Mackerel rundown

So this month's theme has turned out to be not much of a theme at all, thanks to an uncooperative baby and shopping difficulties. But congratulations to Julie, who guessed that Jamaica was the theme (and even figured out the town where my parents were visiting- Negril).

I love Jamaican food and was really hoping to cook lots of it this month, to remind myself of my many happy visits there. Unfortunately it's rather hard to find some key ingredients here- it's not that they're all completely unavailable, but I can't really justify a trip to the city (even train fare is something to worry about these days) to track down hard to find items. Also, the boy is in a clingy mood lately and I've been limiting my cooking to quick and easy meals.

But the meal above doesn't contain any particularly exotic ingredients. It's pumpkin soup (using kabocha instead of Jamaican pumpkin); mackerel rundown (mackerel cooked in coconut milk with hot peppers, thyme, tomatoes, onion and garlic); rice and peas; and boiled dumplings.

It's the first time I've made- or even tried- rundown, as it seems to be more of a home-cooking dish than a restaurant dish. It's apparently supposed to be served with boiled green bananas, yams, breadfruit, and/or dumplings (boiled or fried), and since the first three are hard to find here (yes, you can't even buy green bananas- they're sold already ripe) I went with boiled dumplings and added rice and peas.The rice and peas may look strange to a Jamaican but it seemed to go well. Hell, the whole meal may look strange- I have no idea what it's "supposed" to look like.

But it was delicious! Not quite authentic, as I couldn't find any fresh hot peppers (I ended up buying something called bannou tougarashi, a pepper from Kyoto, which had no heat at all), but I'm very pleased with how it turned out, especially the rundown. Now I know what to do when mackerel is on sale!

 

Comments

[Kelly]

This looks really tasty. I went to Jamaica for the first time this January and I really enjoyed their cuisine as well so I understand you for trying to make it with whatever you could find. : D Glad that it turned out well, despite some ingredients being impossible to find.

[RainyDayCottage]

I'm really curious what boiled green bananas would taste like... but if you ask a grocery store when the bananas come in- who knows, maybe you can score a perfectly green banana!

[Julie]

Looks good- I'm used to run-down being more red but that's probably because a lot of people use canned mackerel in tomato sauce. The one thing about Jamaican food is that you can mix & match just about anything. It's all about what you have on hand.
Your rice & peas looks very yummy!

I guess I shouldn't be surprised that it's hard to find things like green bananas. I've heard that even oatmeal is hard to find.

If you haven't guessed it yet... I am from Jamaica.
I actually found your blog when I was comparing recipes for pepper shrimp.
(I studied Japanese when I was in Jamaica but I haven't made my way to Japan yet.)

[Ume]

I'm not familiar with Jamaican food at all but what you've created there looks delicious. I'm going to make notes and try it. Thanks for sharing!

[Coach Factory Store]

Dream is gorgeous when the fact is unmerciful. Sometimes fate is in we have hors , but we only can't alter it.

[matty]

Wow this looks absolutely good and probably taste delicious. I can’t wait to try this at home.