Fish tea is a spicy soup in

Caribbean cuisine Caribbean cuisine is a fusion of West African,"Cuisine."
(Caribbean.

Jamaican cuisine Jamaican cuisine includes a mixture of cooking techniques, flavours and spices influenced by Amerindian, African, Irish, English, French, Portuguese, Spanish, Indian, Chinese and Middle Eastern people who have inhabited the island. It is also ...

. It is similar to a fish

bouillon Bouillon can refer to: Food * Bouillon (broth), a simple broth ** Court-bouillon, a quick broth * Bouillon (soup), a Haitian soup * Bouillon (restaurant), a traditional type of French restaurant **Bouillon Chartier, a bouillon restaurant foun ...

and can take several hours to prepare. It includes ground yam, pumpkin,

cassava ''Manihot esculenta'', commonly called cassava (), manioc, or yuca (among numerous regional names), is a woody shrub of the spurge family, Euphorbiaceae, native to South America. Although a perennial plant, cassava is extensively cultivated ...

, potatoes and green bananas, cooked until very soft. As much as 15 pounds of fish is added to make five gallons.Fish Tea Cookoff a big part of East End Surf Challenge
10 January 2006 Camanian Compass Carrots and cho–cho can also be added. It is flavored with coconut milk and seasoned with various ingredients that may include black pepper, salt, thyme, butter, scallion and season–all."Alan Ebank
Surfers find it tea–licious
13 January 2009 Cay Compass Fish tea is similar to traditional "rundown", but instead of chunks the ingredients are boiled until they are in a "soupy liquid form". Some believe it to be an

aphrodisiac An aphrodisiac is a substance that increases sexual desire, sexual attraction, sexual pleasure, or sexual behavior. Substances range from a variety of plants, spices, foods, and synthetic chemicals. Natural aphrodisiacs like cannabis or cocai ...

and it is associated with various legends and rumors: *"If you drink that fish tea, you’ll have to chain yourself to the bed post at night or else you’ll walk all night" (in search of adventure) *"Men who haven’t fathered children all of a sudden produced twins" *"Once you take that fish tea you won't be able to walk a straight line." According to a Cayman Islands publication "those who taste the fish tea always seem to come back for more."

References

Caribbean cuisine Jamaican cuisine Fish and seafood soups {{Jamaica-cuisine-stub

See also

References