Haitian dried salted codfish in oil

In Haiti, codfish is about as popular as salted smoked herring. Our repertoire of recipes is quite rich. It includes cod in sauce, croquettes prepared with lame veritable, chiquetaille – a recipe, which is quite similar to that of the smoked herring chiquetaille – and stuffed puff pastries, to name just a few.

However, while around the world, they eat this fish fresh, here, we only seem to consume it in its dried salted version.

It took me quite some time to befriend codfish. Throughout my childhood, one of my worse nightmares was to have it served as the main dish at our family table.

At my house, we mostly ate it cooked in oil or in a sauce. And both those recipes call for a generous amount of onions and shallots.

We all know I am not fond of those two ingredients.

To make matters worse, salted codfish is flaky and tends to attach itself to any added ingredient. My tiny fingers thus struggled to separate them, which led to a lot of frustration. I actually liked the saltiness of the fish, but I simply couldn’t handle eating it as prepared.

I was at my happiest when they served codfish croquettes. It is perhaps the only Haitian salted codfish preparation that does not seem to call for an excessive amount of shallots and onions. That recipe, which I hope to be able to share with you one day, allowed me to enjoy the taste of the codfish without the annoying shallot and onion bits.

But, for some reason, codfish in sauce seemed to find its way to our table way more often than the croquettes. Every time they served it, I would pout.

It wasn’t until recently that I learned to appreciate it. That day, they seemed to have finally felt my pain. Instead of flaking the cod, they had cut it into chunks that made it easier to separate it from the ingredients my palate does not like. That was enough to make codfish in oil more edible.

I was no longer eating an onion and shallot salad brightened with a hint of cod.

I was so delighted that day that I even agreed to eat it as an appetizer. In case you didn’t know,  codfish is the perfect topping for fresh bread, crackers and crispy cassava.

This newfound taste encouraged me to learn to prepare it myself. It is that recipe that I share with you today.

I, of course, abide by strict rules:

  • I do not flake my codfish. I cut it into big chunks using scissors.
  • I do not overcook it so that the onions and shallots don’t break down too much and become difficult to extract.
  • I separate the fish from the onions and shallots before biting into it.

Yes, in case you had doubts, I am still not a fan of onions and shallots. But I do understand that they’re important for flavor. That is why I still use them in certain recipes, especially the salted codfish in oil recipe below.

I recently updated the recipe below. It now includes fresh garlic and peppercorn, which were missing from the previous version. 

This dried salted codfish recipe is one of the quickest and easiest way to eat it this fish. It only requires fresh ingredients. | tchakayiti.com

Haitian dried salted codfish in oil

In Haiti, we only have dried salted codfish. There are different ways of preparing it, but this one is my favorite. The cod maintains its flavors without any ingredient over powering it.
The proportions in this recipe are approximate. Since we’re only using fresh ingredients, please make sure to adjust them according to your taste.
Cod cooks quickly so be careful not to leave it on the stove for too long or else you'll end up with very dry fried cod.
5 from 2 votes
Prep Time 2 hours
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 2 hours 20 minutes

Ingredients
  

  • 1/2 lb salted codfish
  • 1/2 onion
  • 1/2 bell pepper
  • shallots
  • 1 or 2 garlic cloves
  • 1/4 tsp whole peppercorn
  • 1 piment bouc
  • 1 or 2 tbsp oil

Instructions
 

  • Soak the fish in water at room temperature for at least two hours
  • Drain the codfish, and discard the water
  • Flake the fish or cut using scissors
  • Chop the garlic  & cut the onion and bell pepper into thin slices, julienne style
  • In a pan, heat the oil
  • Once the hot is well heated, add the drained codfish, garlic, bell pepper, onion, peppercorn and whole piment bouc in the hot oil
  • Cook until the onions become translucent
  • Serve as a main dish with plantains or potatoes, or as an appetizer with crackers or bread rolls.

Notes

Salted codfish is high in sodium. The best way to remove the excess salt is by soaking it for a couple of waters, and changing the water at least once or twice before cooking it.
Keyword caribbean food, cod, codfish, haitian food, recipes, seafood
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3 Comments

  • Martine Romain Megie

    5 stars
    Tres bonne recette. Et les condiments peuvent varier selon le gout et les disponibilites. Et/ou Oignons et/ou echalottes (mais au moins l’un d’eux).

  • daphney desauguste

    J adore cette recette

  • Le début de l’article me rappelle ma première rencontre avec la morue. À l’époque mes parents vivaient déjà en Guadeloupe et nous en Haïti d’où la morue était peu connue. Lors d’un de leurs passages en Haïti mes parents en avaient ramenée et moi grande cuisinière que je suis ai voulu en préparer. Catastrophe ! Je ne savais pas qu’il fallait la dessaler et bien entendu mon court bouillon de morue était immangeable.

    Depuis les choses en bien changé. Ici on en consomme régulièrement aussi sous toutes les formes. sous les formes que vous l’avez indiquées mais également dans les fameux “boquites”, dans les sandwichs, des tartes, acras (marinades), dans le riz (diri et mori), brandade (purée de pomme de terre gratinée).

    J’étais assez frustrée aussi il y a quelques temps quand je suis allé en Haïti, la quantité qu’on vend sur le marché et donc qu’on trouve dans les assiettes est peu par rapport à ma consommation habituelle.

    Essayez les autres possibilités de consommation, vous ne serez pas déçue.

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