The Caribbean Fish cuisine experience is a must for non-caribbean nationals because it is like no other in the world. Fish cuisine in the Caribbean consists of both salted and fresh fish and is prepared with the freshest herbs and spices.
It’s difficult to name a person’s favorite because of the variety of ways both salted and fresh fish are prepared.
Some of the various types of fish that are consumed in the Caribbean and by Caribbean nationals the world over are as follows:
- Salted fish
- Cod fish aka Bacalao, or Saltfish
- Mackerel
- Shad
- Herring
- Fresh Fish
- Snapper fish(a favorite if many)
- Goat fish
- Parrot fish
- Butter Fish
- Doctor fish
- King fish
- Jack fish
- Sprat
Salted fish like bacalao/aka Saltfish/codfish , shad , herring mackerel are most times prepared with sautéed tomatoes , onions, escellions, garlic , thyme , scotch and bonnet pepper , in coconut oil and served with ground provisions and dumplings ( boiled flour dumplings or cornmeal dumplings, or fried flour dumplings, bakes, or festival ).
They are also served with fried plantains and fried roast breadfruit. Dishes prepared with salted fish is served as breakfast , lunch or dinner .
Sometimes cod fish is roasted and is used to accompany roasted yam , breadfruit and roasted green banana.
Cod fish and salted herring are also used to make a salad that is often filled with very mild to hot peppers finely chopped onions, and tomatoes, mixed with olive oil, and served chilled with hard crackers, or hard dough bread.
In Jamaica cooked codfish is mixed with cooked Ackee and sautéed onions, tomatoes, etc to create Jamaica’s national dish “Ackee and Saltfish”.
Other vegetables that are added to codfish include cabbage, calaloo, bak Choy, okra and choyote.
Also in Jamaica salted herring is seasoned with hot scotch bonnet peppers, and onions and ground into a paste which is spread on crackers and served as a finger food.
In Antigua, the dish is called Chopup -in which codfish is mixed with okra, eggplant, and calaloo and served as a breakfast food.
In Haiti, the cooked salted herring and codfish are put in flakey pastry or biscuit dough and served as finger foods at parties.
In Jamaica, Salted mackerel is cooked in reduced coconut milk until.
It becomes a custard with sautéed onions, escellion, garlic and tomatoes. This is usually served as a breakfast, lunch, or dinner meal.
Fresh Fish on the other hand is usually prepared fried, escovieched, ( vinegrette sauce spiced with scotched bonnet peppers) steamed, boiled or grilled or roasted.
Sprat, Kingfish, snapper, parrot, butter, and goatfish are usually fried or escovieched. When fried or escovieched they are usually served with Bammy ( cassava bread) harddough bread, ground provision including boiled dumplings or fried dumplings, roast breadfruit, fried dumplings, fried roast breadfruit, or festival.
When steaming fish the best fish is selected. Snapper fish (which is a favorite among Caribbean nationals) butterfish, Kingfish, and goat fish or doctor fish are usually enjoyed steamed or brown stewed.
When steamed they are served with ground provisions or with rice and peas, white rice, or polenta/ cooked cornmeal. Fresh fish is also steamed stuffed with calaloo, or cabbage, or cooked okra steamed wrapped in foil on the BBQ grill.
Fresh fish is also roasted or grilled on the BBQ grill. This is usually done as part of the menu at a party where a lot of men are attending as some men consider eating fish often a sure way to keep their stamina.
Roasted or grilled fish is eaten with roasted breadfruit, roasted plantain, or steamed vegetables.
Fresh fish is boiled in soups or in fish tea. Fresh Fish heads or whole fresh fish soup is a very special soup for Caribbean nationals in particular Haitians and Jamaicans.
Fish tea is a light fish broth that is served as a first course and to convalescing persons.
In the Spanish-speaking Caribbean islands fresh Fish is prepared in a dish called cheviche in which is fresh fish is eaten raw and mixed with lime juice and other spices.
I love both salted and fresh fish and it isn’t easy to name a favorite fish dish.
Today I will share with you the recipe for Jamaican Brown stew Snapper Fish
Ingredients:
- 2 lb. large Snapper fish
- 1 medium onion sliced
- Two cloves of chopped Garlic
- Salt & Pepper
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 2 tablespoon of chopped escallion
- sprigs of thyme
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 4 cups water / fish stock
- 1 tablespoon flour
- oil for frying
- 2 tablespoon ketchup
Method:
- Wash fresh snapper fish with lime or lemon and season with salt and black pepper.
- Marinate for one to two hours.
- Dry fish, flour lightly, and Fry Fish until completely cooked.
- In a Separate Dutch pot Sauté seasonings in oil or butter. Take the seasoning out and put it to the side.
- Slowly add flour to the mixture – to oil or butter in a Dutch pot -making a roux, add water or fish broth, and allow to come to a boil. Add soy sauce. Then add ketchup.
- Continue to allow the sauce to cook.
- Add pepper & salt to taste.
- add fried fish to sauce the fish.
- Add thyme and back the sautéed seasoning. Add 1 tablespoon butter. Simmer for 15 minutes.
Serve with rice and peas, steam vegetables or ground provisions.
