About Chef Salma

Born and raised in Trinidad, I came from a family that loves to cook and has been in the food business for years. When I moved to Florida, I took that love of cooking to another level and pursued a degree in Culinary Arts. I like to experiment with recipes, even if they don’t turn out well. So if you have a recipe or an idea that you’re afraid to try email me at salmamustapha@caribhype.com and I will be more than happy to give it a try for you! Also if you want a recipe for a dish at anytime let me know!

From the Kitchen

Things every Caribbean cook need in their arsenal:

Caribbean foods are some of the tastiest, most awe-inspiring dishes that you can come across given the simplicity of the ingredients used. Most dishes gain their flavour from a basic four ingredients that every cook should have in their kitchen: onion, garlic, chadon beni and pepper. While we can find two of these ingredients in any supermarket, chadon beni and peppers can be expensive if purchased there. The best place to find these two ingredients are at a local Spanish market.

They often carry a variety of peppers that can be used to flavour any dish, from the milder pimento peppers to hotter scotch bonnet and habañero peppers. If you make the trip to your local market, don’t under any circumstance keep the peppers in the fridge! They will lose some of their heat the longer you leave them. The best thing to do is to blend the peppers and keep them in either vinegar (blend the peppers with onion and garlic for a tasty pepper sauce), or in oil if you want to keep them for cooking with.

Chadon beni or Culantro as it is more commonly known in the US, can also be found in abundance in these types of markets. Make sure you look for bright green leaves and a strong scent! Sometimes there is nothing better than the scent of fresh chadon beni. When you get a ton of fresh chadon beni, don’t let it waste as it is sometimes hard to find. Like the peppers, chadon beni is kept best in the fridge if you blend it with oil (it also makes for great tasting green eggs minus the food colouring).

You can never go wrong with using these four ingredients and remember to always be free to explore with your cooking and any ingredients you may come across.

Recipes