Categorized | Vegetarian
Eddoes doesn’t have to be the mystery food.
Posted on 02 May 2009
This recipe post is inspired by a conversation I had with a lady at the grocery store recently. I recall when we first moved to Canada, finding any food closely related to what we enjoyed in the Caribbean was almost impossible. If you didn’t source out a specialty store, you had to settle for typical North American food. How times have changed. I can now go to just about any grocery store and find things such as yams, eddoes, dasheen, plantain, cassava, ochro … even bodi!
A few days back I was in Fortinos (grocer) and was in the section where they had all the “ethnic” foods when a woman came up to me and asked “what is that and what do you do with it?” as she pointed to the pile of eddoes. I’ve been there many times. You’d see something in the fresh vegetable or fruit section and stand there wondering what it was or how to prepare it, so I was only too happy to explain. So just what do you do with eddoes? Let’s explore an entry level dish featuring eddoes, the step child of the “ground provision” family.
You’ll need…
2 lbs eddoes
1 med-large onion (sliced)
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon chili flakes
2 cloves garlic (sliced)
water (see comments below)
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
NOTE: If you look under the “videos” page you’ll find a couple videos I created to explain a couple things about eddoes. How to peel and how to shop for eddoes.
Let’s get started by peeling the eddoes. After which you must rinse them off with clean water to remove any dirt etc that may have made it’s way into the bowl.
The next step is to get cooking the eddoes. For this we need to place the peeled eddoes into a pot, cover with water and place on high heat until it starts to boil. Then reduce to a simmer, add the salt and let cook for about 15 minutes. After about 12 minutes or so poke the eddoes with a knife to check to see if it’s cooked. If the knife can go through them without force, they’re done.
Drain the water out and in the same pot, using a potato masher or pestle crush so they’re a bit chunky. We’d like to avoid making a paste.
Slice the onion and garlic and place aside with the chili flakes.
Place a pan (frying pan is great) over medium heat and add the olive oil and butter to heat. Then add the onions, garlic and pepper flakes.
After cooking for about 5-8 minutes or until the onion is soft and starting to brown, add the crushed eddoes. Move everything around so it’s coated evenly with the infused butter/oil mixture. In about 5 minutes you should have a nicely coated mix that’s ready for serving.
Some notes on eddoes…
Like all “ground provision” this can be a stand alone dish or the base for many of the stewed meats that featured on here. In the last step mentioned above you can also add some salted cod chunks to add a whole new flavor. I’d also like to point out that many people would stop after boiling the eddoes as mentioned above and enjoy it with stewed meats as well, so they’re not re-frying after it’s been boiled. The final thing I’d like to mention is that eddoes is also a “must” ingredient for those wonderful heavy soups we’re so famous for in the Caribbean.
Leave me your thoughts and comments below.
BTW… I hope the lady who I had the conversation is reading.
43 Responses to “Eddoes doesn’t have to be the mystery food.”
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I'm a BIG fan of eddoes. At home, I make a Chinese stew with preserved duck leg and eddoes in a coconut milk sauce. I just hate peeling them, because they make my hand itch like crazy! They sell them at Fortinos and Loblaws, but they are way cheaper in Chinese supermarkets.
Diana:
The same thing happens to me. Simply rub oil on your hands before you start to peel. After you have put the eddoes in the pot. Wash your hands with soapy water and no itch.
Caribbean girl
thank you for your site .. it is really wonderful to have the photos as well as the instructions .. i am definately going to tyr some carribean cooking … but first i shall cook and enjoy my edoes !!!
Wow – these look like a hybrid of a mango and a potato!
maris’s last blog post..Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes A Day: The Only Thing You Need to Bake Bread
I enjoy your site it take me back to my child hood in Trinidad…. So thank you for this child hood memory….. keep doing what ya doing .
Only just discovered this site. Hope its around for a long time. I have just copied the recipe and about to cook the eddoes. I am alway looking for various ways to cook the vegetables outside of plain boiling and steaming. Do give us more recipes on eddoes – you must have more under your sleeves. Anyhing on cassave? Do share. Blessings
Thank you for this post… I saw them in the supermarket recently but I did not know what to do with them.
By the way, we had some fried saltfish, hardboiled eggs and grated cucumber with boiled green bananas for breakfast… husband made it
Enjoy your day, Margot
Coffee & Vanilla’s last blog post..Green Lentil and Soy Mince Krokiety (Filled Crepes)
have just found this site thank goodness I did, I love caribbean food, yummy
Have you ever tried cooking eddo curry either by itself, with eggplant or with an egg curry? So good!
[rq=91962,0,blog][/rq]With Age Comes Cooking Wisdom?
Cynthia, I do recall my mom cooking eddoes with a thick sauce, but without curry. I think she would Sauté some onion and garlic in heated oil, then add the sliced eddoes (cook a for a minute or 2) then add water to cover. bring to a boil and let cook until soft with a thick sauce. I think (memory) we called it “white eddoes sauce”.
My dad also told me that as a child growing up they used to make eddoes choka as well. There are so many ways to enjoy eddoes.
[rq=108503,0,blog][/rq]Lunch date at Niagara On The Lake.
So that’s what you do with eddoes. I live in a small town north of Toronto and Price Chopper is the only grocer that sells anything ‘exotic’. Most of the time, the cashiers have no idea what they are and it takes 5 minutes for me to get checked out. I’ve just been baking them like potatoes. Do you know if eddoes are ever paired up in a recipe with my new found favourite, ackees?
I’m sure this is a stupid question but some sites say eddoes are a kind of taro and some kinds of taro are toxic if not cooked enough. How cooked is “cooked”? And how toxic is “toxic”?
Some recipes say to boil for hours?
I have small children so I’m somewhat cautious but I’m not a terribly “paranoid” mother. Before I planted tomatoes in my garden I looked up how toxic their leaves are, but since they aren’t really I don’t freak out if my toddler decides to taste the leaves as long as he doesn’t decide to make a meal of them.
Tom, I’m not sure about the eddoes and ackee but I’m sure one of our Jamaican friends could share some thoughts (or recipe) on this for us.
Mystic-eye-cda, This is the first I’m hearing that eddoes can be toxic. It’s part of the taro family, like dasheen and tannia, but I’ve eaten those in all forms and I’ve never had a problem. However, if this is what you’ve read, I would take precaution.
.-= Chris De La Rosa´s last blog ..The 2009 Ancaster Home Show. =-.
Another way to enjoy eddoes is to do an eddoe souse. Boil eddoes and cut up in big chunks. Lime, onions, cucumbers, salt, black pepper and pepper sauce – just like making souse with “pig parts”. You can also do a green fig souse. Tangy and spicy with the crunch of the cucumbers! Yum!
Your site was helpful, as I’ve often wondered how one should cook eddoes. So far I’ve baked them about an hour at 400F. I take the skin off after baking, & add butter.
hi ever thought of currying eddoes with pigeon peas,simply delicious just like you would do any curry, with some nice hot sada roti, every trini will know what i’m speaking about. happy cooking until further ado.
chris i am curious ,are eddoes the same thing we call coco in jamaica .they look very much alike.
Thanks for all the comments and recipe ideas. taramatteelalla I’m not sure if I’ve ever had curry eddoes, but I do know that my grandmother used to make a “white” eddoes talkarie which was very tasty with sada roti.
Gina, thanks for sharing. I learned something new today
Glasspole, I tried to do some research on your question but info was a bit limited. I found this pic http://eatjamaican.com/jamaican-foods/coco.gif which according to the source is coco. If that is correct, then this is what we call tania(sp) in Trinidad and Tobago. Eddoes are usually a bit more round and not as pointed as the image (link).
Happy cooking
Chris..
.-= Chris De La Rosa´s last blog ..Drupati’s Doubles and Roti Shop, Toronto Ontario. =-.
How about eddoe souffle/pie? You boil eddoes first then mash and combine with grated cheese, milk, eggs, grated onions along with your favourite seasonings. Then throw it in the oven, topped with more grated cheddar-yum!
Enjoy.
Hi Chris,
Happy New Year and all thats good for 2010,can you believe it that this is the first time i am hearing about eddoes to me it look like dashine, and to be honest i have not aquired the taste for dashine and coco and i think eddoes will fall into that categorie.But i promise if i come across it in the market i will buy some and give it a try. Thanks anyway this is just how i feel.
.-= Pauline says:´s last blog ..Ultimate Curry Chicken? =-.
Pauline, thanks for dropping by and leaving your comment. New Year wishes to you and yours.. 2010 shall be grand! Give it a try, but I forgot to mention this tip.. before peeling the eddoes (or dasheen) rub a bit of cooking oil on your hands. These sort of ground provisions can cause your hands to itch, especially when you wash it in water.
Happy Cooking
Chris…
Hi glad I found your site,
I dated a Jamaican chef when I was a teenager and he taught me how to cook….he was adorable and very talented.
I can tell you for sure that cocos and eddoes are not the same because we shopped for both for the chicken stew he taught me to make, with the traditional dumplings.
Still a staple food in my kitchen today.
I love your recipes, thank you for sharing.
I found you doing a search for eddoes, I just love them!
If anyone is nervous using them, you can just add them to an ordinary stew you have made like an ordinary potato to try a few. YUM!
Kimber, thanks for taking the time to leave your comments – appreciated.
happy cooking
chris..
Thanks for another cool recipe. Unfortunately, the only way I ever cook eddoes is to boil them for soup. This way is an interesting take on cooking them though – I think I might even be able to slip some smoked herring (a fave) or corned beef as a side with this dish! Thanks again for another great recipe, Chris.
Dawn.. you can never go wrong with smoke herring! Thanks for stopping by and commenting.
happy cooking
chris…
thanks for that eddoes recipes i just it
thanks for that eddoes recipe yummy
Madonna.. thanks for taking the time to comment. i’m very happy that you tried it.
happy cooking
chris…
Gr8 recipes on ur site.Especially loved the vegetarian ones!!! Thanks for sharing them with us.
Came aware of your site a few months ago and love receiving the different recipes. Keep up the great work. Have been in Canada since 1959 and have always enjoyed introducing Canadian guests to eddoes..We usually cook as a potato and place in a bowl of seasoned lime-water.The guests like spooning the liquid over the eddoes. Will try your recipe as it sounds very good.
In Trinidad we call this eddoe choker. I was trying to remember how to cook this as a friend had taught me this dish some years ago. I just couldn't remember. Thanks for your recipe.
Hi Chris i enjoy all ur recipes,Keep up d gud work.
Thanks for this delicious recipe
Thanks for the explanation! There are eddoes in the local bengal supermarket but I didn't know what to do with them.
I'll give them a go soon.
I does cook my eddoes curry with egg plant + salt fish, sadaa roti……..
Hey Chris,
Thanks for the recipe, may try it sometime, but I love eddoes as is, just boil and eat. I popped in on the site you included for "Drupati's doubles and roti shop" and just to comment, these people seems like traditional Trinis. Trinidadians, as you know, cook up a storm on Sundays, and take to work, (what we would call brought forward), leftover food on Mondays. So there is not much of a line up by the Doubles vendors or Restaurants on Mondays. So some vendors take the day off. So the Drupati's simply brought forward to Toronto a Trini tradition. Bye now.
Hello Chris,
I have eaten eddoes in curry with the pigeon peas also eddoes with the white sauce, we call it white eddoes, i love eddoes choka, eddoes in soup, boil and fried, i think i will try the eddoes souffle/pie sounds delicious
My coworker has been promising for some time now to bring me some fried eddoes and sada, still waiting but this looks good!!!!
I'm sure it taste fantastic, sometimes when i boil ground provision, i would then cut them into smaller pieces and saute` with butter, onions, tomatoes and garlic, yummy!!
To avoid the acrid hand burns, use the South Indian method. The acridness comes from a mild alkali in the eddoes. Don't peel, but boil the eddoes whole for 10 minutes, that will leach out the chemical. Let it cool so that the pieces harden a bit. The jackets will usually come off very easily. Use the eddoes in your favourite recipe. I dice them, coat them in a mixture of rice flour, chili powder and salt; then I slow fry them in oil that has been tempered with mustard seed and hing till the coating is crisp. This is considered a delicacy in South India and served at weddings. Enjoy!
That's the way my mom did her eddoes, and I do the same, we boil them with the skin on untill it is tender, poke it with a fork to make sure it's cooked. And you make fried eddoes like Chris discribed, we always put salted cod fish in it, we also curried it, and if you making traditional Trini soup you got to have eddoes in it.
Hi Chris, Love eddoes. I like to cook it sada style. Peel and cut up eddoes in thin slices, like if you are making curried potatoes. Fry your onion, garlic and seasoning in oil. Then throw the eddoes in and add
salt, pepper etc and leave it to fry for a while stirring periodically. Then after a few minutes of frying you add some water and let it boil on medium to low heat. Cook until soft and add a little roasted ground geera (cumin) and turn off fire a couple minutes after adding the geera. It is best served with sada roti. You can also add tomatoes or saltfish. Any version is great.
LOVE THIS DISH.JUST GOT DONE MAKING SOME..TASTES GREAT LIKE THE WAY MY MOTHER MADE IT…
I`ve just used eddoes as a substitute for potatoes in saag aloo, amazing really holds up well againt the spices, wont use potatoes again in this dish.