The Vibrant Caribbean Pot Cookbook
Soup Season Cookbook
Get My Latest Cookbooks
On Sale Now

One Kitchen, Many Cultures

guyanese recipes

Showing: 1 - 4 of 4 Articles
Gluten Free Seafood Vegetarian

Baby Pak Choi With Salted Cod The Caribbean Way.

7 Comments on Baby Pak Choi With Salted Cod The Caribbean Way.

One of my favorite dishes growing up on the islands was when mom would make pak choi with leftover stewed pork. The slight crunch from the pak choi (not over-cooked) combined with the flavors brought to the game by the tender pieces of stewed pork with hints of ginger.. I may have to get that one done very soon as I now have a craving. Back to the pak choi with salted fish recipe… This version is just as tasty, as I find that the bits of salted cod brings it’s own unique flavor to the finished dish.

You’ll notice that I added this recipe to the vegetarian section as the salted fish can easily be omitted with great results. I would just double up on the onion and garlic for added flavor.

You’ll Need…

2 lb baby pak choi
1 cup prepared salted cod
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 scotch bonnet pepper
1 large onion (diced)
4 cloves garlic (diced)
2 tablespoon olive oil

Optional – Cashews and/or sliced almonds

Double wash the pak choi as there’s usually sand/dirt between the stems and drain, then chop into 1/4 inch pieces (cut across into ribbons).  You’ll need to boil the salted fish (cod) then rinse and shred. The boiling will remove most of the salt it was cured in and help hydrate it a bit. If you don’t boil the salted fish in water before using it will be too salty for use. Watch this video if you’re unfamiliar with working with salted fish (click link) : How To Prepare Salted Fish. Try to purchase boned salted fish to avoid having to pick out the tiny bones.. but still keep an eye out for any bones which may still be present in boned saltfish.

Now heat the oil on a medium flame in a wide pan and add the diced garlic and onion. Reduce the heat to low and slowly cook for 3-5 minutes. Then toss in the bits of salted cod (any dry salted fish) as well as the black pepper and with the heat still on low cook for another 2-3 minutes The goal here is to get a ton of flavor created before adding the chopped pak choi.

Raise the heat to medium and start adding the chopped pak choi to the pot. It will wilt as it cooks so don’t get alarmed when you get the feeling it won’t all fit in your pan. Top with the scotch bonnet pepper and stir well. Do not cover the pot or you’ll risk having too much moisture/liquid form.

Cook with the pan uncovered for 5-7 minutes or until you get the desired texture you like with your pak choi. I like it with a slight crunch. You’ll notice that I didn’t add any salt to the dish as the remaining salt from the salted cod will be enough to season this properly.. but do taste and adjust accordingly.

If you want to add some cashews or sliced almonds, you can do so the final 2 minutes of cooking. This will add a lot of texture to the dish (and protein). Remember when working with scotch bonnet (or any hot pepper) to wear gloves if your skin is sensitive and do wash your hands with soap and water immediately after. Also note that the scotch bonnet is optional and do not include the pepper’s seeds if you’re concerned about the raw heat. The seeds and white membrane surrounding the seeds is where the majority of heat will be.

This is a wonderful dish to have with steamed or boiled rice, works well with roti and other flat breads and if all fails.. make a sandwich with it. Superb!  Before you go, don’t forget to check out the latest cooking videos, connect with me on twitter and join our community on facebook. Oh yea! Leave me a comment below – it’s appreciated.

Seafood

Caribbean Spinach With Shrimp Recipe.

5 Comments on Caribbean Spinach With Shrimp Recipe.

Today we’ll be using two of my favorite ingredients in a combination similar to how our mom would do bhaji (dasheen bush) and salted fish (salt cod) when we were kids. With a little heat from scotch bonnet peppers and with a wicked garlic/onion base, it will be outstanding. And very quick to put together.

You’ll need…

1 med onion
2 tablespoon olive oil
1 bunch spinach
2 cloves garlic
pinch salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 scotch bonnet pepper
1 cup pre-cooked shrimp.

Note: You can leave out the scotch bonnet pepper if you’re concerned about the heat (it’s minimal) and do try to get tiny pre-cooked shrimp as they tend to be “sweeter” as we say in the Caribbean.

This is a very quick recipe as spinach cooks really fast and the shrimp is already pre-cooked.

Heat the oil on a medium flame and add the diced onion and garlic. Turn the heat down to low and let it cook (soften) for about 3-4 minutes.

Wash and drain the spinach, turn up the heat to medium high and add the washed spinach. Top with the black pepper, scotch bonnet pepper  and salt. Add the shrimp (I would recommend giving them a rinse in cool water and drain before adding to the pot) and give it a good stir. Do not cover the pan (you don’t want to create any additional moisture). It will quickly start to wilt and darken in colour.

Here is where you’ll personalize it a bit. When it’s cooked to your liking (about 3-4 minutes for me) turn off the stove. Remember to taste for salt and adjust accordingly.

Note: The spinach will naturally release liquid, so you may have to turn up the heat on your stove to burn that off quickly and not over-cook the spinach.

There’s enough here for 3-4 people as a side dish, so feel free to add more spinach if you’re cooking for a bigger party. Simply adjust the salt! If you can’t source spinach, Jamaican callaloo (or chorai bhaji) would be a good substitute.. just cook longer to soften.

Before you go, don’t forget to check out the latest cooking videos, connect with me on twitter and join our community on facebook. oh yea! leave me a comment below – it’s appreciated.

Seafood

Fry Okra With Shrimp.

16 Comments on Fry Okra With Shrimp.

Fry okra with shrimp is fairly new to me, but according to my Guyanese friends it’s a popular dish in the traditional Guyanese home.  This fry okra with shrimp is a recipe which was passed on to me to try by someone with Guyanese roots and I do hope I do it justice. Over the years my appreciation for okra (ochro as we tend to also call it in the Caribbean) has heightened so when the recipe was shared with me I can’t tell you how excited I was to give it a try. Many moons later and I can safely say it’s one of my favorite okra recipes.

 

You’ll Need…

1 lb okra
medium onion
3 cloves garlic
1/4 scotch bonnet pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
2 scallions (green onions)
3 tablespoon veg oil
1 lb shrimp (cleaned / deveined)
2-3 tablespoons celery leaves

Notes: When using scotch bonnet peppers or any hot peppers, do wear gloves, wash your hands with soap and water after handling and if you’re concerned about the raw heat.. don’t include any seeds or membrane surrounding (whitish area) the seeds. This is where the real heat in hot peppers are.

Tips: to avoid the okra being overly slimy, wash, pat dry, slice.. then place on a cookie sheet or large plate and place in the sun to dry a bit. Or at least allow to air dry for a couple hours in your kitchen. Additionally, add the salt near the very end of cooking as the salt will draw-out the moisture and cause to go slimy.

As I mentioned above (see tips), there’s a way to prevent the cut okra from being overly slimy, but I was in a bit of a rush and skipped this step. All I did was wash the okras, pat dry with paper towels, then sliced. Remember to remove the stem and end tips and discard.

Next up you’ll have to chop the scallions, onion, garlic, scotch bonnet pepper and celery leaves.

Peel and devein your shrimp.. wash clean and chop into small pieces. I had medium sized shrimp, so I simply cut in half. Here’s a short video showing how to peel and devein shrimp (remember you can now purchase shrimp that’s fully cleaned at many supermarkets):

With everything ready, it’s time to cook. Add the vegetable oil into a heavy pan, then add the chopped ingredients (not the shrimp yet). Please also add the black pepper to the mix. Cook that for a couple minutes on low heat to really bring out the flavors.

Now it’s time to add the shrimp pieces and cook on med heat for 2-3 minutes. Here is where you now have 2 options. 1. You can remove the shrimp at this point and set it aside.. then add the final 2 minutes of cooking (to avoid overcooking the shrimp). Or 2. I simply kept the shrimp in the pot and added the cut okra to it. Keep stirring often as it can start to stick to the bottom of the pot/pan (why we started off with so much oil).

Allow the fry okra with shrimp to cook for about 7-10 minutes uncovered. You will start to see slightly browned edges on the okra… that’s the best part of this dish (my humble opinion) Now add the salt, give it a good stir (remember to add back the cooked shrimp at this point if you removed them earlier) and you’re done.

Before you go, don’t forget to check out the latest cooking videos, connect with me on twitter and join our community on facebook. oh yea! leave me a comment below – it’s appreciated.

Vegetarian

How To Cook Fry Bodi.

10 Comments on How To Cook Fry Bodi.

Fry bodi is yet another dish I only grew to appreciate as I got older and if I’m being completely honest, I must mention that it’s one of those dishes I can’t replicate as good as our mom’s. How come we can do a dish “exactly” as our mom and never be able to replicate the taste (and consistency in some cases)? Like the curry bodi recipe I shared with you all a while back, this one is a favorite among vegetarians and I’ve received many compliments from it. So I know you’ll just love it.

* BTW, bodi is also known as the yardlong bean, bora, long-podded cowpea, asparagus bean, snake bean, or Chinese long bean

You’ll Need…

1 bundle bodi (about 1.5 lbs)
3 cloves garlic
2 tablespoon olive oil (veg oil works great as well)
1/2 cup water
1 medium onion | 1 medium tomato
1/4 scotch bonnet pepper (any spicy pepper)
dash black pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt

Notes: I must mention to you all that if you’re getting bodi freshly harvested, the cooking time will be a bit less (about 5 mins less). I know from my days on the islands that the bodi tends to cook faster and is more ‘meaty” (thicker). The bodi we get here in North America (see Asian and West Indian grocery stores) tend to be much thinner and take longer to cook. To brighten up this dish (this is optional), add a chopped tomato the last couple minutes of cooking. If you can’t get bodi, a good substitute would be french or string beans.

The first thing we need to do is to wash and trim the bodi (refer to the video below). Basically all you’re doing is removing both ends of the bean and discard. Then trim each bean into pieces about 1/5 inches long.

Chop the onion, scotch bonnet pepper (remember to not use the seeds as that’s where most of the heat will be) and slice the garlic very thinly. Then is a saucepan, heat the oil on med/high heat and add the sliced onion and garlic. Reduce the heat to low and allow this to cook for about 3 minutes. We’re trying to infuse the oil with the wonderful flavors of the garlic and onion.

After 3 minutes add the scotch bonnet pepper, black pepper and toss in the trimmed bodi pieces. Give this a good stir and top with the salt. Raise the heat to high, add the water and bring to a boil. Should take 2-3 minutes.

When it comes to a boil reduce to a gentle simmer, cover the pot and allow it to cook for about 25 minutes. Remember to stir every 4-5 minutes. You will notice that the fry bodi will start changing colour.. go from the brilliant green to a darker shade.

After 25 minutes your beans should be fully cooked and there should be no liquid in the bottom of the pan. If there’s liquid, do raise the heat and burn it off. Here’s where you’ll now add the chopped tomato and cook for 2-3 minutes.. just to heat through. The bodi will be fully cooked, but have a slight firmness to it. If you like your beans cooked to the point where they’re tender and sort of melting away, feel free to cook longer.

Fry bodi is a lovely vegetarian dish which goes well with rice, roti or bread. You can add additional flavor by using coconut milk instead of water when cooking and if you have leftover pieces of Caribbean style stewed meats (chicken, beef or pork), you can add it during the final 5 minutes of cooking. I recall our mom adding pieces of salted cod to the fry bodi and our dad would be in heaven. Maybe I’ll share that recipe with you soon.

Before you go, don’t forget to check out the latest cooking videos, connect with me on twitter and join our community on facebook. oh yea! leave me a comment below – it’s appreciated.