Next week, many Philadelphia restaurants will be participating in Caribbean Cuisine Week.
The week, held from April 8th – April 10th this year, helps raise funds to send over 700 high school athletes from Trinidad, Jamaica, St. Vincent and Grenada to attend the 2015 Penn Relays.
The Penn Relays is the largest track and field meet in the United States and draws over 110,000 people to Philadelphia each Spring.
CCW partners with restaurants throughout Center City by encouraging the Chefs to prepare Caribbean inspired dishes and offer as specials. The restaurants will donate 5% of food proceeds from the three day period to help bring the students to Philadelphia.
The list of participating restaurants can be found here. One of the restaurants participating, 48th Street Grille in West Philly, invited some local bloggers to check out their offerings. 48th Street Grille is a Caribbean-American restaurant led by Executive Chef Carl Lewis Sr. who is originally from Jamaica and brings the flavors and spirit of his home to his food.
Appetizers included garlic roasted shrimp, jerk chicken quesadillas, 5 island wings, and my personal favorite, conch fritters.
Garlic Roasted Shrimp
Jerk Chicken Quesadillas
5 Island Wings
Fried Conch Fritters
We were also treated to quite a few of their entrees, including sweet chili glazed salmon, jerk chicken, and savory curried chicken, which were all amazing. I am fairly certain I had dreams about the curried chicken sauce that night (I loved it so much, I didn’t even take a photo! boo), while my fiance was wowed by the flavors and tenderness of the jerk chicken.
Chili Glazed Salmon
Jerk Chicken
In case we weren’t full enough, we were also served mashed yams with scallions, green beans, and braised cabbage.
Mashed Yams with Scallions
Green Beans
Braised Cabbage
I wanted to share with you a Caribbean-inspired recipe given to me by CCW, in case you don’t live in the area and can’t participate next week.
I turned this recipe for Curry Shrimp in Coconut Milk into a main dish by serving it over coconut rice, but it also would work well as an appetizer.
Ingredients:
- 2 (14 oz) cans lite coconut milk, divided
- 1.5 cups uncooked rice (or about 1 can full)
- 2 tablespoons margarine
- 1 cup onion, chopped
- 1 1⁄2 tablespoons curry
- 1/2 cup bell peppers, diced (I used an assortment of green, red, and orange peppers)
- 1/2 cup plum tomatoes, diced
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon fresh thyme, chopped
- 1 1⁄2 tablespoons of sugar
- 1 pound medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
Shake both cans of coconut milk well. Add one can of coconut milk to a small pot over medium-high heat. Fill the empty can with water and add that to the pot. Measure out your dried rice with the same can and add to the pot. Cover and bring to a boil. When boiling, lower the heat to low and let simmer until the liquid is completely absorbed, about 15-20 minutes.
While waiting for the rice to cook, heat a large saute pan with ~1 inch sides over medium heat. Add the margarine. When melted, add the 1 1/2 tablespoons curry and stir. Cook for 1-2 minutes.
Add the chopped onion, bell peppers, and tomatoes. Cook for 3-5 minutes, stirring to coat in the curry seasoning.
Add the other can of coconut milk, sugar, and thyme and season with 1/8 teaspoon salt and 1/8 teaspoon pepper. Bring to a boil.
Lower the heat and simmer until reduced by about half, or 10 minutes.
Sprinkle the shrimp with the remaining 1/8 teaspoon salt and pepper. Add the shrimp to the pan and stir to coat in the sauce. Cover and cook for 3-5 minutes, or until the shrimp turn pink.
Serve over the coconut rice.
I used a pre-made curry seasoning, so this had some heat to it.
Squeeze a bit of lime juice over top to really bring out the flavor of the shrimp.
I am happy I made the coconut rice as well to absorb some of this yummy sauce! Wouldn’t want to let that go to waste!
If you live in the Philadelphia area, consider making a reservation for one of the participating restaurants on April 8th, 9th, or 10th. The website for Caribbean Cuisine Week also accepts donations if you wanted to help send more athletes to the Penn Relays!
Ingredients
- 2 (14 oz) cans lite coconut milk, divided
- 1.5 cups uncooked rice (or about 1 can full)
- 2 tablespoons margarine
- 1 cup onion, chopped
- 1 1⁄2 tablespoons curry
- 1/2 cup bell peppers, diced (I used an assortment of green, red, and orange peppers)
- 1/2 cup plum tomatoes, diced
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon fresh thyme, chopped
- 1 1⁄2 tablespoons of sugar
- 1 pound medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
Instructions
- Shake both cans of coconut milk well. Add one can of coconut milk to a small pot over medium-high heat. Fill the empty can with water and add that to the pot. Measure out your dried rice with the same can and add to the pot. Cover and bring to a boil. When boiling, lower the heat to low and let simmer until the liquid is completely absorbed, about 15-20 minutes.
- While waiting for the rice to cook, heat a large saute pan with ~1 inch sides over medium heat. Add the margarine. When melted, add the 1 1/2 tablespoons curry and stir. Cook for 1-2 minutes.
- Add the chopped onion, bell peppers, and tomatoes. Cook for 3-5 minutes, stirring to coat in the curry seasoning.
- Add the other can of coconut milk, sugar, and thyme and season with 1/8 teaspoon salt and 1/8 teaspoon pepper. Bring to a boil.
- Lower the heat and simmer until reduced by about half, or 10 minutes.
- Sprinkle the shrimp with the remaining 1/8 teaspoon salt and pepper. Add the shrimp to the pan and stir to coat in the sauce. Cover and cook for 3-5 minutes, or until the shrimp turn pink.
- Serve over the coconut rice.
What do you think?