Cou-cou with flying fish is what Barbados puts on its national dish list. The cou-cou is cornmeal and okra cooked stiff enough to hold its shape on a plate, served with flying fish steamed in a bright tomato gravy. Comfort food and showpiece in the same dish.
Ingredients
For the cou-cou
- 2 cups cornmeal
- 12 small okras, sliced into rounds
- 4 cups water
- 2 tbsp butter
- 1 tsp salt
For the flying fish
- 4 flying fish fillets (or substitute: red snapper, sea bass)
- 2 tbsp lime juice
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 stalks scallion, chopped
- 1 tomato, chopped
- 1 tbsp tomato paste
- 1 tsp dried thyme
- 1 cup water
- 1 small scotch bonnet (whole, optional)
- Black pepper to taste
Instructions
Prep the fish
- Marinate. Rinse fillets with lime juice. Pat dry. Sprinkle with salt and a squeeze more lime. Set aside 15 min.
Start the cou-cou
Boil okra. In a heavy pot, bring 3 cups water to a boil with okra and salt. Boil 5 min until okra is soft and water turns slightly slimy (this is correct).
Mix cornmeal slurry. In a separate bowl, combine cornmeal with 1 cup cold water. Stir until smooth — no lumps.
Cook cou-cou. Slowly pour cornmeal slurry into boiling okra water, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon (Bajans call this a cou-cou stick). Reduce heat to low.
Stir hard. Stir constantly for 10-15 min. The mixture will thicken from porridge to stiff. You want it firm enough to hold a spoon upright. If too stiff, add splash of water; if too loose, cook longer.
Finish. Stir in butter. Cover, turn off heat. Let rest 5 min.
Cook the fish
Heat oil. While cou-cou rests, heat oil in a wide skillet over medium.
Build the gravy. Add onion, cook 3 min. Add garlic, scallion white parts, tomato, tomato paste, and thyme. Cook 5 min until the tomato breaks down.
Add water. Pour in 1 cup water, add scotch bonnet whole. Simmer 5 min.
Steam the fish. Lay fish fillets in the gravy. Cover. Steam 6-8 min until fish flakes easily with a fork.
Finish. Stir in scallion green parts. Discard scotch bonnet. Taste — adjust salt and pepper.
Plate
Mound and dome. Wet a small bowl. Pack cou-cou into the bowl, then turn upside down on a plate. You’ll get a smooth dome.
Top with fish. Place a fish fillet on top. Spoon gravy over and around. Eat immediately — cou-cou stiffens fast as it cools.
Notes
- Flying fish is the Bajan signature, but it’s hard to find outside the Caribbean. Red snapper, sea bass, or any firm white fish works.
- The “cou-cou stick” matters. A flat-edged wooden spoon is what you want — round spoons make lumpy cou-cou.
- Some Bajan cooks add a splash of vinegar or lime to the gravy at the end for brightness. Try it; it works.