For a recent assignment in school, I was asked to write about a specific food from home and its importance to me on an emotional and cultural level. I became so invested in the assignment that now all I want to do is reminisce about good ol’ home cooking. So I shall, and of course, it all links back to seafood!
As you may know, I am a Jamaican born and raised, currently living abroad to attend school in the States. So, today, I’m going to talk about a popular staple in Jamaican diets: Escoveitch Fish.
I’m not exactly sure of the origin of this dish, but it became popular in the years of post-colonialization when the many foreign nationalities that came to Jamaica started to interact and intermingle. The final product became a dish is comprised of two components: Escoveitch sauce and fried fish.
Due to the widespread nature of this dish, the Escoveitch sauce can either be prepared fresh or bought ready-made at markets/supermarkets. The sauce consists of a marinade of onions (or shallots), cho cho, fresh pimento, carrots and scotch bonnet peppers soaked in vinegar, for at least 24 hours. If pickled and preserved properly, the sauce can last in the fridge for months without any fear of spoilage. In my home, we have a perpetual jar of Escoveitch sauce ready in our fridge.
The fish can come in many forms, however, king fish, red snapper and parrot fish are the most common types of fish used to comprise this dish. The fish should be fully cleaned and gutted (de-boning is optional), then the flesh should be rubbed with salt and pepper (or fish seasoning if you wish), and then fried crisp. But if you don’t really enjoy fresh fish, or if it simply isn’t available, there is an additional way to prepare this dish. First, buy packaged fish fillets (any type will do) at the supermarket, then dip the thawed fish in a mixture of egg, milk, flour, salt and pepper, and then fry thoroughly until brown and crisp. Lastly, add the separately prepared Escoveitch sauce with the appropriate sides, and voila!
Escoveitch fish is usually served as a breakfast item, with a specific set of side dishes. Breakfast sides include: fried or boiled bammy (a dumpling made from cassava), boiled green bananas, baked or fried breadfruit, festival (a sweet, fried flour dumpling), boiled flour dumplings, Johnny cakes (fried flour dumplings) and sweet or yellow yams (boiled or roasted). Escoveitch fish served in this manner is offered for purchase on most of the island’s popular, public beaches. In fact, many Jamaicans (my family included) will travel miles to a strip of beach known as Hellshire, which despite is heavily polluted waters, serves the most devious and delicious plate of Escoveitch fish on the island - and for dirt cheap too!
Now even through the previous mode of preparation is most prevalent, the meal can also be eaten for lunch or dinner with alternate sides. Some of these lunch and dinner sides include: steamed callaloo (Caribbean spinach), rice and peas, assorted steamed vegetables, pasta salad, avocado pear and fried plantains.
If Escoveitch fish is made right (i.e. by Hellshire standards), the meat of the fish should be moist and soft and still retain a measure of outer crunchiness despite the coating of Escoveitch sauce. This dish is best served hot, with the sides cooked crisply or boiled tenderly. Many people tend to spoil the dish by either adding too much salt in the fish’s independent seasoning, or allowing the fish to soak in the marinade until soggy. With a little care and attention these faults can be avoided, and with that a tasty, quintessentially Jamaican dish lies before you.
As you may know, I am a Jamaican born and raised, currently living abroad to attend school in the States. So, today, I’m going to talk about a popular staple in Jamaican diets: Escoveitch Fish.
I’m not exactly sure of the origin of this dish, but it became popular in the years of post-colonialization when the many foreign nationalities that came to Jamaica started to interact and intermingle. The final product became a dish is comprised of two components: Escoveitch sauce and fried fish.
Due to the widespread nature of this dish, the Escoveitch sauce can either be prepared fresh or bought ready-made at markets/supermarkets. The sauce consists of a marinade of onions (or shallots), cho cho, fresh pimento, carrots and scotch bonnet peppers soaked in vinegar, for at least 24 hours. If pickled and preserved properly, the sauce can last in the fridge for months without any fear of spoilage. In my home, we have a perpetual jar of Escoveitch sauce ready in our fridge.
The fish can come in many forms, however, king fish, red snapper and parrot fish are the most common types of fish used to comprise this dish. The fish should be fully cleaned and gutted (de-boning is optional), then the flesh should be rubbed with salt and pepper (or fish seasoning if you wish), and then fried crisp. But if you don’t really enjoy fresh fish, or if it simply isn’t available, there is an additional way to prepare this dish. First, buy packaged fish fillets (any type will do) at the supermarket, then dip the thawed fish in a mixture of egg, milk, flour, salt and pepper, and then fry thoroughly until brown and crisp. Lastly, add the separately prepared Escoveitch sauce with the appropriate sides, and voila!
Escoveitch fish is usually served as a breakfast item, with a specific set of side dishes. Breakfast sides include: fried or boiled bammy (a dumpling made from cassava), boiled green bananas, baked or fried breadfruit, festival (a sweet, fried flour dumpling), boiled flour dumplings, Johnny cakes (fried flour dumplings) and sweet or yellow yams (boiled or roasted). Escoveitch fish served in this manner is offered for purchase on most of the island’s popular, public beaches. In fact, many Jamaicans (my family included) will travel miles to a strip of beach known as Hellshire, which despite is heavily polluted waters, serves the most devious and delicious plate of Escoveitch fish on the island - and for dirt cheap too!
Now even through the previous mode of preparation is most prevalent, the meal can also be eaten for lunch or dinner with alternate sides. Some of these lunch and dinner sides include: steamed callaloo (Caribbean spinach), rice and peas, assorted steamed vegetables, pasta salad, avocado pear and fried plantains.
If Escoveitch fish is made right (i.e. by Hellshire standards), the meat of the fish should be moist and soft and still retain a measure of outer crunchiness despite the coating of Escoveitch sauce. This dish is best served hot, with the sides cooked crisply or boiled tenderly. Many people tend to spoil the dish by either adding too much salt in the fish’s independent seasoning, or allowing the fish to soak in the marinade until soggy. With a little care and attention these faults can be avoided, and with that a tasty, quintessentially Jamaican dish lies before you.
Taste: ****
Texture: ****
Tummy Happiness: **** ½
Image sources:
http://jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20060330/cook/Images/fishfryA20060327ST.JPG
http://www.niceysfoodmart.com/images/esc_fish.jpg
http://api.ning.com/files/X1bEXeFYbAhUJV25x2L4PZSabnIovCJ-bxzoWMwJ3NNPyzj0*01VuJxv3JmgJv6f6jTknOJDRC*XodFRaDFCqbgKOST-go*N/EscovitchFish.JPG
Texture: ****
Tummy Happiness: **** ½
Image sources:
http://jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20060330/cook/Images/fishfryA20060327ST.JPG
http://www.niceysfoodmart.com/images/esc_fish.jpg
http://api.ning.com/files/X1bEXeFYbAhUJV25x2L4PZSabnIovCJ-bxzoWMwJ3NNPyzj0*01VuJxv3JmgJv6f6jTknOJDRC*XodFRaDFCqbgKOST-go*N/EscovitchFish.JPG
