Bakkeljauw

Ingredients

Fish

• 500 gdried salt cod
• water, for soaking

Stew

• 3 tbspoil
• 2large onions, sliced
• 4 clovesgarlic, sliced
• 4tomatoes, chopped
• 1 tbsptomato purée
• 1to 2 Madame Jeanette or Scotch bonnet peppers
• 2spring onions, chopped
• 1 tspblack pepper
• juice of 1 lime

To serve

• rice, or boiled cassava
• bread

Directions

1. Soak the salt cod in plenty of cold water for 12 hours, changing the water three or four times. Taste a flake before you stop — it should be pleasantly salty, not harsh.
2. Cover the soaked fish with fresh water, bring just to a boil, and simmer 10 minutes. Drain, cool a little, then flake it with your fingers, discarding skin and any bones.
3. Flaking by hand rather than chopping is what gives bakkeljauw its loose shredded texture.
4. Heat the oil and cook the onion over medium heat for 10 minutes until soft and just golden.
5. Add the garlic, then the tomatoes and tomato purée, and cook 10 minutes until the tomatoes collapse into a thick sauce.
6. Add the whole hot pepper — left whole it perfumes the pan without making the dish fierce; split it only if you want real heat.
7. Stir in the flaked fish and cook 5 minutes more, just enough to warm it through and let it take up the sauce.
8. Add no salt until the very end. The fish carries plenty and it varies batch to batch.
9. Finish with spring onion, black pepper and lime juice. Serve with rice, cassava or bread.

Technique

• Taste the soaked fish before cooking. Twelve hours is a guide, not a rule.
• Salt last, if at all.
• Whole pepper for aroma, split pepper for heat. Your choice, made in the pan.

Substitutions

• Bought salt cod is the point of the dish — nobody salts their own for this.
• Smoked or salted herring in place of cod, which some Surinamese cooks prefer.
• Any hot chilli for the Madame Jeanette, though the fruity one is more authentic.

Variations

• Eaten cold as a sandwich filling in a broodje bakkeljauw.
• The Caribbean saltfish buljol and Portuguese bacalhau à brás are cousins from the same trade.

History

Dried Atlantic cod was shipped to plantation colonies as cheap protein and remains a Surinamese staple with rice or cassava.

Frequently asked questions

What is Bakkeljauw?

Bakkeljauw is a charcuterie & cured from Suriname: salt cod shredded and stewed with onion, tomato and hot pepper. Dried Atlantic cod was shipped to plantation colonies as cheap protein and remains a Surinamese staple with rice or cassava.

How long does Bakkeljauw take to make?

Bakkeljauw takes 20 min plus 12 hours soaking of preparation and 30 min of cooking. The recipe makes serves 4. It is rated easy to make.

What can I substitute in Bakkeljauw?

Yes, within limits. Bought salt cod is the point of the dish — nobody salts their own for this. Smoked or salted herring in place of cod, which some Surinamese cooks prefer. Any hot chilli for the Madame Jeanette, though the fruity one is more authentic.

What is the most important thing to get right in Bakkeljauw?

Flaking by hand rather than chopping is what gives bakkeljauw its loose shredded texture.