I am sure that many of you can relate to being confused by the notion of a dish based on what you've always known and interpreted it to be, only to find out that it might not really be so. That was my dilemma this week when I created the dish you see here. To fully understand my confusion, you have to read the column. Hence there is not a label for me to put on this dish.
Some of you may recognise it as something you make or have seen, I'd be happy to hear what what names it's called.
This dish was inspired by the memory of a similar dish made by my beloved dad... I stared by cleaning some large fish heads (red or gray snapper works best) Then I chopped up some onions, fresh herbs, hot peppers and tomatoes. With a pat of butter and a little oil, I sauteed the onions and fresh herbs lightly; added the fish heads, covered it half way up with boiling water, seasoned with salt and pepper and simmered for about 30 minutes. To finish off the dish, I added some chopped green onions and a couple pats of butter that melted and made the liquid even richer. I ate it with boiled and sliced ground provisions and it was good.
As I mentioned in the column, each Caribbean country has its own version of this and other fish-in-liquid dishes. Depending on where you are from, these dishes are interpreted and called different things. I'm not sure where mine falls.
This week over at Forgive me my nonsense... it's all about immigration laws and how they are impacting on Britian's curry houses. It also begs the question of defining "unskilled workers".
63 comments:
Cynthia, I am loving your Shakespeare knockoff. LOL! This looks so delicious. Not like the fish soups/broths I am used to seeing...this one is so colorful!
Steamed fish or fish broth, that is a good question. In Mexico we'd call that caldo de pescado, which could be translated as fish broth or even fish soup. But I think it all depends where you come from, like you said.
It look delicious and I'd eat it right now either way :)
Broth for us here is stock of Fish, meat, chicken or veg as I understand. We add broth to meat or veggies to make a dish. I don't know whether there is a dish called Fish Broth, I am not familiar at all! I am confused now! :D
Dish looks great though Cynthia, whatever you choose to call it it's okay by me! What's in a name indeed!!:)
Have a wonderful weekend.
Whatever you call it, it just looks downright delicious, Cynthia!! We always use fish heads in our curries at home! Have a great weekend! :)
Whatever you end up calling the dish I am ready to slurp it out of the bowl. Looks delicious
It doesn't matter what the name is as long as you had pleasure in making the and eating them
Thats great looking post...I am not really bothered abt the name...:D
It dosen't matter to me what you call it! It's all about the eating!! And this looks delicious, Cynthia!
It doesnt matter what its called, it looks tasty. Soup de poission a la Cynthia for your book.
As long as it's delicious (which is a definite, since you made it), I don't mind what you call it :)
A fish stew or a fish soup?
My father-in-law used to boil fish heads and ate them as a snack. Well, every one to his taste.
Fish heads and bones make a nice fish stock, though.
This looks so good but I don't have a name for it. Good luck.
The main difficulty of not knowing what to call it would be requesting someone to make it for you - because I think I would want someone with the know-how to make this for me a LOT. Just the kind of all-in-one home cooked thing that I love...
meant to ask you this for a while. what's a 'ground provision'?
The French would call this a Boullaibaisse, the Greeks a Kakavia.
the fish head stew( thats what i have named it) looks awesome and as everybody and you yourself have stated what's in a name..its the taste that matters:)
Cynthia, I absolutely love your as yet nameless dish...just the kind I adore :-D
Hi Cynthia! The dish you made is what we call boiled fish. It's called boiled fish simply because it's not fried or bake, but boiled/simmered in water that will eventually become the sauce for the fish. We normally eat boil fish with fungi (foon-gee), and boiled green bananas.
what's in a Name? - I agree:) most of the dishes I make are a figment of my mind and understanding of flavors, so I come up with names on my own:)
your nameless dish looks great gal!
Steamed fish in fish broth? :)
The flavours sound delicious and like always, your writing makes me smile!
Cynthia, i love fish head curry! I too make it in this way whenever my hubby brings home some fresh fish, loooooove it!
www.zaiqa.net
Hi Cynthia,
Did I tell you already I love the new look of your blog? :)
It looks a little bit like saltfish stew my Michael is making sometimes... ;)
Have a great weekend, Margot
What a coincidence - I have been thinking about fish heads - I saw these in my grocery store and have been wondering what to do with them. Can you believe I used to throw fish heads out because I didn't know better?
I think you should make up a lovely and creative name that makes people think of how beautiful the ocean is down there. It doesn't matter what the "real" name is. What matters is how it tastes!
By the way, I have an award on my blog for you!
What's in a name when a dish looks this delicious!! What beautiful colours too :D
Rosie x
i know it as Fish Broth, my mum made it and served it with the same things you did. Wouldnt fish stock be the strained liquid from boiling the heads and veg together?
Thats very true cynthia! Name doesnt matter ! Just enjoy the food:)
a Fish Broth (or broF, as some may say) in T&T is really just a fish soup, I guess kind of like this, with ground provisions, dumplings or some macaroni in it, like any of our soups. No clue why we call it a broth/f. But some dishes defy naming, really :-D
For the record, as much as I love fish, I was never a fan...people like to make a fish broth on the river, by the sea, my brother and his friends in the village used to go down by the cane fields and little river and cook up a brof, although they didn't catch any fish, except out of the fridge!
Here we would call it Fish Stew. That makes me want to have some fish stew before it gets too hot here to have it. DH is the cook at our house. I'll have to put in my order!
And Big Grats on the book deal! Gosh is that ever beautiful!
Thanks for your comment on my blog. You are the Heart of Kindness.
Looks delicious! I just don't want to know about the fish head part...(hee hee)
broth or steam, as long as from Cynthia, it is good fish!
Yeah, who cares what you call it, it looks totally yummy... I haven't had anything like it, so no names from me... :)
This looks yummy!!! Anyway,whats in a name...when the pic looks soooo good :)
Heee..I just call it Steamed Fish?
This looks delicious! I don't know what to call it, but I know I want to eat it!!!
By the way, what kinds of foods should I make sure to try when I am in Jamaica?
It's not like anything I've made, but it looks good =)
your blog is wonderful
beautiful
kisses
oh, what a lovely rustic dish.
fish heads make such a flavourful broth. this looks divine cynthia.
I love my "Food Lover's Companion" too! I use it all the time. It's one of the best purchases I ever made.
Dear Cynthia, in Spain, this would be called fish broth. We usually use the fish head to do this. When we make steamed fish, we use the hole fish ( cut into thick slices)
Many people don't like to eat parts like the head and use it only to make the broth and to give a good flavour. Once its cooked, you can add some noodle and you have a fish soup.
I'm not sure about the name either, but anything made with a fish head broth is bound to be good, right?
I'm not familiar with this, because I live in the hillbilly Ozarks, of the US.
Fresh seafood we do not have.
Looks great, though.
How's the nephew? Mine is doing well. He's 5 months now.
This looks like good old-fashioned Jamaican fish tea (but with veggies).
I find when I make something up, if I just list the key ingredients in French or Italian it sounds like a real thing. Like "Zuppa de Pesci". I guess you could call it Fish Monger's Stew.
Me? I'd call it "dinner".
Love the dishes you whip out Cynthia. they sound more or less the same as in Mauritius!
In this case I afraid that I cant help, but sometimes the name doesn't matter, the important is the flavor of the dish , and for me the dish looks delicious . Maybe you can say:
The name is delicious fish .....:)
Whats in a name? the dish looks good and tastes good, its better to gobble it first and then name it later (or dont name it at all, thats fine by me:)
it doesnt matter what the name is..what is more important is it's taste! =)
Love the name !!
Very nice and colorful soup!!
It looks like every great nation has a great way to prepare fish head. I had a grilled fish head once in Hong Kong that was to die for. This looks just as awesome!
:-)
I don't think it matters what you call it it looks delish!
That dish looks mighty gorgeous! I'd eat that anytime!
Cheers,
Rosa
Simply mouth-watering...it just look delicious along with the photo...we also prepare so many dishes with the fish-head...have a wonderful time!
That looks and sounds so delicious. I love the fact that you have used fish heads too - people shouldn't shy away from using them and I bet a lot more people will try thanks to you - including me!
hey... to me it looks a bit (only slightly) like bacalao... which i absolutely love.
the BTA had a really nice reception here in Atlanta the other day. I thought of you. I should have taken pics but there was a photog there. I'll make sure to share them when I find them... I'm wondering y the food served wasn't Bajan, though... I'll make sure to ask Brian... (BTA official)...
Cheers!
PS: glad u too use a pressure cooker...i finally scrubbed my own two this morning... i loathe cleaning!
Simple, brilliant, tasty, yum!
By the way Cynthia - could I be honoured and get included in your links? :o)
Cheers
David x
Thanks for writing about cooking red snapper fish heads! I grew up eating a sour soup made of fish heads and loved it. But I've been skeptical about sharing it with others because some might see it as....yuck!
You made this dish look so beautiful!
From the first glance, i thought it was Teochew-style steamed fish. Looks good!
What a great column! Now, I would consider that fish stew, as opposed to broth (generally strained) or steamed fish (generally not in broth) but again, what would I know?
I do bet it tastes quite good, though :)
I would call it DELICIOUS!
What came first the egg or the chicken? Either or, it looks incredibly comforting!
Elly, Ben, Asha, Kalai, Indo, Happy Cook, Srivalli, Maria, Coco, Maryann, Helene, annemarie, Saswati, Sunita, Mansi, Margot, Mary, Rosie, Raks, Gattina, Sign, Homecooked, tigerfish, Kelly-Jane, Maybahay, Valentina, Sylvia, Daphne, Swati, Zen Chef, Rosa, Kalyan, Tavolini, Meg & Helen - you all totally rock! Thanks for sharing your ideas for naming this dish and of similarities you've seen, heard of or enjoyed.
Karin - perhaps a fish soup!
Bee - ground provisions are tubular veggies like cassava, yam, sweet potatoes etc.
Peter - ah ha!
Keva - thank you for that valuable info.
Kaykat - I think I like your name
Mona - me too! It's the only part I want when I make fish curry :)
Minti - now you know what to do with them
Alisha - yes!
Chennette - ...except out of the fridge." - LOL
Zippiknits - don't forget to put in your order and thank you dear one.
Chris - aw, come on :)
Jenndz - will email you
Anali - yep!
Pilar - sounds delicious
Marvin - right!
Emiline - the nephew, aka Ethan is doing great. He's in his 5th month too :)
Heather - I partly had the fish tea in mind :)
Roopa - I agree!
Bren - no Bajan food at a BTA reception?! :O that's just wrong.
I try to scrub my pressure cooker each time I use it.
David - of course! I'm bad at updating my blog roll.
Precious Pea - I have to Google that dish.
WOR Couple - welcome! I wondered only for a brief moment and perhaps it is yucky to some people as I noticed a dip in the number of comments this week (lol)
Carmen & Simply Gluten-free & Helen - a very warm welcome! Thanks for visiting and your kind comments. I look forward to seeing you around.
I just found your blog - lovely! It's interesting how many Lent posts I've discovered in food-blog world recently. Growing up, we always followed the 'never eat meat on Fridays' rule. As much as I try to stick to it, sometimes I admit I don't (am I going to hell!!??). Lidia is one of our faves and that stuffed calamari has been on my list of 'to-do's'. you've inspired me! We did a frito-misto (another Italian fave) for our 7 Fishes Christmas meal and luckily found some smelts. I like the idea of dusting them w/ some other seasonings! - amy @ http://www.weareneverfull.com
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