2009 - Page 6 of 7 - CaribbeanPot.com

Eddoes doesn’t have to be the mystery food.

May 2, 2009May 2, 200999 Comments

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.

Luscious steak strips with a wonderful jolt of pepper.

March 5, 2012May 1, 200946 Comments

Please don’t let the title misguide you. The pepper isn’t intense in this recipe, it’s more for the full body flavor it will add. This dish is usually featured on our dinner table at least 2-3 times a month. Not only is it very quick to make, it’s an absolute hit with Caron and our girls. A lovely partner to fresh cut fries, a fresh salad, onion rings or just about anything you usually serve with steak.

Since I’m a medium rare steak kinda fella, I usually only cook this one but don’t participate in it’s consumption. Caron and the girls will not touch any meat that’s not cooked all the way through and I hate seeing good steak “overcooked” so I have to cook to please the masses. Well done it is!

You’ll need…

1-2 lbs NY Striploin steak (sliced thin)

1/4 teaspoon sea salt (you can adjust to taste)

1/4 teaspoon chili flakes

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1 teaspoon butter

2 tablespoon olive oil (for marinating)

1 teaspoon olive oil (for cooking)

1 med-large onion sliced

Start by slicing the steaks into thin strips. Use a sharp knife and try to slice by placing the knife on an angle to the cutting board surface. TIP : Slice when the meat is still a bit frozen for easier handling.

Notice the great marble effect? Deserve to be on a hot grill!

Lets marinate this for a bit. In a bowl, place the sliced pieces of beef, sliced onions, black pepper, chili flakes, salt and the 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Mix around, cover and place in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.

I then like to bring it back to room temperature before cooking, so it’s removed from the fridge about 10-15 minutes before I get started. Now add the butter and remaining olive oil to a wide base pan and place on high heat. As soon as the butter melts and the oil is hot, start adding the marinated meat – dump the entire bowl in. But move around so each piece touches the heat from the pan.

Remember to keep moving around the pieces of steak so they’re always in contact with the heat from the pan. It should take about 5-10 minutes for us to achieve a nice golden color. If you’d like a medium steak, cook on high for 2-4 minutes only.

Quick and very tasty! Your family and friends will love to see this one on the dinner table. Makes great beef sandwiches s well!

Be sure to leave me your thoughts and comments in the comment box below.

Regards

Chris..

Tender stew pork packed with a unique punch of flavor.

May 27, 2025April 30, 200968 Comments

Growing up our dad was always at work (well at the time it seemed that way). But Sundays was our day. In the dry season he’d take me and my brother on long hikes through abandoned cacao and coffee estates to hunt and search out ground provisions. He was a master at finding yams of all description, size and shape. Not that stuff you find in the grocery store in North America. Yams with names like, “juba”, ‘finger” and “kush kush” and I can still remember the joy when we found a “patch”.

We’d leave early on a Sunday morning and be back in time for my mom to prepare lunch with the yam, dasheen and eddoes we found during our trek. So part of our Sunday lunch usually included ground provision and stew pork along with all the other dishes that a Sunday lunch is so famous for in Trinidad and Tobago. Yam connoisseurs would argue that nothing beats pairing yam with fried tomato and salt fish (salted cod), but I assure you.. stew pork is the way to go. But you don’t need yams or ground provisions to enjoy the amazing flavor of stew pork.

The principle and ingredients are very much the same as we explored with the “Stew Chicken” recipe a while back, except in this case we’re using pork.

You’ll need…

3lbs pork – cubed into 3/4 inch pieces
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon ketchup
2 cloves of garlic – thinly sliced or crushed
1 teaspoon fresh or bottled ginger – sliced. (use 1/2 if it’s ginger powder)
2 tablespoon vegetable oil (one that can withstand high heat)
1 medium onion – chopped
1 medium tomato – chopped
2 tablespoon cilantro (or 2 tbs Trinidad green meat seasoning)
1 1/2 tablespoon brown sugar
3 cups water
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 hot pepper (only if you like your food spicy)
1 green onion or chive – chopped
2 sprigs of fresh thyme (1 teaspoon dried)
1 lime or lemon or 3 tablespoons of vinegar
1 small shallot

Prepare the seasoning mix by dicing the onion, pepper, ginger, green onion, garlic, cilantro, shallot and tomato.

Now lets prepare the pork. Feel free to ask your butcher to do this step for you. Cut the pork into 3/4 inch pieces, removing the majority of fat and skin. One of the reasons why Caribbean dishes are known as being heavy, is our love for fat and skin. In days gone by I’d keep some of that fatty pieces of meat and skin. With age comes wisdom, so we know that this is to be avoided.

Wash… squeeze the lime or vinegar onto the cubed pork and rinse with water.

After you’ve washed the cubed meat, squeeze any remaining water from the bowl and begin to season. Add everything except the oil, sugar and 3 cups of water. Mix well and let marinate for about 2 hrs in the fridge – covered.

Time to get cooking. In a heavy bottom pot add the oil over high heat. As the oil starts to smoke or move along freely in the pot add the sugar. With a long handle spoon (to avoid splatters onto your hand) move the sugar around. You’re looking for the sugar to melt, change color and get to the point when it’s ready to caramelize.

Quickly start adding the seasoned pork as the sugar starts looking like the picture above. Stir around to evenly coat all the pieces of meat. Then lower the heat and simmer covered for about 10-15 minutes.

Now uncover the pot and raise the heat to high. We’re trying to get rid of all the natural juices that formed while it was simmering. In the meantime, add the 3 cups of water to the bowl that had the seasoned pork. We’re trying to pick up any bits of seasonings that were left behind.

As soon as all the liquid is gone and all the pieces of pork is evenly browned, add the 3 cups of water and bring to a boil. Then lower the heat, cover and let simmer for about 40-45 minutes. We’d like to get a nice thick gravy and have the pieces of pork as tender as possible. If after the 45 minutes you have too much liquid, be sure to turn up the heat and let some burn off.

Questions? Leave me a comment below or use the contact link at the top of this page. I’d love to hear from you.

This day I didn’t have any yams, but I did enjoy a nice plate of brown rice with this exciting way of preparing pork.

Gourmet salmon from a can?

March 5, 2012April 27, 2009129 Comments

Not sure of this should be classified as a recipe or not, but I do know it’s affectionately known as “bache” or bachelor food among the people I know. “Bache” usually refers to any food that can be cooked (or not) in under 5 minutes… basically something fast. As a youth this was the norm as part of Good Friday lunch. It’s true that we had access to tons of fresh fish being that we lived on islands, but somehow that salmon that came in a can still made it’s way onto our menu. You either had it on rice or with lovely ground provisions, like yam, eddoes and dasheen. My dad used to top his with olive oil, something only in my adult life did I learn to appreciate.

Get past the cat-food like appearance and the fact that it comes from a can, let’s give canned salmon a chance.

You’ll need…

1 can Salmon (Sockeye, Pink or Tea Rose Keta Salmon) 213g / 7.5 oz

dash of salt

dash of black pepper

1 medium tomato

1 clove garlic

1 medium onion

1 teaspoon ketchup

1 green onion (scallion)

hot pepper (optional)

3 sprigs of cilantro or 1 leaf of shado beni. (you may also use 1/4 teaspoon green seasoning mix)

Open the can of salmon and place in a pan over medium heat.

With a spoon or fork, break the salmon chunk in pieces (try not to crush)

Wash and slice the tomato, green onion, cilantro, garlic and onion. All the ingredients should now be added to the pot with the salmon chunks.

Gently stir everything together, including the ketchup, black pepper and salt. I usually don’t use salt, but I’m sure you may like it with a bit of salt. Remember, you can add salt last if it’s required also.

Cover and let simmer for about 5 minutes, or until all the ingredients get a chance to add their touch to the dish.

Didn’t I say this was a “bache” recipe… you’re done. Serve over rice, ground provisions or with bread.

I’ve also seen my mom use a bit of olive oil in the pan, then add the onion etc to cook a bit first and then add the salmon last. But I try not to use oil or salt, as the fish is already fatty and it’s usually packed in salt during the canning process.

Be sure to share this with your friends and leave me your comments below. i’d love the hear from you.

Tropical Mango Puff Pastry Turnovers.

March 5, 2012April 24, 200939 Comments

Before we get on to exploring this recipe I have to say a couple things. This recipe was submitted by Angela and I’d like to personally thank her for not only submitting her recipe, but for being the very first person to do so since I launched CaribbeanPot.com. The other thing I’d like to point out is that Angela didn’t submit a picture of the finished turnovers, so I did the next best thing and found an image online for this post.

You’ll need…

410 g can mangoes in light syrup, drained well and finely chopped

1/4 cup (25 g) flaked almonds

large pinch ground cinnamon

2 tablespoons demerara sugar

2 sheets ready-rolled puff pastry

8 teaspoons readymade custard

1 egg, lightly beaten

milk, to brush

Let’s get started….
Preheat the oven to hot 220°C (425°F/ Gas 7). Lightly grease two baking trays. Pat the mango dry with paper towels and place in a bowl with the flaked almonds, cinnamon and half the sugar

Cut the pastry sheets into quarters on the diagonal to make eight triangles. Place one eighth of the mango filling in the center of each triangle, then top with 1 teaspoon custard.

Brush the edges with egg, fold in half and use a fork to seal the edges. Brush the pastry with a little milk and sprinkle with the remaining sugar. Place on the prepared trays and bake for 10 minutes, or until puffed and golden.

Serve each person two turnovers with mango ice cream, if desired.

Note: If fresh mangoes are in season, finely chop 2 mangoes and use them instead of the canned mangoes.

The Old Man and his Mojito.

March 5, 2012April 22, 20094 Comments

It must have been about 8 years ago, we were doing a walking tour of Havana (still remember all the people trying to sell us Cohiba cigars) when our guide, full of excitement said…” I’m about to take you for a drink in a very special place”. Turns out it was the old watering hole of none other than Ernest Hemingway. I don’t recall the name of the place, after-all we had just done doing a tour of a rum factory and I did give every beverage they make a special test. I do remember being asked to fork out $4 for a drink that looked like leaves in a glass. Turns out it was a Mojito and those leaves were the essence of the drink..mint!

A Cuban Classic, the Mojito!

You’ll need…

1 1/2 oz Light Rum
3 tbsp (fresh) lime Juice
2 tsp Sugar
3 (Sprig) Mint
Club Soda

Directions
In a tall thin glass, crush part of the mint with a fork to coat the inside. Add the sugar and lemon juice and stir thoroughly. Top with ice. Add rum and mix. Top off with *chilled* club soda (or seltzer). Add a lime slice and the remaining mint, and serve.

After some digging I found the name of the joint, it’s called La Bodeguita del Medi.

This pic was taken during our tour of Havana.. a very historic (Like much of old Havana) cathedral. The Catedral de San Cristóbal de La Havana (Cathedral of Saint Christopher of Havana)

What on the beach?

April 22, 2009April 22, 20092 Comments

The first time I heard the name of this drink I couldn’t help but think..”what a rude sounding drink”. Seems like we’re still in winter, even though spring was officially announced back in March. So what do I do on a gloomy day that sucks the life out of you? I break out the boxes with our vacation pics. Then I mix up a cocktail (I really dislike that word) and relive that vacation all over again. This time I’m watching pics we took at Darkwood beach in Antigua.

The drink? Sex on the beach!

You’ll need…

1 oz Vodka
3/4 oz Peach Schnapps
Cranberry Juice
Grapefruit Juice

Directions

Add vodka and peach schnapps to a highball glass. Fill with equal measures of cranberry juice and grapefruit juice, and stir.

Serve in a Highball Glass or in that mug you purchased on the islands 🙂

Here’s a pic of Darkwood beach in Antigua…

Simple, but very tasty tomato choka recipe.

March 5, 2012April 20, 200975 Comments

As kids growing up we (brother and sisters) went to school in “town”, which meant leaving home very early as it was a fairly long drive every morning. This usually meant a quick breakfast that we could grab and go. But on the weekend it was a different story. Yes, we still had to wake early and get chores done if we wanted to be on the good side of our mom for the day, but she would spoil us with some hearty food for breakfast. One of my favorite things to eat on the weekend was tomato choka and roti. My mom is tops when it comes to making roti, something I still have to learn to make. But her tomato choka was phenomenal.

She still makes a mean choka, but I do find myself craving my own simple version.

You’ll need…

3 medium to large ripe tomatoes (leave on your kitchen counter to really ripe)

2 cloves of garlic

1/4 teaspoon of salt

1/4 of a small onion (depends on how much you like onions)

2 tablespoon olive oil

1 hot pepper (to control the heat, don’t use the seeds)

Note: There are several ways you can prepare the tomato for this recipe, but in this version we’ll use the grill. You can also boil in water, place in the microwave on high for a few minutes, roast in your oven or roast in a frying pan on your stove top. If you’d like more info on any of these other methods, leave me a comment or use the contact link above to send me a message.

Wash and remove the stems from the tomato, then place on grill (BBQ). Try to keep the temperature set at about 400C and rotate a couple times to cook evenly. Try not to play with them as they cook as they are delicate and can crush and be of no use to you. I also roast my pepper for a couple minutes as well. Don’t ask me why… it’s just the way I saw my mom do it.

In a bowl add the garlic (slice to make this step easier), salt, hot pepper and get a pestle or something to crush everything with. The salt will assist in breaking things down since it’s abrasive.

With a little bit of force, try to crush everything into a paste.

After about 10-15 minutes on the grill, remove the tomato. It will look charred and you’ll almost think you’ve ruined it. Nope.. that just brings out the natural sugars in the tomato and it’s exactly what we’re looking for. The burnt skin should easily fall off.. try to remove as much as you can. Then add the tomatoes to the bowl with the already crushed garlic and pepper.

Crush everything into a nice thick sauce. the tomato will let out a bit of liquid (depends on the variety of tomato you use). You’ll probably find that around the stem area of the tomato will be a bit tough to crush. You can remove that from the bowl.

Final steps…

Slice the onion very thin and place on top of the now crushed mixture. Then in a small frying pan, put the olive oil to heat on high. In a couple minutes you’ll start seeing the oil starting to smoke. Try not to keep it on the heat fro much longer as olive oil cannot withstand too much heat. Take the oil over to the bowl and gently (be careful for oil splatters) pour onto the onions. Act fast – stir the entire lot around so the crushed garlic, the salt, pepper, roasted tomato puree and the onions get’s mixed evenly. You’re done!

TIP : I try to use a “sweet” onion instead of a normal cooking onion so it’s not as bitter when eating. In the past I’ve also roasted the garlic before crushing but I’ve found that I missed that true garlic flavor that I grew up with.

Overall a very simple, but tasty side dish that’s just perfect for roti or worst case.. pita!

Sultry chicken wings as you’ve never had before.

May 27, 2025April 18, 200961 Comments

For the life of me I couldn’t understand the love-affair people had with chicken wings when I first moved to Canada. Growing up on the islands, it was almost an insult to give a guest a chicken wing if you had them over for dinner. You could hear the gossip going around town..”NAME, gave me a measly chicken wing the other day.. imagine that” said in the lovely accent we have.

But oh how did I ever fall in love with that “chicken wing” only after one date. I believe it was a bar called Grapes and Things here in Hamilton where the Tuesday special was 10 cent wings. Five bucks and I’d be stuffed to the neck with those juicy morsels. Yes, I love me some wings – BAD!

I was getting to the point where I was getting bored with my new love… deep fried, battered, Buffalo, BBQ and all the other million and one sauces she was dressed in didn’t arouse me any longer. We needed a spark in our relationship, if it were to continue. That spark turned out to be that sexy little number called, curry! A dry rub? Nope.. cooked in sultry curry sauce.

You’ll need…

1 lb of chicken wings

3/4 tablespoon curry powder (your choice)

1/4 piece of habanero pepper (you control the heat by the amount of pepper you use)

1/2 teaspoon salt

pinch of black pepper

1 teaspoon green seasoning mix.

1 small onion (chopped)

2 cloves of garlic (chopped)

1/2 of a medium tomato (chopped)

2 tablespoon lime or lemon juice (or vinegar)

2 tablespoons of oil (vegetable)

1 cup water

* if you don’t have the green seasoning mix, chop – 1 green onion, about 2 table spoons of cilantro and about 2 sprigs of thyme.

Cut the chicken wings into pieces, removing the tips. Then pour the lime juice over the cut pieces and rinse with water. Get rid of all water and get ready to add seasoning mix.

Let’s now season the chicken. add all the ingredients mentioned above, except the oil and water. Stir and let marinate for about 30 minutes in the fridge. This time we’re seasoning the chicken with the curry and not cooking the curry first as we did with other curry dishes.

Place a heavy-bottom pan on high heat and add the oil. As soon as the oil starts to smoke (hot) add the chicken, moving around so everything gets in contact with the hot oil. Turn the heat down to medium, cover and let simmer for about 5 minutes.

Remove the lid and turn the heat back up. We’d like to now allow all the liquid to cook out to the point where you’d think it’s burning. This will add another level of flavor to the curry and at the same time, add a rich dark color to the chicken wings.

When all the liquid is gone, add the cup of water and bring back to a boil. Adjust the heat now so it’s a gentle simmer, cover the pot and let cook for about 15 minutes. You have 2 options now…. turn up the heat after this point and allow all the liquid to dry or leave as a nice thick sauce. The battery on my camera died so I didn’t have the ability to show you the finished product. I do apologize.

Tip – This one is courtesy of Cynthia @ Tasteslikehome.org in regards to cooking with hot peppers like habanero and scotch bonnet . The finer an ingredient is chopped, diced etc the more of its flavour is imparted into a dish. Because it is now reduced to tiny bits, it is easier and faster to be absorbed and integrated into a dish.

Crispy fried pork with an explosive dipping sauce.

May 27, 2025April 14, 200980 Comments

One of my favorite memories growing up on the islands was visiting my uncle, who owned a very popular bar in the southern part of Trinidad. If you’ve ever been to the islands you know that not only are the bars “open” (not enclosed as in North America), it’s usually a hub of activity on a Friday evening. At his bar, most of the oil workers would congregate after a long weeks work and enjoy beverages with their friends. Loud music, people trying their best to be heard over the music and the occasional arguments was the norm.

As you would find “tappas” if you went into a bar in Spain, in Trinidad and Tobago our version is called “cutters” but pronounced “cuttas”. Usually deep fried meats, black pudding and slices of cheese in some cases. Served either on it’s own with lively hot sauces or made into a sandwich using a over-sized dinner roll.

I can still remember the smell of the frying pork we would get (they lived directly above the bar) as it made it’s way up the back stairs. Fatty, crispy.. but so full of flavor. Though this is not his recipe, I’ve asked around and came up with this version.

Let’s cook “cuttas” …

You’ll need….

2 lbs pork belly

3 tablespoon salt

1 cup vinegar

Water

3 cups of oil (one that can take high heat)

In a fairly deep pot, place about 4-5 cups of water (try to average so the water will cover the piece of pork in the pot) and bring to a boil. Add the pork, 2 tablespoon salt and about 1/3 cup of vinegar. Allow to simmer on low to medium heat for about 45 minutes or so. Try to have the pork completely covered with water at all times.

Remove from the pot of water after about 45 minutes or so, then using a knife, make cuts on the skin of the pork (see picture below) in a diamond shape. I went in about 1/4 inch or so. Then brush with the remaining salt and vinegar throughout the piece of pork.

IMPORTANT. I screwed up this part, so please learn from my mistake. Place the oil into a DEEP pan. Something like a wok would be great, since it’s nice and wide. When I first made this recipe I ran into hot oil splashing all over the stove and kitchen, since I used a basic non stick (shallow) frying pan. What a mess! If you can… try making this outdoor if your BBQ has a side burner. Not only do you have to deal with the oil splashing about the kitchen.. the “fry” smell does take a while to leave the house.

Here’s a pic of the pan that caused all the problems for me…

Be very careful when placing the pork into the hot oil. BTW, heat the oil on high to medium heat, just before you see smoke. Timing will vary at this point, since I didn’t measure the temperature of the oil, so yours may vary. The idea is the get the skin golden and crispy. Yes, you will have to flip the pork as it fries.

When it’s reached the desired color you like (ensure it’s nice and crispy), remove and cut into bit size pieces. I almost forgot the dipping sauce. this is so simple…

2 tablespoon ketchup

1 table spoon soy sauce

1/4 tablespoon of your favorite hot sauce (you can control the heat here..add more if you wish)

Here’s how Tehya (our middle daughter) makes this simple sauce. Combine everything in a small bowl and get ready to enjoy. I did say it was simple! Add a little crushed ginger if you’d like to take things up a notch or two.

There are several different recipes and preparation methods for crispy fried pork on the islands, many of which are influenced by the huge Chinese community.

Thoughts? Leave me a comment below.

Potato with leftover chicken in a delightful curry sauce.

May 27, 2025April 12, 20098 Comments

So what do you do with the left over stew chicken from the day before? Our main meal of the week in Trinidad and Tobago is usually “Sunday lunch”. I recall my mom going all out just about every Sunday, which usually included her famous stew chicken. As we were kids and didn’t eat much, there was usually left over chicken… that slowly changed as we grew older and our appetite increased. Back then, Monday dinners usually meant curry potato with the added chicken for extra flavor, paired with either rice or roti.

That tradition now continues in our household, but it’s not a Monday thing…

You’ll need…

2 large potatos

1/4 teaspoon of salt

1/8 teaspoon of black pepper

1 tablespoon of vegetable oil (any that can withstand high heat)

1 medium onion sliced

2 cloves of garlic sliced

1/4 of a hot pepper – habanero (only add if you like extra spicy)

leftover stew chicken (leave out chicken if you want it vegetarian)

2 cups water

4 tablespoons water

1 1/2 tablespoon of your favorite curry powder.

Peel and dice the potato into 1-2 inch pieces, then wash and keep handy. Prepare the garlic and onion by peeling and slicing into thin pieces. You may also crush the garlic if you wish, but I leave in slices so our girls can see them when the dish is complete. This way they can remove if they wish when eating.

I now add the curry powder to a bowl with the sliced onions and garlic.

In a heavy pan I place the oil over medium to high heat. Just before it starts to smoke, I add the curry, onion and garlic mixture and let cook for about 2 minutes. In the same small bowl that the curry mixture was in, I add the 4 tablespoons of water and rinse (get any curry that was left back). Now pour that water into the pot with the cooked curry, onions and garlic. Let that cook until the water evaporates and you now have a bit of a paste.

Our next step is to add the diced potato and move around, so everything gets coated. This can take a couple minutes.

Add the salt, pepper, habanero and remaining water. The goal is to try and have enough water to cover the potato so it will cook evenly.

Bring to a boil, then lower the heat to a simmer and cover. Allow this to cook for about 15-20 minutes or until the potato is tender and starts to melt away to form a nice thick sauce. Here is where the dish goes from being vegetarian… Add the pieces of leftover chicken and let simmer for about 5 minutes. If you’re going with the vegetarian version, allow to thicken and serve at this point.

The goal is to allow the runny sauce to thicken up, so you may have to crush the potato a bit if necessary by pressing down on them with the back of your cooking spoon. Please taste for salt and add if necessary. I’m not a heavy salt eater, so you may find that some of my dishes do require more salt – basically to your taste!

Tip. If you live in a country where your home is closed up for the winter months and you’re worried about the curry smell lingering around, burn a candle (scented is great) during and after you’re done cooking. If the smell is really strong (depends on the curry powder you use), you add either a vanilla bean or piece of cinnamon to a couple cups of water and boil for a bit. The fragrance will envelop your home, but you may feel like having apple pie.

Share your thoughts on this and all the recipes on CaribbeanPot.con by using the comment box at the bottom of each recipe posted.

Mango chow – the pleasure and the pain.

May 28, 2025April 11, 200937 Comments

One of my favorite snacks when mango was in season as a kid on the islands was mango chow. Even today, whenever we meet at family gatherings, there’s usually a bowl of chow in the midst. I can still recall eating away at this piping-hot combination of tart fruit, garlic and herbs… balanced with the wonderful juice of a fresh squeezed lime or lemon. I guess you were thinking sweet and savory when you think “snack”.

Seems everyone I’ve met over the years makes this a bit different, but you can’t go wrong with my take on mango chow.

You’ll need…

1 green mango (near to ripe is best)

1/4 teaspoon of salt

dash of black pepper (optional)

1 tablespoon shado beni hot sauce (or 1/4 cup cilantro or 1/8 cup of shado beni – finely chopped)

2-3 cloves of garlic (depends how much you like garlic)

1 lime or lemon

1-2 habanero peppers (or your favorite hot pepper)

1 shallot (optional)

Let’s get started. In a bowl, place the salt, sliced pepper, garlic and shallots. For a stronger flavor, instead of slicing the pepper and garlic, crush it with the salt using a pestle.

Wash and peel the mango using a pairing knife or potato peeler. Then slice into wedges and place in the bowl. Remember that the mango will have a hard core (seed) so you won’t be able to slice all the way through. Now add the shado beni hot sauce if you have some stored, or add the fresh shado beni / cilantro.

Basically the only ingredient you should have left is the lime or lemon. Squeeze the lime into the mixture you have in the bowl and toss around using a spoon. Sometimes we’re tempted to use our hands, but remember that you used those hot peppers so it may leave your hand burning if you do.

Taste for salt at this point and add as necessary. Depending on how tart the mango is, you may require some more salt. You have 2 options now.. dig in or cover with plastic wrap and let it marinate in the fridge for a couple hrs. If you decide to have it marinate, be sure to toss it around every 30 minutes or so for best results.

Do you use another fruit for making chow? Maybe your recipe is totally different! Leave us your comments…please.