Fungie and Pepperpot is the national dish of Antigua and Barbuda, and although one may think that they are going to be served some kind of mushroom and pepper stew, the truth is far more interesting than the unusual name suggests. Fungie is a type of bread ball similar to Polenta, consisting of cornmeal mixed with boiled okra.
To make Fungie, okra is boiled in salted water and mixed with wet cornmeal until the mixture becomes stiff. When the mixture does not stick to the pan, the Fungie is ready to be consumed. Pepperpot, on the other hand, is a one-pot stew that is said to be originally from Guyana but has been adapted to the Caribbean islands.
The key ingredient in Pepperpot is Cassareep - a thick, sticky liquid obtained from the roots of the bitter cassava plant, which is extremely poisonous if it isn't cooked correctly, so one must be careful, if not brave, while making the dish. The stew is traditionally made with any available meat or fish and it usually contains cow's heel and pig's tail, but it is not uncommon to add whatever meat or fish that is available in the kitchen.
Since this dish consists of two separate meals that are combined together, it can be traced back to the times of slavery in the region, when the combination of cheap meat and carbohydrates provided a balanced and nutritious diet for a day of hard labor, with the added benefit of complex and rich flavors of the stew.
Let's learn how this dish is prepared in our next post.
Info from Taste Atlas
Photo From Trip Jaunt