The Most Original Jamaican Recipes You Need To Try

Jamaican recipes are very easy to make, the more you practice cooking Jamaican foods like rice and peas, curry chicken, and the even ackee and salt fish, the more you will master Jamaican dishes overtime. It is almost impossible for most Jamaicans to choose one favorite Jamaican dish, for example, my favorite Jamaican meals are; rice and peas, fry chicken, curry goat, and ackee and saltfish. My father’s favorite is stew peas and rundown, my sister likes any dish with dumplings and festivals as well as toto sweet potato pudding, peanut porridge, and peanut punch.

I will share the most original Jamaican recipes below. The dishes mentioned can be used in a gourmet Jamaican recipe style or just home-cooked style.

This is a top favorite for most Jamaicans and Caribbeans alike. Rice and Peas is not the easiest dish to make for beginners and is usually done by someone with some experience. The dish contains red peas, scallion, thyme, pimento, and coconut milk.

Rice and Peas with coconut milk is a staple in Jamaica and is paired with almost anything. When you enter a Jamaican restaurant and order curry goat you will be asked by your annoyed server or cashier “do you want that with white rice or rice and peas?”.

Rice and peas is also very healthy for you, the rice provides good carbohydrates and the peas are packed with protein. The dish also contains other nutrients that are vital for the body to function healthily.

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Why do Jamaicans call it rice and peas?

No one really knows the origin of rice and peas, like most Jamaican dishes our food are a mix of Africans, Indigenous Indians with the majority of the influence coming from slavery. Jamaicans call this dish rice and peas because it is made with rice and red kidney beans. What we call peas are beans for other people while others re-arrange it and call it peas and rice. Jamaican rice and peas with coconut milk is a must-try.

Stew Peas

This dish has to be done right, the pigtail must salt and too salty as well as the salt beef. Each ingredient are added in layers due to some ingredients are time-sensitive and takes a different time to be cooked than other ingredients for example – the pigtail must be pre-boiled, wash and pressure cook with the red peas and seasoning.

The dish contains red peas, pigtail, scallion, thyme, garlic, salted beef, pimento, and coconut milk.

Nothing hits the spot like stew peas, it is the perfect ‘all-rounder’ food. Stew peas can be an appetizer, lunch, or dinner, some people even eat it for breakfast. One quick note, for those who do not eat pork, can omit the pigtail or substitute it for salted/smoked oxtail or goat meat.

Curry Goat

This dish is one of Jamaica’s most iconic dishes. In every Jamaican restaurant, you will find curry goat and in every Jamaican’s home, you will find the essential ingredients to make this meal. Curry goat is simple to make, the most important thing is to pressure cook the meat and add ginger to prevent chest burn. I personally do not like eating curry goat at most restaurants as they do not have it fresh and if it isn’t fresh it doesn’t taste good. Most restaurants overcook curry until it is mashed out. Home-cooked curry goat is the way to go.

Curry Chicken

If you love curry goat chances are you will love curry chicken. This dish is very easy to make, the key is to have the chicken marinated hours or a day before. Do not forget to add ginger, potatoes, and coconut milk. Click this link for curry chicken recipe

Ackee and Saltfish

This the national dish of Jamaica, when you say Jamaica you say Ackee and Saltfish. This meal is versatile, can be served at breakfast, lunch, and dinner. There are many health benefits from consuming ackee, check out this link to learn its benefits LINK.

Rundown

Rundown is a big deal, some call it oil down but it is all the same. Rundown is made with lots of coconut oil, milk, and salt mackerel. Run down is mostly serve for breakfast with fried dumplings or boil dumplings.

Jerk Chicken

Where did jerk chicken originate?

Jerk chicken originated in Jamaica. No one is sure if a similar style of grill chicken as brought to the island and Jamaicans modified it however, this current style of jerk chicken originated in Jamaica.

In every parish on the Island you will find a jerk man jerking his chicken. No one in the world can mimic Jamaica’s chicken with precision.

The secret ingredient to amazing jerk chicken are two things; smoke and the sauce, get these two things right and you will effectively master the flavor of jerk chicken.

Fry Chicken

Jamaican style fry chicken is made differently from your Popeyes or KFC fried chicken. Our fry chicken is packed with flavor, fried with a flour coating on medium heat instead of the high heat fast food restaurants fry their chicken on. The chicken is crispy but not overly crispy and at the same time soft. The meal is often served with a sweet and sour gravy or curry goat, curry chicken, or oxtail gravy.

Oxtail

Oxtail is rich in taste and expensive to buy. You will find this food in every authentic Jamaican restaurant. To prepare this food effectively you will need to pressure the meat and trim some of the fat off before cooking. Pimento and thyme are essential for this dish to taste good.

Sweet Potato Pudding

My father often bakes this pudding from scratch with mostly no cookbook. Sweet Potato Pudding does not last long in our home, as soon as it is baked it is finished. Coconut cream is the key ingredient to making this dish perfect.

Black Cake

Usually made around the holidays’ black cake will be in every Jamaican’s home closer to the end of the year. The key to a good black cake is to have the dried fruits blended properly and a healthy but not overly dose of Jamaican rum and wine.

In conclusion

Jamaican recipes are very easy to make, the more you practice cooking Jamaican recipes the more you will master Jamaican dishes overtime. These are Jamaica’s top dishes that we love to consume year-round. Authentic Jamaicans dishes can be found in good Jamaican Restaurants or be cooked right at home.