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Caribbean heritage people, can I ask....

9 replies

StupidBoy · 18/05/2025 12:02

...some food questions please?

I've just got a Caribbean cookbook and I want to try loads of the recipes but I am unsure about what typically goes with what and the book doesn't say.

What would you typically serve with jerk chicken? Rice and peas? Macaroni cheese? There's a recipe for a jerk chicken gravy but is this always considered essential or would it usually be served dry, with salads etc, like barbecued chicken? Apart from rice or macaroni, what sides would you have with it for a complete meal?

Fried plantains: I've just fried one and eaten it with salt to try it out, but how would they typically be seasoned and what would you eat them with? Curries or stews? On their own like a hot finger food? I have no idea and the book doesn't tell me. The recipe is literally just how to fry a plain plantain.

Also I have questions about all the little breads and dumplings. I get that rotis will go with curries, but what about doubles, johnny cakes, festivals, bakes and coco bread? Some of them it's hard to see much difference, the recipes are very similar. How and when would each of them typically be eaten and with what, please? Hot or cold? With sweet or savoury? On their own, filled with stuff, like a bread roll, or eaten with stews and curries like a dumpling, or a naan? Confused

TIA! Much appreciated.

OP posts:
Closetangel · 18/05/2025 12:08

Typically you could have Jerk chicken with either rice and peas/macaroni cheese and a salad or homemade coleslaw and I usually have it with gravy.
Plantain you don't season with anything, just fry or boil. Fried plantain would go well with jerk chicken.
Festival and bakes (hot) go well with fried fish, or saltfish.
All that you mentioned would be savoury

skippy67 · 18/05/2025 12:22

Jerk with rice and peas for us, as my mum didn't like cheese so never cooked with it! Sides would be salad or coleslaw or both. Coco bread with patties.Never had seasoned plantain either. We'd have it with breakfast ackee and saltfish, or beans on toast😅The Caribbean is made up of lots of different countries, so one size doesn't fit all. Dumpling and festival with fried fish, but can also go with chicken rice and peas. Jamaican heritage.

GivingUpFinally · 18/05/2025 12:43

Jetk can be served dry or with gravy. As pp has said regarding which sides to use. I sometimes mix it up and serve jerked meat with buttery mashed potatoes and satayed collard greens or broccoli. I'm mixed race so tend to also mix up my meals.

I prefer plantain fried with a touch of salt or in stew/Saturday soup.

There are no hard and fast rules around Caribbean food just that it's seasoned and cooker well ( I don't mean just salt and pepper) with lots of love.

Caribbean food has a background from many different cultures and influences due to it's history and the migration of people and the slave trade also heavily influenced flavours and cooking techniques. It's worth having a read and a little research into the heritage and history of the dish or region/island which is influencing your cooking to get an idea of how to make it more authentic.

Each island has its own unique flavours and staples - with some cross over or essentially the same dish by a different name. I wouldn't for example serve doubles with Jamaican food as it's a Trinidadian stand alone street type food, which you would have with a hot chickpea curry and tamarind chutney, either open, folded or sandwiched the choice is yours. When I do doubles I always have a huge cool leafy salad to soothe my taste buds!

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WednesdaysChild25 · 18/05/2025 12:45

Prefers a dry jerk chicken, with r & p and coleslaw

StupidBoy · 18/05/2025 13:06

Okay this is all very helpful. @GivingUpFinally yes as you say it's not just one binary culture or ethnicity of food, so that's exactly why I wanted to know what would go with what, so I didn't serve completely the wrong things together that wouldn't be at all authentic. Thank you.

Is the mac and cheese generally quite solid rather than loose and saucy? I saw someone talking about 'cutting a slice' of Mac and cheese when discussing Caribbean home cooked food, whereas to me it's something you spoon out and it's quite saucy. The one I saw on youtube looked like more of a pasta 'pie'. Unless that was just a really bad mac and cheese? 😁

OP posts:
JingsMahBucket · 18/05/2025 13:19

@StupidBoy it's known as macaroni pie so it's supposed to be solid.

StupidBoy · 18/05/2025 13:27

JingsMahBucket · 18/05/2025 13:19

@StupidBoy it's known as macaroni pie so it's supposed to be solid.

Ah that makes sense! Thanks. So if it seems like the recipe is low on sauce to pasta ratio compared to how I would usually expect, I won't meddle. It's supposed to be like that. Thank you.

OP posts:
JingsMahBucket · 18/05/2025 19:02

No worries @StupidBoy. Happy eating! ☺️

KTMeetsTheRsUptown · 13/07/2025 10:49

I like fried plantain with full english breakfast on a Sunday 😋

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