-->
Tuesday, March 19, 2024
spot_img
HomeCaribbeanTen Top Caribbean Seafood Dishes

Ten Top Caribbean Seafood Dishes

You know you want it...

Mocka Jumbies and Rum...

- Advertisement -

Search out schnitzel in Austria, foie gras in France and mole-sauced meats in Mexico. In the Caribbean, it’s conch and other seafood dishes that are a must as menu selections.

Here are the favorite ten top Caribbean Seafood Dishes to try:

1. Cracked Conch

Battered, deep fried meat of this large sea snail is typically served with sides such as peas and rice, coleslaw and macaroni and cheese. The crisp outer coating makes the firm flesh of the conch inside seem even softer. Most local restaurants or toes-in-the-sand open air beach bars serve this signature dish on an everyday basis. You can also taste-sample conch in fritters, stewed in a thick tomato-based sauce and in a salad like ceviche.

Caribbean Seafood Dishes
Cracked Conch, Bahamas. Photo: Bahamas Ministry of Tourism

Caicos Conch: A Sustainable Resource?

2. Ackee and Saltfish

This dish is Jamaica’s answer to a hearty breakfast or light dinner. Salted fish, usually cod, is soaked overnight to remove excess salt. Then, its sautéed with onions, tomatoes, fiery scotch bonnet peppers and ackee. Ackee, a native of West Africa that the infamous Captain Bligh brought to the island in the early 1700s, is poisonous when eaten raw. However, after boiling 30 minutes, it becomes safe as well as nutritious, proving vitamin A, zinc and essential fatty acids. Ackee and Saltfish is often served with another Bligh import, breadfruit.

- Advertisement -
Ackee & Saltfish, Jamaica. Photo: Jamaica Tourist Board
Ackee & Saltfish, Jamaica. Photo: Jamaica Tourist Board

3. Mofongo

Say this word to a taxi driver in Puerto Rico and you’ll see a huge smile spread across their face, hear a gustatory baritone of the dish’s pronunciation and find the driver eager to take you to the place they think makes the best. In its simplicity, mofongo is prepared from green plantains that are fried, mashed with salt, garlic, oil and pork cracklings or crumbled bacon and then rolled into a ball. Seafood can be tucked inside or better yet you may find perfectly cooked tail of shrimp on top. Restaurants in the town of Luquillo, near Fajardo, make excellent Mofongo.

Shrimp & Mofongo, Puerto Rico. Photo: Dean Barnes
Shrimp & Mofongo, Puerto Rico. Photo: Dean Barnes

7 Day Charter Itinerary in St. Maarten / St. Martin – St. Barths – Anguilla

4. Kallaloo

This Old Year’s Night favorite in the U.S. Virgin Islands is now a weekly staple at many local restaurants and food trucks. Fish, crab and conch combine with salted pork or salted beef and a variety of greens like spinach, okra and herbs in this soupy-stew. Typically served with a scoop of cornmeal polenta-like fungi. If you don’t see Kallaloo on the menu, just ask what day it’s served.

Caribbean Seafood Dishes
Kallaloo, USVI. Photo: Dean Barnes

5. Anegada Lobster

The sweet meat from this undersea crustacean’s tail (no claws on these critters) is so popular there’s a two-day festival devoted to it each November on the British Virgin Island of Anegada. You don’t have to wait until this annual occasion to sample some. Every restaurant on the island serves its local lobster year-round. The most popular preparation style is grilled with garlic butter.

Anegada Lobster
Anegada Lobster

6. Conch & Dumplings

Carnival time in St. Maarten in late April is a good time to try the island’s signature dish of conch and dumplings. What makes this entrée so scrumptious is that the conch is pressure cooked until butter soft, then stirred into a thick gravy-like sauce that also surrounds the dense flour dumplings. Private Chef Jewel LaPlante is well-known for her rendition of this recipe. There are also a few local restaurants on the French side of the island that serve up this dish on a regular basis.

Conch & Dumplings, St. Maarten. Photo: St. Maarten Tourist Bureau
Conch & Dumplings, St. Maarten. Photo: St. Maarten Tourist Bureau

Mardi Gras Cruising

7. Antiguan Breakfast

Salted fish, typically cod sautéed with onions and peppers, star in this traditional wake up meal. Other ingredients in this merry cook-up include avocado, plantain, a hard-cooked egg and ‘chop-up’, a combination of cooked veggies that includes okra, eggplant and spinach. This dish is famously served at the Captain’s Quarter’s Restaurant, at the Catamaran Marina in Falmouth Harbour.

Traditional Antiguan Breakfast with Saltfish. Photo:  Antigua Barbuda Food & Drink Guide www.foodanddrink-antigua.com
Traditional Antiguan Breakfast with Saltfish. Photo:  Antigua Barbuda Food & Drink Guide www.foodanddrink-antigua.com

The Ugly Aspects of the Seemingly Perfect Paradise

8. Bajan Flying Fish

This herring-sized fish, known for its ability to swim fast and ‘fly’ out of the water, is such a signature delicacy that it’s likeness is imprinted on the island’s one dollar coin. Plus, Cou-Cou and Flying Fish is the national dish. It’s a recipe where the fish is rolled into two-bite sized pieces, simmered with a spicy tomato-based sauce and served next to a mashed potato-like mix of cooked cornmeal flecked with okra. Another popular choice is Flying Fish and Chips, or fried potatoes.

Flying Fish, Barbados. Photo: Barbados Tourism Authority
Flying Fish, Barbados. Photo: Barbados Tourism Authority

9. Keshi Yena

Red snapper and Keshi Yena, or stuffed cheese, are neck-and-neck favorites on Curaçao. The latter has its roots in the large round Edam or Gouda cheeses favored by the early Dutch plantation owners. Today, just about anything, including seafood, makes a delicious fixing in this stuffed cheese casserole. Other savory and sweet ingredients include capers, scotch bonnet peppers, garlic, parsley, onions, soy sauce, ketchup and raisins.

Keshi Yena, Curaçao. Photo: Curacao Tourism Board
Keshi Yena, Curaçao. Photo: Curacao Tourism Board

10. Sere or Seree

This native dish of Western Caribbean country, Belize, is a real rib-sticker. Snapper, usually red or yellowtail, is stirred into a spicy soup flavored with coconut milk. Plantain and root vegetables like cassava, yam or sweet potatoes makes this stew-like soup a full meal. Look for the real deal at local restaurants.

Caribbean Seafood Dishes
Sere, Belize. Photo: Belize Tourism Board

What to Know about Transient Slip Space in the Caribbean

- Advertisement -

Don't Miss a Beat!

Stay in the loop with the Caribbean

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Carol_Bareuther
Carol_Bareuther
Carol M. Bareuther, RD, is a St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands based marine writer and registered dietitian.
RELATED ARTICLES

So Caribbean you can almost taste the rum...

- Advertisment -
- Advertisment -spot_img

Recent Posts

Recent Comments