It's been a long while since I had some fried fish. So for Friday's dinner I decided to make Jamaican Escoveitch Fish.
Jamaican Escovitch fish is a whole fish that is fried until crispy then covered in lightly pickled vegetables. The vegetables which can be sweet peppers, onion, chayote and carrots are lightly cooked in a vinegar sauce that it’s seasoned with garlic, thyme, Jamaican pimentos and scotch bonnet pepper.
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I took a trip to my local supermarket and picked up the items on the menu. Typically Red Snapper is used but I picked up some Porgy. The Porgy was $5 a pound cheaper, so I got 5 of them.
I also purchased scotch bonnet peppers, chayote (cho cho), scallions, thyme, and garlic. The rest of the ingredients I already had at home.
I had the fish cleaned in the store, my local supermarket has a fish section in the back. They have a nice selection of fresh fish and other seafoods. Upon reaching home I washed the fish in a mixture of vinegar and water. After rinsing and patting dry, I added some black pepper and salt for seasoning. I put the fish in the fridge to marinate for a couple hours.
My next step was to make the Escoveitch Sauce. I julienne the chayote, bell pepper, and carrots. Cut up a onion in circles and 2 scotch bonnet peppers. I then heated up a with some olive oil, and added all the veggies along with some pimento seeds. I let that saute for 3 minutes then added a teaspoon of sugar and, 2.5 cups of white vinegar. The sugar helps to cut the strong vinegar taste. Brought it to a boil and let it simmer for another 3-4 minutes.
Now it was time to fry up the fish. In the skillet I heated up 1 cup of vegetable oil. To the oil i added i head of garlic which i sliced in half. Also some sprigs of thyme, a scotch bonnet pepper, and a piece of scallion. This adds some extra flavor to the oil.
The next step was to add the fish to the oil. Make sure the oil is nice and hot so the skin of the fish doesn't stick to the skillet. I must admit I could've let the oil get a bit hotter. For the first two fish on one of the sides the skin stuck just a bit. It came out well though. The fish was fried on each side for about 7 minutes.
After the fish finished frying I placed them into a pan with some paper towel to drain the oil.
Here's a shot with the jar of the Escoveitch sauce in the background. I was able to fill a big jar, and the leftovers will be placed in the refrigerator to he used with other meals.
While the fish was frying, the bammy was soaking in a mixture of coconut milk, water, cinnamon, and vanilla extract. For those who don't know, bammy is made with cassava. Check out my previous post to learn all about bammy. For some reason I keep forgetting to take pics of the soaking mixture.
When the bammy was done frying I also placed it on some paper towels to drain. I then cut it in triangle pieces and added to the pan of fish.
So this was my Friday meal, and I must say it was delicious. My wife and daughter loved it. For my first time making Escoveitch Fish I think I did a pretty good job. Thanks for checking out my post, and I hope you guys enjoyed it.
Your feedback and interaction is welcomed
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