Joanietoo, I went to the Caribbean market today and

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dawnnys

Well-known member
I didn't recognize anyting in there except for a jar of Ovaltine and a box of Cheerios, mon. I ended up buying some jerk seasoning and coconut milk. And some anise seed. Can I put this together to make something in the crockpot? I didn't know 9/10ths of the spices in there because they weren't labeled.

So many foods I've never seen before, and most were not in English so I stuck with what little I recognized. Also some coconut candy balls - orange ones, tan ones, white, and red. What were they?!

 
Lol........there is little marked / named at the markets here. I love the...

answers I get when asking what they are and how to cook them. There are a load of Haitian women who are rude and simply wont tell one anything if one is not going to buy so I seek out those who are not so rude, so often they do not have the weird and wonderful. To answer you ?....I prefer my own jerk take off but do not know whether the dry or the wet jerk is my preference.
Rub chicken pieces with it and then grill or bake in the crockpot with onions, thyme, potatoes and coconut milk.

It will make a sort of curry.

If it was me I'd grill the jerk marinated meat and use the coconut milk to make a sauce.
Serve this with polenta baked with okra slices therein.

As a point of interest what brand is the coconut tin? My maid insists that the Jamican 'Grace' is best but tell the truth I find little difference to those from any other tinned coconut milk.

The anise I'd prolly use in biscotti (if I was industrious) or bread etc.....is it ground or whole.....split pita pockets and paint with a little oil (evoo) and then salt and sprinkle a wee bit of anise there-on and bake in a hot oven quickly till just golden...do a few and see if you like the taste.

You can also cook the polenta in only coconut milk, using thyme and 'seasoning pepper' which looks like the habenero but is not as hot...this really does give an authentic flavour.....
I have a recipe for the coconut sauce and the 'turnaround corn if you'd like them...using both for the lessons.

The coconut candy balls sound a kind of West Indian ie Trinidade. variations are found all over the islands. Much too sweet for me and the orange colour is not to my liking. These sweets are so very like those the Malaysians took to the Cape...(Cape Coloureds in Cape Town S. Africa)
Enjoy

 
The jerk sauce I bought was imported from the Caribbean, the jar said. It was the

only brand that said "hot" but the jar was pretty so I bought that one! (I prefer not so hot, usually). Since I'm cooking it in the crockpot, I don't think I'll marinate the chicken, just pour over it sparingly, but when I grill I might. A little too cold and wet for that now, and our grill is in the backyard, not the garage or in a warm place.

The brand of coconut milk is just plain old Lopez. Nothing fancy.

Hmm, nothing traditionally Caribbean for the anise huh? I thought maybe it was used for something other than sweets. It's ground and I got a whole fistfull for only $1... I'll probably make cookies sometime with it. Halloween cookies maybe. Oh, I just read your pita pocket idea - sounds good!

Yes, I'd love your recipe for the coconut sauce and the 'turnaround corn (?).

Funny, the woman here was very nice, although I had a hard time understanding her. I think she must've been psychic too! When I went into the store, a chirping noise (like a bird) went off for a couple of seconds. I looked around towards the ceiling (thinking I'd see a big, colorful parrot!), but she didn't see me because she was in the back room. I did my shopping, we talked for a few minutes, and about 10 minutes later I went to pay for my things. As my eyes glanced around the shop again (still looking for that bird I thought was around, somewhere), she gave me the receipt, she said "That's an alarm we have so we know when someone comes in the store". HUH? How did she know I was thinking about that chirping sound and looking for a bird (no bird)? Kind of spooky.

Thanks for posting back so quickly! :0)

 
I shouldn't have made it sound like...

all are unfriendly...only those few market ladies who do not want to try to talk to the visitor...they think it is a waste to chat and explain.....((once one of them told my Mum (after she was being horrible pressurized into buying she said she just did not have any money on her..true, as I took her out)) That my mother was a liar..every white visitor was rich.....
and this from a lady who feigned not to be able to speak English...
You get a few like this, only a few...so I side-step any problems by finding friendly vendors.
But one finds people like this all over the world, not just here.

Just be sure the 'Lopez' c-nut milk is not sweetened...you can not cook any savoury meals with that...only use in drinks.


I took the following recipe off the internet....
You'll see that anise is used in the rub.....ie not a bought jerk but rather one that is home made...I personally would make my own as in the following...
Then the meat is grilled as a lot of meat in the Caribbean is.
I have not used this particular recipe but make ones similar...this one sounds nice.

1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon ground anise seed
1 dash cayenne pepper
4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
2 cups water
1 cup basmati rice
1 mango - peeled, seeded and diced
1/2 cup orange juice
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
2 tablespoons honey
2 teaspoons cornstarch
1 1/2 tablespoons water
2 tablespoons dark rum


DIRECTIONS
In a medium bowl, mix the ginger, cinnamon, cumin, anise, and cayenne pepper. Rub the chicken with the spice mixture, and place in the bowl. Cover, and refrigerate 20 to 30 minutes.
Combine 2 cups of water and basmati rice in a saucepan, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 20 minutes, or until tender.
In a small saucepan, mix the mango, orange juice, lime juice, and honey. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. In a small cup, mix cornstarch with 1 1/2 tablespoons of water until cornstarch is dissolved. Stir into mango mixture, and simmer one minute, or until sauce has thickened slightly. Stir in dark rum.
Preheat an outdoor grill for medium heat. When grill is hot, brush the grate with oil.
Grill chicken 6 to 8 minutes per side, until no longer pink and juices run clear. Serve over the cooked rice, and top with the mango sauce.

 
Coconut sauce...a lot of this kind of cooking goes by feel....hence the lessons....

when ever I get the chance I try to sit in other peoples cooking sessions, specially if it is in a new part of the world, one learns so much more by watching than by following a recipe.

Coconut sauce for Chicken, Sweet Potato Soufflé etc

2 TBL dried coconut powder (heaped)
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup cream
1oz butter
1 TBL spoon Rum
1 minced garlic clove (large)
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp hot pepper sauce (not Tabasco)
1 seasoning pepper, deseeded and cut in half
Pinch salt

Meld the powder with the water
Add rest of ingredients and cook back
till thickened a bit.

Taste and add a little more rum, and a little more hot sauce depending on how hot and rum-my you want it.
I use dark Mount Gay but rums vary so much in flavour as do hot sauces.....at the moment I am trying out different bottled sauces and I rather prefer adding a Thai style hot sweet chili sauce Be very careful as to what brand hot sauce you use, dont over power the flavour of the coconut.
I also use a can of coconut milk and NO cream....the sauce is good but not as great as the powdered sauce.

 
Turnaround Corn

TURNAROUND CORN
So named because the cook turns the mixture over and over with the wooden spoon

1 cup corn meal
1 cup coconut milk (I use the whole tin)
1 ½ cups water
½ chicken stock cube (I use almost a whole one)
1 spring onion beaten (Two if small and slice them finely)
1 clove garlic minced
1 seasoning pepper whole (I slice this in two)
1 sprig thyme (big sprig)
Salt to taste
1 oz butter (I use double that)

Bring the milk and all seasoning ingredients to a fast simmer
Add cornmeal all at once and “turn” vigorously.
Leave on low heat for 5 mins (not sure this is really necessary)

Now the local corn meal cooks into lumps and one needs to really turn the stuff. Doesn't seem to amtter to the locals........I don’t like to add it at once but rather pour it in slowly, stirring all the time and try to get a really unlumpy mixture.

I then plate it in ring molds with the coconut sauce around it and a sprig of fresh dhania as garnish.

I love this way of cooking polenta. Oh yum!!!!!

 
joanie - do you have any more recipes using the powdered coconut? I have a bagful to use!

 
LOL, I too thought this very odd....I watched my...

Jamaican friend do this for a gungoo pea soup once and never thought to ask.......
and then when the maid (Jamaican) and I were prepping for the Turnaround Corn she too did this...
"and so M'am you musta beat de scallion, like so", and she took the blade of the knife in hand and, using the handle, whalloped the length of the spring onion up and down till it was black and blue....
no, not really, only till it was gently pulverized and tossed that into the coconut milk.
As I said, I gently, finely and genteely slice it. Cant whack a poor skinny long bit o green an' white.

 
Chezz, you can basically use it in any dish requiring coconut milk.

Both of the posted dishes I've used powdered as well as some from a block....the cans are easiest to use, the flavour best from the block and the consistancy I also like from the block in stews/curries seems to get thicker better.

 
Thanks Joanie. I went back and looked and the jerk sauce brand

was Grace. My coconut milk is unsweetened ;o)

 
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