Flying Fish and Cou-Cou

Cou-cou is cornmeal cooked down with chopped okra, stirred hard with a wooden cou-cou stick until it comes away from the pan, then turned out into a smooth mound; the same dish exists across the region as fungi and as coo-coo. With it goes flying fish, which is on the national coat of arms and in the sea around the island, boned and rolled and steamed in a gravy of tomato, onion, thyme and Bajan seasoning. Traditionally it is Saturday food. Flying fish are also eaten simply fried with a bun, sold as a cutter, which is how most Barbadians actually eat them.

What you actually see

• Cou-cou - cornmeal and okra stirred with a wooden stick and turned out.
• Steamed flying fish - boned, rolled and cooked in spiced tomato gravy.
• The fish cutter - fried flying fish in a salt bread bun.
• Oistins market - where the fish is landed and boned.

When to go

Year-round, though the flying fish season runs roughly December to June and the fish is imported or frozen outside it. Saturday is the traditional day for cou-cou. Oistins on a Friday evening is the easiest place to eat it well.

Honest expectations

Flying fish landings have fallen sharply and much of what is served is now imported from Trinidad or frozen, which locals will tell you about; the industry has been in dispute over fishing grounds for years. Cou-cou's texture divides opinion. Restaurant versions of the national dish are often reheated and disappointing compared with a rum shop or a home kitchen.

Nearby

Oistins is the fish landing centre; rum shops island-wide serve it.