Buljol - It's everywhere you want to be

Ok, ok I’ve talked about buljol a lot in this blog as it goes with just about every Trini dish or ground provision or breadfruit or green fig or rice or bread or roti or crackers. It’s an appetiser, an hors d'oeuvre, a main course, an ingredient. 

It’s made with salted cod or white fish. The same saltfish that Sparrow sang about? Ahem no, definitely not!

Buljol at its best

“Buljol” is of French Patois derivation which means "burn mouth", according to “Cote Ci, Cote La: Trinidad and Tobago Dictionary by John Mendes (1986). “Burn mouth” because of the very peppery taste. Encyclopedia.com defines it as “a salad of salt cod, chilli, tomato, and avocado”. Well what a benign description!

When avocado is in season, it is divine with buljol

As usual, every Trini has his/her own way of preparing buljol. Boil it once or twice? Soak it first before you boil it or not? What water to soak it in - hot water or cold water? How long to boil it? How long to soak it? Buy the one from China or from Canada? And in what shall I boil it dear Liza, dear Liza?

Very critical - get rid of the salt in the fish otherwise it will be unpalatable, remove the skin and any bones. 

The  procedure involves: mixing saltfish with lightly sautéed vegetables and seasonings which include grated carrots, bell pepper, pimento pepper, scotch bonnet pepper, black pepper, finely chopped onion and tomato, minced garlic, a squeeze of lime, parsley or celery, chives, chadon beni, maybe some shredded cabbage, and golden-ray cooking butter is a must. This mixture is called buljol.

Buljol on a bagel. Yes, bagel!

Just in the off-chance that you have left-over buljol, you can add it to vegetarian dishes to give added flavour e.g. fried bodi, tomatoes, aloo (potato), caraille, ochro or you can add it to some scrambled eggs for breakfast.

Ground provision (sweet potato, yam, dasheen, cassava), steamed pumpkin with buljol - a breakfast of champions!