Jamaican Fish Tea

Learn how to make some fish tea, this is a light broth using red snapper with some light vegetables, herbs, spices and my homemade fish tea soup mix making it suitable for those who are gluten free.

Course Soup

Cuisine Jamaican

Prep Time 30

Cook Time 1

Total Time 31

Servings people

Calories 176kcal

Author Charla

Ingredients

1-2 red snapper (2lb) de-scaled and gutted
10 cups water (2.37 litres)
½ onion chopped
2 large scallion sliced
4 garlic cloves minced
1 cho cho chopped
1 large carrot chopped
8 okra chopped
3-4 green banana
6 sprigs of thyme tied together
1 tablespoon pimento berries
6 tablespoon fish tea soup mix
½ teaspoon black pepper
½ teaspoon pink salt
1 whole scotch bonnet pepper
additional black pepper and pink salt to taste

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Place the fish on a chopping board and remove the fins and tail (it's easier to do this with sterilised kitchen scissors) then discard.
Place the fish in a colander and rub/squeeze the entire fish with the chopped lime. I use salt not vinegar but at this stage you can pour vinegar onto the dish to clean it.
Thoroughly rinse it off with water.
Bring 10 cups of water to the boil in a large stock pot.
Add the red snapper to the pot then reduce to medium, cover the pot in a lid and simmer for 25 minutes.
During the given time, check the pot incase any foam develops, if it does, skim it off and discard.
While the fish is cooking, slice and peel the green banana, then put the slices in water with one teaspoon of pink salt to prevent discoloration and set aside.
Remove the lid, then use a slotted spoon or egg spatula to carefully remove the fish (it might break in half which can happen just work with it).
Also check the liquid levels, you want them to be at the same level as when you first started simmering the fish so add more water if needed.
Use 2 forks to shred and de-bone the fish (discard the bones and scrap off the skin as you work).
Set the fish aside in a small bowl or on a plate.Add theonion, scallion, garlic, cho cho, carrot, okra, green banana (drain and rinse them off first), thyme, pimento berries, fish tea soup mix, black pepper, pink salt and scotch bonnet.
Bring the pot to a rolling boil then reduce the heat to medium-low, cover the pot and simmer for 20 minutes.
During that time, again check for any foam and skim it off and discard.5-10 minutes before the simmering time has finished, add the flaked fish and keep the lid off this time.
After the given time, remove the lid and do a taste test, adding any additional black pepper and pink salt if needed.
Remove the thyme stems and scotch bonnet pepper before serving.

Notes

- Remember to keep the soup on the LIGHTER side, which means using very few ground provisions (vegetable).
- You will want the fish to be quite large/meaty about 2lb is suffice.
- I recommend using the fish soup mix and not rely on fish stock because the results won't be the same and taste very different.

- You will need a large stock pot that holds atleast 4 quarts/3 litres.

- I highly recommend using doctor fish or red snapper for this recipe.

- This is the recipe link that you need for my Homemade Fish Tea Soup Mix.

- Make sure to wash the fish prior to using it, please refer to my Meat Preparation guide on how to do this.

- Any leftovers should be refrigerated and consumed within 2 days.

- Adding the scotch bonnet whole will mean that the broth won't be spicy however, you can prick it if you want to release some of the heat to make it extra spicy.

- Remember to do a taste test during the cooking process and adjust with additional seasoning if needed.

Nutrition