Categorized | Fish, Vegetarian
A vintage “Trinbagonian” fish broth. The cure for hangovers?
Posted on 04 July 2009
The love for fish broth (fish soup) I inherited from my uncle B. After a weekend of partying he’d usually make this soup as he claims it’s the best “thing” for a hangover and as his sidekick, I’d be very involved. Though it’s been years since I last had this, I’d have to say that I did his recipe justice. One sip and I was taken back to the age of 6 or 7.
I’ve got to mention a couple things before we start… 1. Though macaroni is an integral part of this dish, I have no love for pasta so I don’t include it im my preparations. But feel free to add any of your favourite “noodle” type pasta near the end of cooking. 2. I used sea bass in my recipe, since this dish is usually made from ‘cheap” fish. The problem with using such a fish is that you will encounter many tiny bones (be careful when eating). My suggestion would be to get any fillet of fish (fresh and from the ocean) so you’ll avoid having to worry about the tiny bones.
You’ll need…
1 fish (about 1 1/2 lbs) I used a sea bass.(cut into pieces)
4 cups fish stock
2 cups water
2 potatoes (cut in 8′s)
3 green cooking bananas (peeled and diced)
1 green onion (scallion) (chopped)
5 small okras (chopped)
1 onion (diced)
3 cloves of garlic diced
2 baby bok choy
1 tablespoon oil
1/4 hot pepper (use 2 pimentos if you have, if not use your favourite hot pepper)
1 tablespoon GoldenRay butter
1 lime
Macaroni (or you fav noodle type pasta)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon green seasoning
1 tomato
1 carrot
1 stalk celery
3 tablespoon cilantro (chopped)
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
Lets start off by preparing the fish. Cut the fish into serving size pieces, wash and season. To season all we’ll use is the green seasoning, salt and tomato. Now set aside to marinate as we get other ingredients ready.
Chop and dice all the vegetables, including the potato, carrot, bok choy, onion, garlic, celery, okra, green banana (I’ll post a short video on how to peel green bananas in a future post) and hot pepper. In a soup pot, add the oil and heat. Then start by adding the onion, then the garlic and cook for a few minutes. Now you can add the rest of the vegetables that we chopped and diced.
Remember to take off the stems off the okra and discard.
This is what the green banana will look like after it’s been peeled and diced…
Here’s how to chop the celery and bok choy.
Now we can add the 4 cups of fish stock, the 2 cups of water and worcestershire sauce into the pot with ALL the vegetables. Allow to come to a boil then cover and reduce to a simmer for about 15 minutes. After it’s been simmering for the 15 mins we can now add the fish, the butter and cilantro.
This is what GoldenRay butter looks like if you’re not familiar with it.
Let this all cook for another 10-15 minutes or so on a gentle heat. The last 7 minutes is when you can add the macaroni if you wish. You have a couple options with the finished dish. You can squeeze the lime juice directly into the pot or you can slice it and allow your guests to squeeze it themselves in their soup bowl. You can also top this with some chopped cilantro and additional hotsauce.
Tips.
Since we seasoned the fish with salt, used fish stock (contains salt) and added the golden ray (also known as salt butter) you probably won’t need to add any further salt. But do taste at the end and add accordingly.
After you’ve added the pieces of seasoned fish, try not to over-stir the pot or you risk the fish breaking apart.
Final tip for the day… add a couple drops of Angostura bitters near the end for an extra layer of flavour.
27 Responses to “A vintage “Trinbagonian” fish broth. The cure for hangovers?”
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Thank you for the information on fish broth I need to do one for my class.
This method and steps will help me a lot.
I hope I can share my imaginative recipes on the internet.
Hi Chris love your recipes on fish broth
Hermin, thanks for leaving your comment. Don;t forget to get “sizzle” so you’ll have all the great recipes I share with the masses. Hey.. I’d also welcome any of your recipes as well.
[rq=142562,0,blog][/rq]Hamilton Farmer’s Market at Jackson Square.
Ah boy, you talking about some real Caribbean food here.
.-= Cynthia´s last blog ..I’m all spiced up =-.
I don’t have a hangover but I’ve craving Fish Broth lately. I can’t wait to try this!
Chris fish broth is not only a trinbagonian dish It’s also a Vincie dish[that's one of my husband's favorite] once or twice a week I have to cook this for him
Elaine thanks for commenting. Maybe I should change the title of the post
Our culinary culture in the Caribbean is one that's shared and enjoyed throughout the region. Can you offer any tips or variations?
happy cooking
chris….
Yeah Elaine is right, it’s also a Vincie favourite-a staple perhaps. We like to use eddoes instead of potatoes as well. It’s one of the easiest dishes to whisk up in a lime and you don’t have to wait for the hangover either, you can prevent it with this dish.
Theresa, glad to have you here and commenting. That’s the beauty of the Caribbean as a region.. our culture, food and traditions as so similar.
happy cooking
chris…
Chris this was my dad’s favourite to have on a saturday, mom made it with snapper or bonito maybe carite. Good old days
Thank you.
christ this is de hang over cure big up
Sheahan.. ent! Thanks for stopping by and commenting
Chris…
A few dumplings must be added to the broth, On Dominica, In the Commonwealth West Indies, a broth must contain DUMPLINGS
Yummm! This looks and sounds wonderful, gonna make it for my husband this weekend. We’ve both being burning the candle at both ends for a few weeks now, and deserve a ‘treat’!
Hi Cris,
I love Fish Broth very much and I usually make mines with King fish. I make it at least once a week, I do it just like you do the only difference is instead of potatoes I put eddoes and instead of bok choy I put cabbage and a few macaroni. You must try it and see if you'd like this. I think the eddoes and macaroni gives it a better flavour.
Keep up the good work and God Bless!!!!!!!!
Where can I purchase Golden Ray Butter in the United Kingdom?
I know what you call bok choy as patchoi
my gran use to do this recipe (she from dominica) and she use to do long dumplings in it but this reminded of her cooking so big up
this is a real deal, make a big pot on Saturday morning after a late Friday night, lol
Bok choi is patchoi, Bok Choi is Chinese which is where the vegetable dominates.
Packchoi is a regional pronunciation, all good love the versatility of it.
A little different then cental carib. Its also known to b good for da back.
Chris, can' t wait to try this, since my daughter has been asking for this soup. Is there any chance of a Caribbean Pot food stand at this year's Caribana, you know like corn soup, roti, etc. WE BROOKLYN TRINIS WANT REAL FOOD, LOL.
Hi Chris,
Thanks so much for the recipe, it looks sooooooo good!! I'm definitely trying it this weekend.
Just love reading these recipes, it reminds me of the good old days of my mother's cooking. Can't wait to be in Trinidad for christmas. Must have some fish broth.
HI Chris,__I absolutely love fish broth, especially from the ladies @ the Shed…. we don't get access to much sea fish here but I have used fresh salmon in my broth, as well as stell head trout, I have also used crabs legs, and sea scallops in a pinch._In addition to your ingrediaents I use sweet potatoes, eddoes,, yam.__I do have the problem of green figs turning my broth gray, so I boil then separately and have it available as a condiment. Keep up the fantastic work!
HI Chris that fish broth looks really good we call that broiled fish we use Grouper we cook yellow Grits with johnny cake!!!!!!!!!
Mahalia
I love a good fish broth but i don't use red butter/Golden Ray but something called roccoo let me know if you know it and i can organise some for you next time you are inTrinidad……………