Eating the Caribbean Way

Aruba

Aruba is a constituent island country withing the Kingdom of the Netherlands, in the southern Caribbean Sea.

The national dish of Aruba is keshi yena. This dish is made using a large round ball of cheese that is hollowed out. Then the cheese ball is filled with spiced meat, raisins, olives, capers, Scottish bonnet pepper, and tangy sauces. It is baked or steamed on top of a double boiler.

Belize

Belize is a Central American country on the Caribbean coast.

Rice and beans are cooked with coconut milk, minced garlic, chopped onions, bell peppers, vegetable oil, salt, and black pepper. It is eaten with stewed chicken and potato salad.

Cuba

Cuba is an island country that consists of the island of Cuba, Isla de la Juventud, and 4,195 islands, islets, and cays that surround the main island in the Caribbean Sea.

Picadillo Cubano is a spicy dish that is prepared with ground meat, tomatoes, onions, and chili peppers. Cooks like to add raisins for sweetness and olives for salt.

Fricase de pollo is a traditional chicken dish. It is made with dark chicken meat (legs and thighs), garlic, onions, bell peppers, potatoes, olives, bay leaves, tomatoes, chicken stock, and spices such as cumin, coriander, turmeric, and oregano. The chicken is cooked in tomato sauce with all the other ingredients until the potatoes are fully cooked.

Dominican Republic

The Dominican Republic is located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles of the Caribbean Sea.

Moro de Habichuelas is a rice and bean dish is prepared with long-grained rice cooked until tender. The beans are cooked in a savory tomato sauce with herbs, onions, garlic, celery, plantains, and squash. Usually this dish is made with chicken but beef, pork, and goat can also be used. The meat is stewed in tomato sauce with onions and the other ingredients.

Grenada

Grenada is an island country in the Caribbean Sea.

Oil Down is an interesting dish combining breadfruit, coconut milk, saffron, dasheen, dumplings, callaloo, and salted fish or codfish , smoked herring, salted beef, or pig's tail. The breadfruit and fish or meat are usually on the bottom of the pot, most of the vegetables in the middle, and the callaloo leaves and dumplings on top. The cooking of the dish is completed when all the liquid has been absorbed.

Guadeloupe

Guadeloupe is an archipelago of over 12 islands including islets and rocks located where the northeastern Caribbean Sea meets the western Atlantic Ocean.

Por Columbo is a dish prepared with pork seasoned with many spices and fresh herbs. The combined with carrots, potatoes, lime juice, sugar, and curry.

Haiti

Haiti is a country on the island of Hispaniola in the Caribbean Sea.

Tassot is a traditional dish prepared with beef or goat meat as the main ingredient, The meat is cubed and marinated with onions, orange juice, and lemon juice. It is fried until developing a crispy brown exterior. The dish is usually served with fried plantains, rice and beans or mushroom rice, and a spicy sauce known as ti malice on the side.

Grigot is made with cubed pork simmered in a sweet, spicy, tangy marinated of chili peppers, onions, orange, lime, or lemon juice until tender. Then the meat is fried in a skillet.

Jamaica

Jamaica is an island country in the Caribbean Sea and the West Indies.

Jamaican Jerk is a dish where the main ingredient is typically chicken, pork, or beef. Jerk refers to a unique Jamaican cooking method where pork, chicken, beef, seafood, and even fruits and vegetables are cooked over a fire pit or on a grill. The key ingredient to an authentic jerk dish is the spicy seasoning consisting of a blend of onions, green onions, thyme, Jamaican allspice (also known as pimento), chilies, salt, nutmeg and cinnamon - perfectly encapsulating Jamaica: spicy, hot, and sweet.

Brown stew Chicken is a dish that consists of chicken pieces that are browned and simmered in a rich gravy. The gravy is made with onions, peppers, ketchup, and water. The dish is traditionally served with rice, peas, fried ripe plantains, and sliced tomatoes.

Peppered shrimp is a popular Jamaican street food. It consists of shrimp cooked in a skillet with with garlic, hot pepper, butter, and thyme, absorbing all of the flavors in the process.

Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico is a Caribbean archipelago and US territory.

Pernil is among the country's most famous dishes. It is prepared with a roasted pork shoulder seasoned in a marinade called adobo mojado with paprika, salt, vinegar, garlic, and oregano.

Jibarito is a Puerto Rican sandwich made with smashed, fried plantains instead of bread. The sandwich is typically filled with garlic mayonnaise, meat, lettuce, tomatoes, and cheese.

The Bahamas

The Bahamas, is an island country within the Lucayan Archipelago of the Atlantic Ocean.

Cracked conch is one of the most popular dishes. Conch meat is breaded in a batter prepared 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. It can also be consumed as an appetizer, served with fresh lime juice and goat pepper sauce.

St. Kitts and Nevis

St. Kitts and Nevis is an island country consisting of the two islands of Saint Kitts and Nevis, both located in the West Indies, in the Leeward Islands chain of the Lesser Antilles.

Stewed salt fish is prepared with coconut dumplings, spicy plantains, and breadfruit. It is the national dish of the islands. The saltfish, is the main ingredient in this tasty, finger-licking comfort food. It is soaked and boiled then slowly simmered with onions, garlic, and tomatoes. The plantains are coated in chili peppers and fried, to complement the boiled dumplings made with grated coconut and flour. The sliced breadfruit is sautéed with onions, garlic, thyme, parsley, and red peppers.

Suriname

Suriname is a country in northern South America, sometimes considered part of the Caribbean and the West Indies.

Pom is a casserole that is prepared with chicken and root vegetables, like taro. In the many variations the dish has gone through it was originally made with potatoes but later with taro. Other nations have added soy sauce, piccalilli, salted beef, lychee, and ginger. The chicken is marinated in citrus juice.

Trinidad/Tobago

Trinidad and Tobago, island country of the southeastern West Indies. It consists of two main islands—Trinidad and Tobago—and several smaller islands.

Pelau is a savory dish that consists of beef or chicken combined with rice, vegetables, fresh herbs, and coconut milk. The meat is traditionally browned in sugar before the other ingredients are added. Then the dish is cooked in one pot. It is often served with salads, hot sauces, or chutneys on the side.

Aloo Pie conists of fried dough filled with mashed potatoes that have been flavored with onions, garlic, cumin, and bandhania.

Callaloo can refer to two things in Trinidad and Tobago - The green leaves from the dasheen plant, or a stew made from those leaves. Saltwater crab is simmered in dasheen leaves, onions, scallions, okra, pimento, scotch bonnet peppers, butter, thyme, and coconut milk. The result is a savory, rich, thick, creamy stew chock full of typically spicy flavor. It is normally served with rice, flour dumplings, or macaroni pie.