• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

The Foreign Fork logo

  • Home
  • Recipe Box
    • Search by Interactive Map
    • Africa
      • Algeria
      • Angola
      • Benin
      • Botswana
      • Burkina Faso
      • Burundi
      • Cabo Verde
      • Cameroon
      • Central African Republic
      • Chad
      • Comoros
      • Cote d’Ivoire
      • Democratic Republic of the Congo
      • Djibouti
      • Egypt
      • Equatorial Guinea
      • Eritrea
      • Eswatini
      • Ethiopia
      • Gabon
      • The Gambia
      • Ghana
    • Asia
      • Afghanistan
      • Armenia
      • Azerbaijan
      • Bangladesh
      • Bhutan
      • Brunei
      • Cambodia
      • China
      • East Timor
      • Georgia
      • India
      • Thailand
    • Caribbean
      • Antigua and Barbuda
      • The Bahamas
      • Barbados
      • Cuba
      • Dominica
      • Dominican Republic
      • Grenada
      • Haiti
    • Central America
      • Belize
      • Costa Rica
      • El Salvador
      • Guatemala
      • Honduras
    • Europe
      • Albania
      • Andorra
      • Belarus
      • Bosnia and Herzegovina
      • Croatia
      • Iceland
    • European Union
      • Austria
      • Belgium
      • Bulgaria
      • Cyprus
      • Czech Republic
      • Denmark
      • Estonia
      • Finland
      • France
      • Germany
      • Greece
      • Hungary
    • Middle East
      • Bahrain
    • North America
      • Canada
    • Oceania
      • Australia
      • Fiji
    • South America
      • Argentina
      • Bolivia
      • Brazil
      • Chile
      • Colombia
      • Ecuador
      • Guyana
  • Spice Cabinet
  • Product Pantry
  • About
  • Contact
  • Nav Social Menu

    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • YouTube
menu icon
go to homepage
search icon
Homepage link
  • Home
  • Recipe Box
  • Spice Cabinet
  • Product Pantry
  • About
  • Contact
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • YouTube
  • ×

    Home » Caribbean » Barbados » Cou Cou from Barbados: The Barbadian National Dish

    Cou Cou from Barbados: The Barbadian National Dish

    Published on Mar 11, 2019 Modified: Aug 8, 2020 by The Foreign Fork This post may contain affiliate links which won’t change your price but will share some commission.

    Jump to Recipe Print Recipe

    Cou Cou is a Barbadian dish most often served with the Barbadian national food, flying fish. It slightly resembles grits or polenta, and consists of cornmeal, water, butter, spices, and okra. It is a great side dish to accompany fish and vegetables!

    Cornmeal, okra, water, butter, spices… That’s all you need to make Barbadian Cou Cou. The Cou Cou is served as a side dish in Barbados, most often as an accompaniment to Flying Fish. It forms a thick porridge– think grits or polenta– and often accompanies fish and veggies as a yummy and healthy side dish!

    Quite frankly, I was a bit nervous to make this Cou Cou after the whole…. Funje from Angola fiasco. I gotta tell you…. this recipe is far better.

    Barbadian Cou Cou on plate

    “Hello Reader! I try my hardest to research recipes as best as I can before posting to ensure I am representing each culture correctly. If this recipe is from your country and I have made a mistake or you have suggestions for how to make it more authentic, I would love to hear! Please leave a comment below letting me know what should be different, and I will rework the recipe. It is always my intention to pay homage and respect to each cultural dish that I cook. Thanks for reading!”

    A Flying Fish Fiasco

    I really wanted to make Flying Fish (the national dish of Barbados) this week to go with my Cou Cou, but, again, as I’m sure you’re familiar with by now… I live in the Midwest. And the midwest, though great in many lays, lacks in its impeccable access to Caribbean sea creatures. There was no flying fish to be found. In fact, when I called local fish markets to ask, a very typical response was “I’ve never even heard of that.” If you can find flying fish near you, leave a comment on this page, because now I’m curious as to if it’s available within the US at all.

    (PS, in place of Flying Fish, I tried making Barbadian Bakes. These were phenomenal and were such a treat in our house. Click the link here to get the recipe).

    When I researched recipes, I found a few that really complicated things. They said that you need to cook the cornmeal for 90 minutes in order to get the right consistency. But soon, I found and adapted a couple of recipes that quickened up the process. Instead of adding the water a little at a time, I added it all at once. From there, the mixture cooked for about 20 minutes, and it was ready! I’m proud to say that my recipe for this Cou Cou is soooo easy.

    Close up of okra with Barbadian Cou Cou in the background

    Testing and Serving Your Cou Cou

    The best way to know of the Cou Cou is ready is the spoon test. First, the Cou Cou has to be thick enough that if you scrape it away from the sides of the pan, it stays there. Then, take the wooden spoon that you have been cooking with and stick it straight up in the middle of the Cou Cou. If the spoon does not fall over and you can remove it easily, your Cou Cou is ready to be enjoyed!

    Now butter the inside of a small bowl and mould the mixture inside. Turn the bowl over onto a serving dish and let the Cou Cou drop out onto the plate. You’ll have a beautifully formed side dish ready to be enjoyed. To enjoy our Cou Cou, I also made some herb-crusted cod and a side of stove top okra and onions. This is NEVER something that I would eat on a normal day, but Barbados forced us to try new things (as these countries usually do)! And I had this meal as a leftover work lunch for three days in a row after that.

    If you liked this recipe, you should also try Shandesh, a dessert cheese from Bangladesh or Muhammar, a sweet rice from Bahrain. If you make Cou Cou, take a photo and share it on Facebook and Instagram by tagging @TheForeignFork or hashtagging #TheForeignFork. Thanks for stopping by, friends! See you next week for Belarus.

    Barbadian Cou Cou served with Fish and Okra

    Cou Cou (Barbados)

    Cou Cou is a Barbadian dish most often served with the Barbadian national food, flying fish. It slightly resembles grits or polenta, and consists of cornmeal, water, butter, spices, and okra. It is a great side dish to accompany fish and vegetables! 
    5 from 1 vote
    Print Pin Rate
    Course: Side Dish
    Cuisine: Barbadian
    Prep Time: 5 minutes
    Cook Time: 35 minutes
    Total Time: 40 minutes
    Servings: 8 servings
    Calories: 116kcal
    Author: The Foreign Fork

    Ingredients

    • 1 cup water, plus more for boiling
    • 1 cup coarse ground cornmeal
    • 4 okra pods
    • ½ tsp thyme
    • ½ tsp marjoram
    • 3 tbsp butter, plus more for serving
    • 1 tsp salt, plus more to taste

    Instructions

    • Cut the ends off of the okra pods.
    • Boil about 6 cups of water. Once boiling, add the okra pods and continue to boil for ten minutes. After ten minutes, remove the okra pods and reserve two cups of the boiling water. Keep the 2 cups of boiling water on the stove at a low boil. 
    • Mix cornmeal and 1 cup cold water together. Add mixture to the two cups of boiling water. Add seasoning and mix to combine. 
    • After four minutes, add 3 tbsp of butter. Mix until the mixture becomes stiff (about twenty or so minutes). You will know when the Cou Cou is complete when you remove it from the sides of the pan and it sticks in place. You can also do the spoon test. If you stick a wooden spoon into the middle of the Cou Cou and it does not fall over (and is fairly easy to remove), the Cou Cou is ready. 
    • To serve, take a single serving dish and rub with melted butter. Form the Cou Cou into the dish, then turn the dish over onto the dinner plate, leaving a mound of Cou Cou! Enjoy! 

    Notes

    Recipe copyright The Foreign Fork. For personal or professional use only. 

    Nutrition

    Serving: 1serving | Calories: 116kcal | Carbohydrates: 15g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 5g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 11mg | Sodium: 331mg | Potassium: 84mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 181IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 9mg | Iron: 1mg
    Tried this Recipe? Pin it for Later!Mention @TheForeignFork or tag #TheForeignFork!

    Related Recipes

    • Macaroni Pie from Barbados
      Macaroni Pie from Barbados
    • Instant Pot Polenta (with Cheddar Cheese and Herbs!)
      Instant Pot Polenta (with Cheddar Cheese and Herbs!)
    • Sautéed Spinach from Botswana
      Sautéed Spinach from Botswana
    • How to Make Pap from Botswana
      How to Make Pap from Botswana
    « Bakes from Barbados: A Barbadian Elephant Ear
    Potato Pancakes (Draniki) from Belarus »

    Sharing is caring!

    22 shares

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Rickey Hendrickson says

      January 02, 2020 at 7:18 pm

      Im grateful for the blog. Much thanks again!

      Reply
    2. GuQin says

      December 16, 2019 at 1:29 pm

      It抯 laborious to search out educated folks on this subject, but you sound like you recognize what you抮e speaking about! Thanks

      Reply
      • Alexandria Drzazgowski says

        December 18, 2019 at 2:05 am

        Aw that means so much! I really appreciate that! I spend a lot of time researching for my blog posts, so it means so much to me that that stands out to you

        Reply
    3. Chantal Moore says

      July 25, 2019 at 12:58 pm

      Takes me to my Roots and Childhood!

      Reply
      • Alexandria Drzazgowski says

        July 25, 2019 at 1:01 pm

        Hi Chantal,
        Your comment made me so happy because that is exactly what I want with this blog! I’m so happy to hear that my recipes remind you of home. Thank you for commenting!

        Reply

    Leave a Reply Cancel reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    Recipe Rating




    Primary Sidebar

    What are you looking for?

    About the Head Chef

    Foreign Fork Founder Alexandria
    Hi there! My name is Alexandria. Thanks for stopping by! Spices, ingredients, utensils, techniques… we’ll learn it all, together. Join me for me for struggles and laughs and some crazy concoctions. Learn More...
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • YouTube

    My Latest Recipes

    Easy Cocadas (Coconut Macaroons) Recipe

    Pan con Pollo Salvadoreño Recipe

    Hibiscus Tea with Dried Flowers

    What To Serve with Ratatouille

    Instant Pot Pesto Chicken

    Mango Pico de Gallo

    Vegetable Recipes

    Instant Pot Rutabaga Mash (+ Stovetop Instructions!)

    Pikliz Recipe from Haiti

    Creamed Peas Recipe (Stovetop & Instant Pot)

    Instant Pot Beets

    Instant Pot Green Bean Casserole

    Instant Pot Brussels Sprouts

    Footer

    • Home
    • About
    • Contact
    • Privacy Policy
    • Accessibility Statement

    Copyright © 2022 The Foreign Fork

    22 shares