Hudut is the iconic dish of Belize's Garifuna people: a coconut fish broth (sere) eaten with fufu, plantain pounded in a mortar (hana). A dish of the southern coastal towns.
Dip a pinch of fufu into the sere — the broth is rich, golden, and coconut-deep, the fish flaking softly, the fufu smooth and elastic, sweet from ripe plantain and starchy from green. Bite: the coconut broth is savory and faintly thickened by okra, the fish fresh, the fufu a pillowy, dumpling-like sponge that soaks up the broth. The Garifuna heart of Belize, eaten with the hands.
Pounding boiled green and ripe plantains together gives fufu its elastic, dumpling-like texture and sweet-starchy balance. The coconut sere is a light, aromatic broth (okra slightly thickens it); the delicate fish is added last to poach gently. Fufu and broth are eaten together, the mash dipped in.
Variations
With all green plantain (less sweet). With crab or conch in the broth. Spicier with habanero. With cassava added. Saltier sere. With two fish kinds.
On the Palate
Where Hudut sits in the Belizean flavor cloud
Ingredients
Serves 4
How it's made
8 steps · 45 min active · 30 min waiting
- 122 min
Boil 2 green and 2 ripe plantains (peeled) until soft, 20 min.
- 210 min
Pound the boiled plantains together in a mortar (or mash) into a smooth, elastic fufu; keep warm.
- 36 min
Fry 1 chopped onion and garlic in oil; add 1 chopped tomato.
- 44 min
Pour in 500 ml coconut milk and 250 ml water; season with thyme, salt, and a pinch of pepper.
- 58 min
Add a few okra and simmer the broth (sere) 8 min.
- 63 min
Lay 4 fish fillets (snapper) into the broth.
- 711 min
Simmer gently 10 min until the fish is just cooked.
- 83 min
Serve a ball of fufu in a bowl with the fish and coconut sere poured over.
