BEST of Bahamas food : Crack Conch with pigeon peas and rice !
Read our previous posting: “Best of Azerbaijan food: Lamb Pilaf (Plov)!”
Crack Conch with pigeon peas and rice is a traditional dish in the Bahamas, which will leave you wanting to come back for more.
Crack Conch with pigeon peas and rice
Photo @Wherethefoodis
Here’s a good recipe for crack conch from TasteTheCaribbean.eu:
Ingredients
1 1b conch
1 1b prepared tempura batter
For the Tempura batter 2-4 cups water
1 lb flour
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp garlic powder
1 fresh thyme 1 egg (beaten)
For Bahamian Peas and Rice
1 cap pigeon peas
1 1/2 cups of rice
1 medium onion, diced
1/2 cup tomato paste
1/2 small ripe tomato, chopped
2 slices bacon or salt pork diced
2 tsp fresh thyme
Method
Crack Conch Preparation:
Use lime and water to clean the conch and eliminate the fishy smell.
Tenderize conch by pounding it with a mallet.
Cut conch into thumb-sized pieces then pour the tempura batter over the conch to cover each piece.
Deep fry at 350-375 F until golden brown.
Tempura batter Preparation:
Mix the flour, beaten egg, seasonings and water into a pasty batter.
Add the water slowly to achieve a paste-like consistency.
Peas & Rice Preparation:
Fry bacon or salt pork in a large pan with a tight-fitting lid.
Add the onion, pepper, tomato, tomato paste and thyme, then add the peas, salt and pepper to taste.
Add 3 cups of water to the mix and bring to a boil.
Add rice and stir.
Cover and cook on medium heat for about 30 minutes or until rice is tender and water is absorbed.
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Hey guys! Love the site. However, I am from the Bahamas, and don’t think that is crack conch in the photo. It looks like it might possibly be fish(?) Also, the rice doesn’t look like a traditional peas n’ rice. Our rice is usually light brown because of the kitchen bouquet, and is more dry. Also, if we do batter and fry fish fillets, we usually do it in strips, and call it fish fingers.
A few tips - Conch shouldn’t smell fishy. If it does, toss it. It should smell like the ocean. Conch does have a slimy film on it when it comes out of the shell, so I usually use salt to get that off. Traditionally, conch is tenderized, and then dipped into a seasoned egg mixture, and then a seasoned flour mixture before frying. I’m sure you can use the batter method, but it wouldn’t have the same breading consistency. Fish fingers are done the same way. (However, no tenderizing needed. Just slice fillets intro strips.)
Pigeon Peas and Rice almost always have kitchen bouquet or some form of browning in it, as well as diced sweet peppers/bell peppers.
I hope this helps. 🙂