozen dinners I've reviewed.

And it has the most unusual packaging. They have two separate bowls to microwave - a bit overkill. This meal could easily be combined in one bowl. A waste of plastic, but this is a small quibble.

I like that the ingredients list is short, compared to some frozen meal fare. At only 9 ounces, this is like a first course - you won't fill up but you will be happy you tried it.

One bowl holds rice and fish, while the other is the Creole Sauce. The directions call for microwaving about 4-5 minutes. I would start with 3 minutes then check it out. If needed, continue to cook for a minute at a time unitl fish is done to your liking. Finally, you pour on the Creole Sauce over the fish and rice.

So on my cheap$kate Deal of the Day scale of 1 to 9, 9 being best (I think you know the score,) I give  Swai Creole Style Fish by Oceanside Cuisine, a perfect 9!

This is a delicious deal. It's a bit on the spicy side, but all the flavors come together perfectly, and is well worth the price of 99.99 cents. I would even go so far as to purchase it at full price from a regular market! And, I will be on the lookout for more Oceanside seafood cuisine from our Northern, Canadian neighbors.