Fish Head Stew in Belize!

The head of a Goliath Grouper, or Jew Fish:

the centerpiece of Earth Runnin's Fish Head Stew

Living in the far south of Belize in the small town of Punta Gorda, it can be a challenge to find unique and well-prepared food. I've been hanging out at Earth Runnin's with chef and owner, Giovanni Foster, where I'm getting a first hand look at some great food creations based on local foods and traditional food-ways. He served shark and fry jacks for lunch yesterday, which I'll post some pictures of soon, but this post is reserved for the fish head stew we made a couple of days ago.

First, the fish head gets machete-chopped into large pieces -
notice the good amount of meat that comes with the head...

After the fish head is chopped up and cleaned in a hot water bath, the
pieces get marinated in lime juice, cilantro, kulantro, garlic, onion,
curry, turmeric and black pepper.

Cooking the Stew: A house made coconut milk base (from fresh-picked coconut),
simmered with large-cut bread fruit, cocoyam, and okra, the stew thickens
and the flavors mingle...

The fish head is separated out after the stew is done cooking.
One then dishes out the stew, and chooses their piece of fish -
with hopes of getting one of the prized cuts with an eyeball!

The finished product: a delicious bowl of fish head stew!