photo by daveypea

Its hard to go wrong with fried fish.  Fish and chips is not a fare landlocked in the UK, although its hard to match the popularity of UK chip shops.  As I have posted before, fried fish is common in the Caribbean Islands.

Friday's in southern Barbados brings the Oistins Fish Fry, near some of the best beaches on the island.  Dozens of fish stands appear, the tourists pour in and everyone enjoys the island version of Shriner's fried fish benefit.

I use the frozen fillets from Whole Foods.  They are excellent quality and come in the perfect portion for 2-4 people.  Be cautious not to marinate the fish too long in the lime, or you'll be frying ceviche.  I grind the panko a bit to avoid ending up with tempura, but I think the panko adds a good crunch to the breading.

Oistins Fish Fry

2 mahi mahi filets (12oz)

Juice of 2 limes

1 egg

1/2 white onion, minced

1 clove of garlic, minced

1 in grated ginger

1 tsp tumeric

1/2 tsp ground coriander

1/2 tsp cumin

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp garlic powder

1/4 tsp black pepper

Pinch of clove

1/4 cup breadcrumbs

1/4 cup panko, ground a few seconds in a spice grinder

1/2 cup flour

1/2 tsp white pepper

1/2 tsp paprika

1/2 tsp hot red chili

1/2 tsp salt

Directions

1. Rinse the fish, dust with salt and marinate it with the lime and 2 tablespoons of water for 30-60 minutes.

1. Beat the egg with a little water.   Add the onion, garlic, ginger, tumeric, coriander, cumin, cinnamon, garlic powder, clove and pepper.  Mix well.

1. Rinse the fish again and cut into 1/2" strips.  Marinate with the egg/seasoning mix for a few hours.


2. Mix the breadcrumbs, flour, panko, peppers, paprika and salt in a shallow bowl.

1. Dredge the fish the flour until covered well.

1. Fry over medium heat for 3 minutes per side.

I am a Whole Foods shopper.  "Whole Paycheck" jokes aside, I admire their commitment to fresh, organic ingredients that are local where possible.  I like the people that work there.  I like the people who shop there.  I like the place.  I might be unduly influenced by the fact that they opened their first store where I live, and I remember shopping as they built their business.  This was long before they used Wall Street cash to buy up everyone doing the same sort of thing with the same sort of commitment and learn how to do it all a little better.  Maybe the stores elsewhere are different, but I have been to plenty and they seem to all have the same commitment to quality that brings me back.

The stores are disorganized.  I find things in the strangest places.  One day, while I was waiting for the seafood guy to finish up with his customers and package up my green chili smoked salmon, I was poking around the case next to smoked fish.  I noticed something strange, yet recognizable.  Salt cod.  Fish in a wooden box is not something that jumps out at you, but I knew when I saw that little box it was not the first time I had heard of salt cod.

Stamp and Go is really a recipe for cod fritters.  I have heard various stories of where the name comes from - something about a bus and the fritters being served at bus stops.  I love buses, so Stamp and Go seemed like a good place to start with salt cod.

Stamp and Go is really fried salt cod fritters.  The recipe involves a simple way of making a batter with the cod, but it does involve the fish sitting overnight to get the salt out.  So leave some time to prepare the batter - these little cakes are not a quick snack.  This is an intentionally small recipe, since I have found that these do not keep well.  They are best served fresh and hot, which really makes them the perfect street food.  This recipe will make 10-12 fritters, depending how big and how flat you make them.

After making the batter, I cooked the fritters by dropping a bit of batter in the oil and building the fritters up to the right size.  Don't try to get enough batter on a spoon to make one fritter - just drop some in and build them up the way you want them.  I make three fritters at the same time in a cast iron pan with a cover.

Stamp and Go

1/4 lb salted cod

1 Tbsp olive oil

1/2 onion, minced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 tomato, diced

1/2 in grated ginger

1/2 cup green pepper, diced

1 habanero pepper, seeded and minced

1 cup flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 cup water

1 egg, beaten

1 tsp ground black pepper

2 green onions, chopped

Oil for frying

Directions

1. Rinse the cod under cold water.  Soak the cod in cold water overnight.  Use enough water to cover the fish well and give the salt lots of room to dissolve.

1. Rinse the cod one last time, then thoroughly flake the fish and set aside.


2. Heat the oil and sauté the onion with the garlic until the onion is translucent.  Mix in the tomato, ginger, green pepper, habanero and set aside.


3. Mix the flour, baking powder, salt in a bowl.

1. Beat the egg with the water and add to the flour mixture.

1. Add the vegetable mixture to the flour mixture and blend with the pepper, green onions and flaked fish.


2. Heat the oil in a skillet to about 350 degrees.  Drop the batter in the oil by the spoonful, building up each fritter until it is the correct size.  Cook 3-5 minutes, until nice and golden brown, then flip over and cook another 3 minutes.


3. Serve hot with lime and hot sauce or salsa.

An interesting street food morsel - Trinidad street food has more in common with Mumbai than some of its Caribbean neighbors.  Granted, there's the Shark and Bake, but the curries and pickles have a remarkably Indian taste.  This roti is really meant to be carried about as you head toward the beach.  Roti stands are fairly common, and very simple.

This is a fairly simple curry recipe that can be cooked a couple different ways.  I like to use canned tomatoes so that I can use roasted without burning anything.  There are a couple different ways to do the curry too, and you can choose whether to use whole seeds or ground.  Depends what you have handy - we tend to have plentiful ground cumin, so that's what I use.

Shrimp Curry

Your choice - for the curry, use:

1 Tbsp curry paste or powder

- or -

3/4 tsp cumin

3/4 tsp coriander

3/4 mustard

1/2 tsp black pepper

1/2 tsp tumeric

1/2 tsp red pepper

You can either grind this from seeds or use ground spices

2 Tbsp oil

1 onion, finely chopped

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

2-3 in. grated ginger

 1 can of diced tomatoes

1/2 cup water

1 tsp salt

1 1b medium shrimp, shelled, deveined and cleaned

2 Tbsp fresh lime juice

Roti

Directions

1. Cook the onion, garlic and ginger over medium heat until the onion is translucent, about 5 minutes


2. Add the spices or paste and cook 2 minutes more


3. Add the tomatoes, water and salt and stir.  Bring to a boil, then simmer until most of the water is boiled off.


4. Add the shrimp and stir well.  Cover and let the shrimp cook for 5 minutes.


5. Remove from heat and stir in the lime juice.