Cat food?

Passport & Plate - Corned Beef

Jamaica | Friday, March 6, 2015 | 5 photos

Ingredients
1 can of corned beef
½ of 1 yellow onion
1 tomato
½ of a green bell pepper
1 tsp of black pepper
2 pieces of thyme
1 tsp of adobe seasoning
1 tablespoon of ketchup
1 scotch bonnet pepper ( Do not cut up pepper. Serve whole)
2 cloves of garlic
½ cup of water

 

How to prepare this recipe
First thing is to cut up onion, tomato, green pepper, and garlic into small pieces.

Sauté the onions, tomato, green peppers, and garlic in a pot for approximately three minutes with ½ tsp of pepper and adobo seasoning.

Then add water, 1 tablespoon of ketchup and scotch bonnet pepper. ***Be careful of scotch bonnet pepper because it is very spicy. In order to get the flavor of the scotch bonnet pepper without the intense heat I do not cut up the pepper. I usually keep the scotch bonnet pepper in one piece through the whole cooking process. Once I am done cooking discard pepper.

Next open the can of corn beef and add the ½ tsp each of black pepper along with the adobe seasoning.

Simmer ingredients in the pot for about 10 - 15 minutes.

You can eat Corned Beef with a variety of things such as rice, dumplings, and bread. Can also be served any time of day –Morning, Lunch, and Dinner.

 

The story behind this recipe
The recipe is a traditional Jamaican dish that I have eaten for as far back as I can remember. Corned Beef or “bully beef” as Jamaicans say it is a quick and affordable meal to eat. I tend to cook Corned Beef on days when I am tired and don’t feel like preparing a meal that will take hours to cook. Corned Beef takes as little as 15minutes to prepare and cook, therefore making it an ideal no fuss after work meal.
Many people who are not from Jamaica or Caribbean island will not know about Corned Beef. I remember one time one when I was in elementary school one of my friend Samuel stayed over for dinner and my mom cooked Corned beef and rice. My friend had no idea what Corned beef was so my mother opened the can of Corned beef and explained how she prepares it. After my mom finished making the Corned beef she asked Samuel if he wanted some and he replied no. My mom ended up making him a sandwich since he didn’t want to try any Corned Beef. A couple of days later my mom saw my friend’s father and he stated that his son said we were going to feed him cat food. “Cat food, what are you talking about” my mother exclaimed. The father explained that his son thought the Corned beef we were feeding him looked like cat food and was scared to eat it. My mother laughed at the whole story and explained it was NOT cat food but a traditional meal Jamaicans usually eat. It may not seem like a lavish dish but it’s my comfort food when I miss home.

I could not believe my friend thought that we were eating cat food. To this day it makes no sense and I can’t imagine why he would think that. However, after that incident when I open a can of Corned Beef I think of cat food which makes me laugh, because if it was really cat food it sure is delicious.