Jamaican cooking with international flavour

Today, some of our favourite fusion takes the flavour profile of Thai cuisine and marry it with Jamaican standards.

One such dish is Basil Chicken. This is commonly made with ground chicken, but we suggest strips of breast or boneless thighs. The use of our stellar Scotch bonnet peppers, when a recipe calls for hot pepper, injects a Jamaican stamp on the dish. The intense heat combined with that lick of sweetness is certainly world-class yet unique. It was thrilling and our hearts swelled with pride when we saw renowned chef Bobby Flay expounding on the virtues of this home-grown hottie at the prestigious South Beach Food Festival.

When handling our 'Scotties' do so with utmost care. 'Mek sure' to remember that the deep purple ones are the most potent. Using a mix of red, gold and green sweet peppers, there is no dispute that this combination presents extremely well in a discipline where you literally start eating with your eyes.

Our traditional seasonings of onion, garlic, scallion, pimento and thyme are now supplemented with fresh culinary herbs like the basil featured here. Local growers, including Food Basket, the Family Garden and Woodford Gardens, provide a steady supply in supermarkets, but why not get a little kitchen herb garden growing at home? You'll reap the benefits of the added zing they bring to a dish. Expand your repertoire into international recipes, not to mention that little bit of stress release and lovely Zen vibe you get watching things grow. Happy cooking!

Basil Chicken (Gai Pad Krapow)

Ingredients:

1 lb thinly sliced chicken breast or boneless thighs in strips

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp black pepper

1 tbs cornstarch

4 tbs vegetable oil

1/2 cup white onion, sliced

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 cup red, green and gold sweet pepper, sliced

Scotch bonnet pepper, deseeded & thinly sliced (optional to taste)

1/2tbs cornstarch

1 cup chicken broth

2 tbs fish sauce

1/3 cup basil, chopped

Directions:

1. Season chicken with salt and pepper, then coat in cornstarch.

2. Heat oil on medium high heat, and brown chicken.

3. Remove with a slotted spoon and place on a plate.

4. Add garlic and onions and sauté until soft.

5. Add bell and hot peppers, continue to sauté for another minute, remove and add to chicken.

6. Mix 1/2 tablespoon cornstarch with chicken broth. Add to pan with fish and chilli sauce. Bring to a boil and reduce heat.

7. Return chicken and vegetable to pan and mix thoroughly.

8. Finish with basil leaves.

9. Delicious with steamed jasmine rice.

Vibes tip: Remember when using scotch bonnet peppers that the deep purple ones are the most fiery!

Thai Fried Rice

Ingredients:

2 eggs

3 tbs olive oil

2 cloves of garlic, minced

1 Scotch bonnet - take out seeds and membrane

1 1/4 cup steamed jasmine rice

3 tbs Thai red curry paste

3 tbs soy sauce

6 tbs oyster sauce

pinch of salt and pepper

finely sliced scallion

Directions:

1. Heat oil, add egg and wait for 30 seconds until it is just about to set. Using a spatula, scramble the egg.

2. Add the garlic and peppers and mix thoroughly.

3. Add the rice.

4. Combine the curry paste, soy sauce and oyster sauce. Add it to the rice.

5. Adjust the taste with salt. Remember that these Asian sauces do have quite a bit of sodium in them.

6. Just before serving, add the scallions.

Vibes Tip: Always cook extra steamed rice so you can make a seasoned version with the leftovers. Yummy and efficient!

Jerk, hot and sour shrimp

Ingredients:

1 lb package cooked large shrimp

2 inch piece of ginger, grated

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 tsp red pepper flakes

1/4 cup lime juice

1/4 cup ketchup

1/4 cup soy sauce

1 tbs jerk marinade

3 tbs sugar

2 tbs vinegar

1 cup chicken stock, or water if you don't eat meat

1 tbs cornstarch

3 tbs vegetable oil

1 large green pepper, roughly chopped

1 onion, thinly sliced,

1/2 cup pineapple cut into 1-inch pieces

2 stalks scallion, thinly sliced

Directions:

1. Thaw shrimp according to package directions. Season the shrimp with ginger, garlic and red pepper flakes

2. Combine lime juice, ketchup and soy sauce, jerk marinade, sugar and vinegar.

3. In another bowl combine stock/water with cornstarch.

4. Heat oil on medium heat. Add onions and green peppers. Sauté until crisp-tender.

5. Add lime juice and stock mixture - bring to a boil until thickened.

6. Add shrimp and pineapple. Heat thoroughly.

7. Add scallions just before serving.

8. Serve with white rice.

Vibes Tip: Using precooked shrimp makes for quick meal preparation at the end of a busy day. You can cut the shrimps to stretch your protein if you like.

Vibes Cuisine, which has partnered with The Gleaner's Food to present the best offering in popular food and lifestyle, airs on CVM-TV at 6:30 p.m. on Thursdays and at 8:35 a.m. on Wednesdays. Encore presentations air Sundays at 8 p.m. on Flow 100. Like our recipes? Then 'like' Vibes Cuisine TV on Facebook.