According to
The Joy of Cooking,
hoki is a fish similar in flavor to
cod. Unlike cod, though,
hoki is
indigenous only to
New Zealand, and hence is often known as
New Zealand Cod. The book does note that hoki is "... not a
topflight eating
fish."
Personally, I have yet to see
hoki served alongside
salmon or
trout in any restaurants. Instead, it is known by residents of the
on-campus dorms at the
University of Texas at
Austin as the only whole (non-
fish stick) fish to be allowed to grace the
plastic plates of the
Beauford Halbert Jester dining facility.
Hoki, as prepared by the culinary craftspersons in the cafeteria, has a taste not unlike cod caught from the
East River. This is, of course, from the same people that serve hamburgers made from beef patties shipped in boxes labelled "
Grade F meat. Fit for human consumption". Not surprisingly, a few of my comrades once insisted that
hoki means "
sewer fish" in
Korean.