Jamaican Callaloo, a recipe by a non Jamaican (who loves to cook).

Hi there.
I have recently come back from a lovely 9 day vacation in the Trelawny Parish  area of Jamaica. We stayed at the Tallawah Villa in Sliver Sands Jamaica.
I am of course in love with the people I met, the beauty I saw, the warmth I felt, and all of the fantastic food I sampled!
I have never experienced a place where the land, the people, the cuisine, and the music all fit together in such a lovely package.
Granted, I was “in a bubble” by the fact I was on a vacation… but let’s not let reality tarnish the cozy dream in this blog.
I find my way into other cultures by cuisine and music first off.
While others in my party were engaged in other ways with Jamaican offerings, I was hanging around the kitchen… soaking in the smells, expertise of our chef Scotty, and checking out the tasty food culture.
Here’s a picture of Chef Scotty and your’s truly…

I watched and tried to pick up whatever I could… hoping to recreate some of  Chef Scotty’s lovely creations when I got home to North Carolina.
Scotty made Run Down Fish Stew, Browned Chicken Stew, Jamaican Oxtail Stew, Jamaican Fried Chicken, Jamaican Curried Goat Stew, and many other fantastic dishes. With each main dish there was always a side of Jamaican Rice and Peas, Fried Plantains and last but not least Jamaican Callaloo Greens.
I would have included a recipe link here to the callaloo greens recipe… but I couldn’t find one on the web that was like Chef Scotty’s callaloo version. Hence my blog post here.
Here is what I learned from Scotty’s methods, and a way to recreate them for us in North America without access to real callaloo greens to work with.

I experimented with several grocery store alternatives to callaloo greens.
I tried spinach (too wimpy in texture). I tried mustard greens (to bitter in taste). I tried collard greens ( not bad , but not great either). Swiss chard was also a possibility… but I didn’t try it (fearing it’s bitterness).
Most of the greens above require three things to make  taste really good as a side dish.
#1 bacon or ham. #2 vinegar for acidity. And #3 sugar.
Scotty’s version of Callaloo didn’t use any of the above for it’s flavor.
So I had to find another green that would work out.
What you are looking at above is Yu Choy  It is a Chinese green found at Asian grocery stores produce sections.  I went to YZ Asian Market in Asheville NC The bag above was $2 and for about 3 pounds worth of Yu Choy, enough for 4-6 servings of callaloo.

So…. here we go with the recipe.

I cut off the larger (more fiberous) ends of the Yu Choy stalks with scissors.
I cut all of the greens up with scissors to a bite size pieces.
I submerged all of the greens (after cutting up) in cool water to clean, then drained.

 

What you see here is two bunches of Yu Choy.
The other ingredients for one bunch would be:
1 1/2 diced onion ( I used Vidalia Onions)
4 green onions, root end removed, and cut to 3/8 inch pieces.
1 habanero or scotch bonnet pepper (if you can find it) minced.
(Do wash your hands, cutting board, and knife with soap after cutting these peppers, they ferocious to your eyes etc.)
4 crushed and diced cloves of garlic.
1 tsp dried Thyme.
1 tsp smoked paprika.
2 tbsps vegetable oil or butter.
I did about a tsp of each sea salt and fresh ground pepper.
(can be done to taste during cooking)

In a large chefs pan,  heat vegetable oil about medium heat.
Add white onions first. Sweat them without browning for 3-4 minutes.
Add green onions, garlic and hot peppers.  ( I had added the spices to the garlic hot pepper bowl above)
Yu Choy doesn’t cook down too much… so use a pan that is big enough, or you made have to split the cooking into two pans. Slowly sdd the chopped Yu Choy to your cooking onions etc after about 3 more minutes.
Cook all of the above, turning greens bottom to top frequently.
If you have a cover for your pan, that will help the sweating down of the greens.

Here is what the greens wilt down to after about 6-8 minutes of covered cooking at medium low temp.
The greens themselves add water to the dish as they wilt (covered) so you will likely not have to add any additional water.
The greens can cook basically as long as you want to wilt them down.
Their doneness is a bit of personal taste.
As with any greens, chili, or spaghetti… the dishes often improve with a day in the fridge.
You can bump almost any element here up to your taste, heat, salt etc.
This recipe is straight forward, simple and tasty, as I could glean from watching Chef Scotty at work.
Here’s a picture of the callaloo as a side with rice and peas, with a pressure cooker Jamaican oxtail stew I made.
You can cook callaloo anytime you were thinking of greens as a side.
Would go with BBQ, Creole, Cajun, Mexican… anything with that spicy soul!
Lastly… do not spare the Red Stripe Beer or the Jamaican Rum!
Enjoy!