Did you know that Barbados is home to flying fish? These winged fish can leap from the water, making them look like aquatic dragons.

These creatures are one of the most popular options for fish dinners in Barbados and are its national dish. Though flying fish are prepared in various ways, one of the most popular methods is frying them.

Fried flying fish is typically paired with Cou-Cou (also spelled Coucou), a side dish made of ground okra and cornmeal. With a consistency similar to grits, Cou-Cou makes the perfect bed for freshly-fried flying fish. That’s because Cou-Cou can absorb all the flavors of the fish, including its oils. As such, not a single bit of food goes to waste!

Flying Fish and Cou Cou

Recipe Courtesy of Mrs. Island Breeze

Ingredients:

5 flying fish (head off, de-bones, and filleted)
1 1/4 tsp of iodized salt
1/2 lime
1/2 Tablespoon Walkerswood Jerk Seasoning
8-12 fresh okra (8 if the okra are large, 12 the okra aresmall)
4 1/2 cups of water
1 teaspoon of fresh oregano
6-7 sprigs of fresh thyme
1/2 small, yellow onion
1 Tablespoon of tomato paste
1/4 teaspoon of ground black pepper
1 cup of fine corn meal
Flour (for dredging)
Vegetable oil (for frying)

Instructions:

Thoroughly wash the flying fish and place them in a mixing bowl. Sprinkle 1 teaspoon of salt (reserve the remaining 1/4 teaspoon for the gravy) over the flying fish, squeeze in the juice of the lime, and gently rub the lime and salt onto the front and back on each piece of flying fish.

Cover the bowl and refrigerate the fish for 30 minutes. After thirty minutes have passed, rinse off the lime and salt and pat dry with a paper towel.

Season the fish with jerk seasoning by rubbing just a little seasoning in between each crevice on the front side of the fish. Set the fish aside.

Rinse the okra. Slice off the tops and the tips of the okra and discard. Then, cut the okra into rounds.

In a medium sized saucepan (appx. 3qts.), bring 3 cups of water to a rolling boil; reserve the remaining 1 1/2 cups of water for the gravy. When the water is boiling, add in the okra and turn the stove down to a low heat. Allow the okra to cook for about 12 minutes. You should see the okra “slime” in the water.

Pour the okra (including the water) into a large mixing bowl. Pour one (1) cup of the okra water back into the saucepan; just the water, not the okra. Put the stove on low and mix in one cup of cornmeal using a wooden spoon or coucou stick.

Slowly add in the remaining okra and water, stirring constantly to avoid lumps in the coucou. Wait for the cornmeal to absorb most of the okra water before adding more. Repeat this process until all of the okra and okra water are mixed into the cornmeal. Then, let the meal continue to cook, stirring occasionally. Once the cornmeal starts to puff (almost as if it has a heartbeat), the coucou is ready and you can turn off the stove or turn it down to its lowest setting to keep warm while you fry the fish and make the gravy.

Now it’s time to fry the fish and make the gravy. Lightly coat the fish in flour. Bring about 1/2 cup of vegetable oil to a medium heat in a small skillet.

While the oil is heating up, peel and slice the onion into thin strips and place them into a separate small skillet. Remove the oregano and thyme from the stems and add them into the skillet with the onions. Add in one 1 cup of water and bring to a boil. Once it is boiling, stir in the remaining salt, black pepper and tomato paste and turn the gravy down to a simmer. Give it a taste and adjust the salt and pepper as desired.

When the vegetable oil is nice and hot, add in the fish and fry for about three minutes per side or until golden brown. (Note: Flying fish are very thin so they do not take long to fry; keep your eye on them.)

Now it is time for plating. Place a few spoons of coucou onto your serving plate and smother with gravy. Then, place 1-2 pieces of flying fish over the coucou and drizzle some more gravy on top, have a seat, and enjoy.

Image Credits: TakRecipe.com, Exceptional Caribbean, Seabourn.com