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Jamaican steamed fish
Steam fish: whole snapper with okra, carrot, pimento and crackers
All along the Kingston waterfront, from Port Royal to the Hellshire fish huts, steam fish is ordered by the pound: a whole red snapper scored and cooked gently in a peppery butter broth with okra, carrot, thyme, pimento and broken water crackers that soak up the juices. The fish stays moist and delicate while the vegetables soften into a light, buttery sauce, and it is eaten with bammy or hard food. The common mistake is boiling it hard, which breaks up the flesh; keep it at a gentle simmer under a lid. Chef's tip: lay the okra and carrot under the fish so it steams above the liquid rather than sitting in it.
- Total time
- 40 min
- Difficulty
- medium
- Serves
- 2
Ingredients
For the fish
- 2 whole red snapperabout 450 g each, cleaned and scaled
- 1 limejuice only
- 1 tsp salt
- ½ tsp black pepper
For the pot
- 1 oz butter
- 1 onionsliced
- 3 cloves garlicsliced
- 2 spring onions (scallion)cut into lengths
- 4 sprigs fresh thyme
- ½ scotch bonnet peppersliced, seeds removed for less heat
- 8 okratrimmed
- 1 carrotcut into thin sticks
- 1 ¼ cups wateror fish stock
- 4 water crackersroughly broken
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Method
0/5 doneStep 1: Rinse 2 whole red snapper inside and out, rub with 1 lime and rinse again. Pat dry, cut 3 slashes on each side and season inside and out with 1 tsp salt and ½ tsp black pepper.
Step 2: Melt 1 oz butter in a wide frying pan with a lid over a medium heat. Add 1 onion, 3 cloves garlic, 2 spring onions (scallion), 4 sprigs fresh thyme, 6 allspice berries (pimento) and ½ scotch bonnet pepper and cook until the onion softens.
4 minStep 4: Lay the fish on top of the vegetables. Cover and steam over a low-medium heat for 15–18 minutes, spooning the broth over once or twice, until the flesh at the thickest part by the bone is opaque white and flakes easily with a fork.
18 minStep 5: Scatter 4 water crackers into the broth around the fish and cook 2 minutes more so they soften and thicken the sauce. Serve the fish with the vegetables and broth spooned over.
2 min
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 470 kcal
- Protein
- 48 g
- Carbs
- 22 g
- Fat
- 20 g
- Fibre
- 4 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does jamaican steamed fish take?
- About 40 minutes in total: 15 minutes to prepare and 25 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 2 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it very spicy?
- It has some heat. Use less chilli for a milder version, or more if you like it hot.
- What can I use instead of lime?
- Lemon, same amount.
- What can I use instead of butter?
- The same weight of ghee or coconut oil (for frying and most baking).
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