Peppered shrimps is a popular Jamaican street food item consisting of shrimps with a spicy kick and tons of flavor. They are usually cooked in a skillet with garlic, hot pepper, butter, and thyme, absorbing all of the flavors in the process. In Jamaica, peppered shrimps are often sold to hungry travelers along the roadways by women who have the snacks prepared in little plastic bags.
MOST ICONIC Peppered Shrimps
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Cracked conch is one of the most popular Bahamian dishes – conch meat is breaded in a batter made with flour, then deep-fried until golden and crispy. The name of this dish refers to a method of tenderizing the tough, chewy meat with a meat mallet or a frying pan.
These golden conch nuggets are typically paired with french fries or peas and rice. When paired with french fries, the dish is usually served on a sweet bread roll with ketchup or hot sauce on the side. It can also be consumed as an appetizer, when it is served with fresh lime juice and goat pepper sauce.
MOST ICONIC Cracked Conch
Ackee and saltfish is the national dish of Jamaica consisting of an unusual fruit of West African origin and any sort of dried and salted fish, usually cod, mahi mahi, or mackerel. The dish is very popular either as a nourishing Jamaican breakfast or as an appetizer served for lunch or dinner.
Ackee is a tricky ingredient due to its toxicity, so it is not safe to consume it until the vivid yellow meat and characteristical black seeds (three of them) are visible on the interior of the fruit. It was introduced to the island in the 18th century and looks like a smooth, reddish peach.
MOST ICONIC Ackee and Saltfish
Conch salad is one of the most popular Bahamian dishes that is both a flavorful comfort food and a colorful, edible work of art. The key ingredient in the dish is conch, a shellfish that is unfortunately slowly dying out due to its rapid depletion in the Caribbean seas.
Other ingredients include finely chopped tomatoes, bell peppers, onions, and a marinade of goat pepper, lime, and orange juice, a mixture that also partly cooks the raw white conch meat. However, there is also a tropical version of the salad with apples, pineapple, and mango added to the regular salad, with a less spicy flavor.
MOST ICONIC Conch Salad
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Curried crab and dumplings is a traditional dish originating from Trinidad and Tobago. The crabs are cleaned, soaked in lime water, then drained. They are then seasoned with celery, pimento peppers, onions, garlic, and chives. After the crabs have been marinated, they are placed in a pot with curry powder paste, coconut milk, and hot peppers.
The dumplings are made with a combination of flour, grated cassava, sugar, salt, and water. They are also added to the pot with the crab, simmering until the sauce thickens. Once prepared, curried crab and dumplings are served in the same bowl with lots of sauce.
MOST ICONIC Curried Crab and Dumplings
A delicacy of Caribbean and Creole cuisine, conch fritters are the national dish of sunny Bahamas. It consists of pounded, tenderized conch meat that is fried in batter with tomatoes, onions, celery, bell peppers, and various, often peppery seasonings.
Conch meat is combined with vegetables because it takes a lot of effort to obtain a small amount of meat, and it's a way of making every bit of meat count. Usually tough and sturdy, conch meat greatly benefits from being cooked in tiny, diced pieces.
MOST ICONIC Conch Fritters
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Crack Conch with peas and rice is the national dish of the Bahamas. Conch is a large sea snail that has been traditionally eaten in the region since before the arrival of Christopher Columbus. The natives did not only eat the mollusc, but used them to make tools, musical instruments, and ceremonial artifacts.
The conch lies on the bottom of the seabed in big, fluted shells with pink interiors. It may be eaten raw or cooked, but in this particular dish, it is deep-fried. The finished meal looks similar to fried calamari, but it is much tastier, as the locals say.
MOST ICONIC Crack Conch with Peas and Rice
Brown stew fish is a Jamaican delicacy made by combining marinated and fried fish fillets with a brown sauce consisting of onions, garlic, ginger, tomatoes, butter, and water. The stew is often additionally seasoned with thyme and various types of hot peppers.
It is traditionally served with rice and peas or yams and bananas on the side.
MOST ICONIC Brown Stew Fish
This healthy and flavorful Jamaican dish is made by cooking firm white fish such as snapper in a sauce consisting of butter, vegetables such as tomatoes and onions, and herbs such as thyme, garlic, and black pepper. The fish is usually seasoned with salt and garlic, while the sauce is additionally flavored with scotch bonnet chilis for a spicy kick.
Once it's done, Jamaican steamed fish can be consumed on its own or paired with rice, boiled bananas, and crackers.
MOST ICONIC Jamaican Steamed Fish
Jamaican fish tea is a light soup or a fish broth seasoned with salt, pepper, and thyme, unlike other Jamaican soups that are usually hearty and thick. It features small, inexpensive fish such as herrings, and vegetables such as bell peppers, carrots, onions, and green bananas.
Some believe that the soup is a strong aphrodisiac, and it can be found throughout Jamaica, where it is usually sold at beach shacks.
MOST ICONIC Fish Tea
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