The fish and fungi recipe is a favorite in the British Virgin Islands and is perfect for family dinners. To get the traditional taste, you’ll need to steam the special red snapper fish in lemon, butter, garlic, and mayonnaise sauce with herbs of your choice.
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This British Virgin Islands recipe is for main and side dishes, with the fungi prepared from cornmeal, butter, water, and salt to taste.
Follow the instructions below to learn how to prepare fish and fungi, one of the best dishes in the Caribbean.
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How to Make Fish and Fungi Recipe
Ingredients
- 5 tbsp butter
- Fresh thyme
- Black pepper
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 2 Lemon, juiced
- 2 Onion, chopped
- ½ cup Mayonnaise
- ½ tbsp salt, to taste
- All-purpose seasoning
- 5 cloves garlic, chopped
- Sweet green bell peppers
- 2 Red snappers or Redfish
- 5 Scotch bonnets, chopped, optional
Ingredients for the Fuji
- 4 cups water
- 5 Chopped okra
- 1 ½ cups of cornmeal
- 6 tbsp unsalted butter
Instructions
- Scale the fish, wash and make two straight cuts on each side. Wash again with lemon juice to do away with the fish smell.
- Season the fish with all-purpose seasoning black pepper, and salt. Set the fish aside to marinate for 10-12 minutes
- Whisk the mayonnaise into a bowl with 2 cups of water and 1 juiced lime, and set aside.
- Pour a tablespoon of oil into a nonstick large sauté pan and set on medium heat
- Add the butter, chopped garlic, onion, and green pepper.
- Add the fresh thyme leaves, teaspoon salt, stir the sauce and allow it to sauté for 1 minute
- Pour the cream sauce into the pot and allow it to boil. Deep the fish, cover it and allow it to cook for 20 minutes on low heat. You can add chicken stock (optional).
To Make the Funji
- Put about a liter of water to boil in a cooking pot on medium heat
- Add a pinch of salt to taste. Add the chopped okra.
- Allow the water for the fungi to boil for 5 minutes
- Add one cup of cornmeal or polenta little by little while stirring the water so the cornmeal doesn’t form balls or become lumpy. Add another ½ cup of cornmeal to thicken the fungi, stir until you achieve consistency, and ball them.
- Cover the fungi pot and allow the cornmeal to simmer for 3 minutes.
- Add the unsalted butter and allow it to melt into the fungi
- Serve the fish and fungi and garnish with simmered spinach, lime, or other vegetables, such as mint, boiled corn, or sweet potatoes.
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Tips for Making a Fish and Fungi Recipe
- You can use frozen, chopped okra if you don’t have fresh ones.
- Also, you can prepare a fish and fungi recipe leaving out the mayonnaise when making the sauce.
- It’s best to whisk the cornmeal while pouring it into the hot water, then use a wooden spoon to turn it.
- Add more cornmeal, depending on how thick you want the fungi
- It’s also best to use a turn stick for the fungi.
- Some locals add 4-5 slices of steamed okra to the hot water before pouring in the cornmeal to make the fungi. You can try it out.
- Add vegetables, like carrots, red bell pepper, scotch bonnet pepper or habanero, tomatoes, and okra, to the creamy sauce for aesthetics.
- If you don’t have red snapper for the fish and fungi recipe, use tilapia and add paprika, ginger, celery, and cayenne pepper to the seasoning.
- In addition to the lemon juice, you can add white vinegar to clean the fresh red snapper
Video source: Chef Winston Cooks
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British Virgin Islands Fish and Fungi
Equipment
Ingredients
- 5 tbsp butter
- Fresh thyme
- Black pepper
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 2 Lemon juiced
- 2 Onion chopped
- ½ cup Mayonnaise
- ½ tbsp salt to taste
- All-purpose seasoning
- 5 cloves garlic chopped
- Sweet green bell peppers
- 2 Red snappers or Redfish
- 5 Scotch bonnets chopped, optional
- 4 cups water
- 5 Chopped okra
- 1 ½ cups of cornmeal
- 6 tbsp unsalted butter
Instructions
- Scale the fish, wash and make two straight cuts on each side. Wash again with lemon juice to do away with the fish smell.
- Season the fish with all-purpose seasoning black pepper, and salt. Set the fish aside to marinate for 10-12 minutes
- Whisk the mayonnaise into a bowl with 2 cups of water and 1 juiced lime, and set aside.
- Pour a tablespoon of oil into a nonstick large sauté pan and set on medium heat
- Add the butter, chopped garlic, onion, and green pepper.
- Add the fresh thyme leaves, teaspoon salt, stir the sauce and allow it to sauté for 1 minute
- Pour the cream sauce into the pot and allow it to boil. Deep the fish, cover it and allow it to cook for 20 minutes on low heat. You can add chicken stock (optional).
- To Make the Funji
- Put about a liter of water to boil in a cooking pot on medium heat
- Add a pinch of salt to taste. Add the chopped okra.
- Allow the water for the fungi to boil for 5 minutes
- Add one cup cornmeal or polenta little by little while stirring the water so the cornmeal doesn’t form balls or become lumpy. Add another ½ cup of cornmeal to thicken the fungi, stir until you achieve consistency, and ball them.
- Cover the fungi pot and allow the cornmeal to simmer for 3 minutes.
- Add the unsalted butter and allow it to melt into the fungi
- Serve the fish and fungi and garnish with simmered spinach, lime, or other vegetables, such as mint, boiled corn, or sweet potatoes.
Video
Nutrition
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