Jamaican Festival Dumplings

Hi! Foodhedonist's  10 Popular Jamaican Recipes is available for purchase on Amazon.com! It will feature this amazing recipe, along with other popular & delectable delights! 

Festivals are also referred to as "festival dumplings" and are essentially the same thing as a fried dumpling or a johnny cake, just with a different shape. There is a dumpling in the frying pan in the picture below  - the round "festival." Festivals are great with  ackee and saltfish, escovietched fish, jerked chicken or jerked pork! Speaking of which, I had some escovieched fish with festival went I went to Gloria's in Port Royal last Christmas. My mother would make festivals every Saturday morning for breakfast, with some ackee and saltfish.

Ackee, saltfish and festival

Curry Delight!!

This recipe was inspired by a fusion of Indian style and Thai style spice blends and curries.  I must say, it turned out great!

Finished pot of Curry!

The stuff in the zip locked bag on the right are chili peppers

Here is the formula:

1-1.5 lbs of chicken breasts, sliced
1/2 teaspoon of Madras curry and 2-3 tablespoons of Madras curry
1/2 teaspoon of garam marsala
1/2 teaspoon coriander powder
4-5 whole cloves, broken into bits
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 medium onion, diced
3 pegs garlic, chopped
2 large tomatoes, chopped
2 tablespoons cooking oil
2 tablespoons  of mango chutney
4 tablespoons of Satay peanut sauce
2 hot chili peppers, crushed, if you want it spicy!
1 inch of ginger, thinly sliced and quartered
3 potatoes, diced
1/2 -1 cup of water.

Method:

Thinly slice the chicken breasts and rinse them in a solution of vinegar and water. Then, add the 1/2 teaspoon of Madras curry, 1/2 teaspoon of garam marsala, 1/2 teaspoon of coriander powder, the broken cloves, black pepper and salt. Mix  together.  Then, add the chopped onions and garlic. Set aside for 10-15 minutes. Add the cooking oil to a large skillet.  When the oil is hot, add the curry and stir in until fragrant.  Be mindful not to burn the curry, or the food will taste like burned curry.  Then, lowering the flame to medium, chop the tomatoes and add them to the skillet.  Leave for 2 minutes. Then add the chicken, combined with the onion and garlic.  Add the potatoes. Cover with 1/2 -1 cup of water. Cook for 15-20 minutes over medium flame.  Then, add the mango chutney along with the Satay peanut sauce. Cook for another 3 minutes.  Serve over rice.

Enjoy!

Foodhedonist’s Jerk Shrimp Pasta

Hi! Foodhedonist's 10 Popular Jamaican Recipes is available for purchase on Amazon.com! It will feature this amazing Jerk Shrimp Pasta recipe, along with other popular & delectable delights! 

*Licks fingers*

Remember the Jerk Chicken Pasta? Well, jerked shrimp is just as delicious and makes for good “nyammings,” which is Jamaican patois for “eating.” It is also very simple, ideal for dinner after a long day at work.

Cooking time: Approx. 20 minutes.

Brown Stewed Chicken!

Hi! Foodhedonist's 10 Popular Jamaican Recipes is available for purchase on Amazon.com! It will feature this amazing Brown Stewed Chicken recipe, along with other popular & delectable delights! 

I wanted a taste of the Caribbean to celebrate the end of this long drawn out winter! So, brown stewed chicken seemed like a good option. So, here goes!

Easy Stir Fry Chicken with Bok Choi

     I had a craving for some chicken stir fry, so I whipped up the recipe below. It is loosely based on my Mom's chicken and bok choi recipe, or pak choi as it's called in the Commonwealth. It is quick and easy... it takes about 30 minutes to make, tops. Very good for busy people not looking to bother with take-out. Rice noodles make a great side!

Ingredients:

·         1 teaspoon plus 1 tablespoon  oyster sauce

·         2 tablespoons Chinkiang vinegar (Shaoxing wine or cooking sherry are good substitutes)

·         2 tablespoons soy sauce

·         ¼ teaspoon sesame seed oil

·         1 tablespoon cornstarch

·         1.5  pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cubed

·         1 head of broccoli, chopped

·         1 head of cauliflower, chopped

·         2 carrots, chopped

·         4 small bunches of bok choi, chopped (I used baby bok choi).

·         1 ½ cups Mung bean sprouts

·         3 medium garlic cloves

·         1 inch of ginger, shredded

·         2 medium scallions, chopped

·         1 medium onion, diced

·         1 hot chili pepper, crushed

·         1 teaspoon plus 1 tablepoon vegetable oil

·         1/3  cup water

·         Salt and black pepper to taste

·         Boiled rice noodles – or steamed rice -  for serving

Chopped bok choi

Instructions:

1.     Cut the chicken into one inch cubes. Then, combine the sesame seed oil, 1 teaspoon of oyster sauce, one tablespoon of Chinkiang vinegar, one tablespoon soy sauce and the shredded ginger. Add salt and black pepper to taste. Set aside for 15 minutes.

2.     In the meantime, prepare the other ingredients. Mince the garlic; chop the onions and scallions. Set aside in a bowl. Chop the bok choi and also set aside.

3.     Drizzle one teaspoon of oil around the edge of your wok or frying pan. Add the broccoli, carrots, cauliflower and mung bean sprouts. Stir fry for 1-2 minutes, stirring with a spatula, until the vegetables are charred in spots. Remove from pan and set aside. 

4.     Add the remaining tablespoon of oil to the pan. Then, add the chili pepper, onion, scallion & garlic. Stir fry until fragrant (1-2 min minute). Then, add the chicken and marinade. Add the remaining tablespoons of soy sauce, oyster sauce and the Chinkiang vinegar. Cover and cook for another 5-10 minutes. Then, combine 1/3 cup of water and 1 tablespoon of cornstarch together. Add this mixture to the pan.

5.     Add the previously stir fried vegetables and the bok choi to the pan. Stir these in with the chicken, for about 2-3 minutes. Serve immediately with noodles or steamed rice.