Jamaican fish tea is a light soup or a fish broth seasoned with salt, pepper, and thyme, unlike other Jamaican soups that are usually hearty and thick. It features small, inexpensive fish such as herrings, and vegetables such as bell peppers, carrots, onions, and green bananas.
Some believe that the soup is a strong aphrodisiac, and it can be found throughout Jamaica, where it is usually sold at beach shacks.
MOST ICONIC Fish Tea
This nourishing Jamaican soup is prepared with beef, pig tails, gungo peas, yams, onions, thyme, pimento seeds, and either scotch bonnet or habanero peppers. The soup is usually enriched with the addition of spinners (Jamaican dumplings) made from flour, water, and salt.
All ingredients are slowly simmered until the meat, peas, and vegetables become tender and the soup develops a thicker consistency. Gungo peas soup is a Jamaican staple that is enjoyed throughout the year, but it is especially popular during the holidays and on Saturdays.
Pepperpot soup is a classic Jamaican soup made with coconut milk, callaloo, okra, hot chili peppers, garlic, onions, and (optionally) meat such as pig's tails and salted beef. The soup is often enriched with flour dumplings. Before serving, the soup is seasoned with salt and black pepper, and it is often garnished with minced scotch bonnet peppers.
Mannish water is a popular Jamaican soup made from goat offal (legs, head, intestines, testicles) combined with yam, coconut, green bananas, dumplings, and hot peppers. There are variations of the dish where white rum is added into the soup in order to further enhance its flavors.
The soup is traditionally served hot in cups, at festivities or other large gatherings such as funerals. It is believed that the soup is an aphrodisiac, which is the reason why mannish water is sometimes referred to as "Jamaica's favorite party soup".
MOST ICONIC Mannish Water
Janga soup is a Jamaican soup consisting of janga (Jamaican word for fresh water crayfish) and vegetables such as pumpkin, carrots, onions, and sweet potatoes. It is usually seasoned with garlic, thyme, scotch bonnet peppers, and pimento. When it's done, janga soup is spooned into bowls and garnished with parsley.
Interestingly, it is believed that this soup is an aphrodisiac which gives long endurance to men.
MOST ICONIC Janga Soup
Chicken foot soup is a popular Jamaican one-pot dish featuring ingredients such as chicken foot, pumpkins, carrots, yams, potatoes, and seasonings such as pimento, thyme, and salt. It is traditionally prepared on Saturdays for dinner. The soup is served hot on its own, or accompanied by bread on the side.
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