Breaded Scampi Bites

Apologies for the delay, I returned from the States last week and took a while to get into the swing of things in the UK. It seemed that quite a bit has changed while I was out: I went to my local Sainsbury's hoping to get myself a box of Basics fish fingers only to find that they no longer appear to stock that in their frozen seafood section. Which is a pity, it was only recently that I found that it was Young's Seafood (yes, really) that supplied the product. I do however see a revamped line, and something new.

Scampi is a type of small lobster, small enough to be considered by most to be a prawn. It is also known as a Langoustine. Langoustines are considered a delicacy by Larousse Gastronomique, the French gastronomic encyclopedia, and should be prepared only by boiling very briefly in stock, to preserve its inherent sweet flavour. The British, perhaps in defiance of the French, and as a result of the animosity between the two, usually have theirs minced up, breaded with breadcrumbs, and deep fried.

This product is no different from the scampi the UK is familiar with. The amount of seafood is alarmingly small (the amount of scampi even smaller, having been blended with fish), but for £1, it's pretty cheap, considering that it will last you for about 2-3 meals.

It's still not as cheap as the Basics fish fingers though, and certainly not as nutritious. It's a real shame that Sainsbury's have decided to discontinue what is arguably a very cheap source of protein (I still remember being able to get this and the Tesco fish finger's at 20p for 10, as recently as 7 years ago). I might be mistaken about its status in the line though, since mySupermarket has not updated its listings, so if you do continue to see the Basics fish fingers at your local Sainsbury's, let me know.

UPDATE 1: It seems that the Basics Fish Fingers are available after all, now repackaged as Responsibly Sourced Fish Fingers. A lot of the product revamp appears geared towards sustainable fishing.

Description	Price per Unit	No. of servings	Trade-up Premium	Trade-up Benefits
Breaded Scampi Bites	£1	9-10 bites	+£N/A	N/A, no direct requivalent