Caribbean Cuisine is Calling You!

Akil Goin, Trinidadian foodie, explores how to veganise traditional dishes from his food culture

Now that veganism has gone mainstream, a quick look through social media circles will land you on two types of plant-based foodies, along with the Western recipes they swear by; those for health, and those for comfort. If and when you’re vegan long enough, you may have seen just enough of both to even give you a little ennui. I’m talking about the smoothies, buddha bowls, and kale chips. The veggie burgers, mushroom Philly cheezes, seitan steakz, and did I mention the burgers? I love me some vegan fast-food and deli alternatives, but there must be more to mains than tempeh, salads and kombucha. And surely, we can free ourselves from all the deliberately misspelled mock meats? Right?

Right! There is a world of ethnic and foreign cuisine out there, much of it already vegan, some of it begging to be veganized (because it’s so easy to!) and you don’t even have to change the dish’s names. So allow me, a second-gen Trinidadian, to welcome you to the food culture of my parents and my people.

Roti 

Roti is arguably the national dish of Trinidad and Tobago, though crab and callaloo or Sunday Pelau are up there on the popularity scale. Ask any handful of Trini folk and they’ll probably confirm that Roti is in their top three.

Traditionally, it’s any curried meat wrapped in thin Indian-style flatbread of the same name, which happens to be vegan already; its ingredients are just salted flour, baking powder and water. Dhalpuri roti, before being filled, has a thin layer of split peas that give it a more savoury taste and texture. The star though, is the exotic curry seasonings in the roti filling that contribute to the whole sensory island experience of Trinidad, simply because of how much distinct flavour it imparts. We’re not talking instant curry powder and store-bought veggie broth, here. The best roti has a dozen marinade ingredients and another dozen in its cooking stock, from cumin, fennel, and cardamom pods, to turmeric powder, tamarind paste, and garam masala. And that’s before the root vegetables and fresh herbs come in.

It isn’t vegan, though? YES, it is, or it can be. Just use shredded king oyster mushroom stems over the popular goat protein, as I have. Those dense mushroom stems are as gamey as the recipe demands it to be, and they’ll absorb all the flavour they need. Do something different!

Bake and Shark

As to be expected, island nations like Trinidad will use a lot of fish and seafood, and that is sometimes the case with what’s hands down the world’s best fish sandwich, a beach snack called ‘Bake and Shark’.

Here’s the secret though, it’s not the hammerhead shark that makes it taste so good, because we don’t smile and do mini-food-dances-between-chews for dead animals. It’s the plant-based batter (think fish and chips breading but with triple the spice rack) and the coconut flatbread ‘bake’. The bake is blessed with a spoonful of green seasoning, a diced tropical fruit like mango or pineapple, and some slaw. We already know how to replace the fish —  banana blossoms, palm hearts, artichokes, whatever salts your bae. But most importantly, I dare you to tell me you wouldn’t choose all of that over a plain old veggie burger… I dare you to lie. And if you can’t make it to the Caribbean, it’s a recipe to try.

Pelau

I’ve got one more suggestion on this culinary adventure through my maternal home, and it’s the aforementioned Pelau. Put offensively simply, Pelau is like a thick chicken and rice stew with the liquid cooked down so low it’s more of a risotto. But the meat is caramelised and seared in a little sugar first, and the broth is creamy coconut milk. Pigeon peas, carrots and squash are mixed into the pot for texture. Dee-lish. Tofu, seitan and mushrooms will do just fine as vegan replacements for chicken.

My personal secret to creative vegan cooking is actually NOT typing the word ‘vegan’ in the search engine when researching, and simply requesting the name of the dish and its origins. If everyone did this a little more, plant-based food choices might be more accessible and culturally appreciated. This is why I’ve selected meat-based dishes in this blog to veganise, as opposed to the many existing Trinidad delicacies that are incidentally vegan already; like callaloo, doubles, corn soup, and pholourie. Do research those, I beg you. You will not regret it nor need to worry about botching the recipes with substitutions.

Caribbean cuisine is calling you! Particularly my own food culture which I couldn’t endorse with more enthusiasm if I tried. We all need a little diversity in our lives, and it starts in our stomachs.

Akil Goin is a teacher, traveler, and Trinidadian foodie who was raised in Montreal, Canada, earned his Bachelor's of Arts in English Language Studies in the Philippines, and lives in Vietnam. He has been vegan cold-tofurky since 2014 and spends his free time dabbling at creative plant-based recipes.