I first had this soup at a friend’s house and loved it. She was born in China but grew up in Jamaica. She loved to experiment and create fusion cuisines. Her  Jamaican-Chinese Fish Tea Soup is a fusion recipe of the traditional Jamaican fish tea with Chinese dried and baked fish maw.  I convinced her to give me the recipe which I tried a few times successfully adding my own modifications. Here is my Simple Jamaican-Chinese Fish Tea Soup Recipe.

Ingredients

• 1 lb. snapper fish
• Some Chinese dried and baked fish maw, soaked, softened, and finely chopped. Fish maw is the dried form of fish air bladder and can be found in any Asian Supermarket. It helps with blood circulation and is a good source of collagen.
• 1 dozen okra, cut into 1/2-inch dice.
• 1-liter chicken stock
• 2 oz. butter
• 2 stalks scallion, julienned
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Thyme
• Scotch Bonnet pepper, optional
• Tomatoes for garnishing

Method:

1. Fillet both sides of the fish.
2. Cut each fillet into 1/2-inch cubes. Set aside.
3. Place remainder of fish in a pot with the chicken stock and bring to a boil.
4. Stir while boiling to separate fish from bones.
5. Strain into another pot, discarding bits left in strainer.
6. Over medium heat, season with salt and pepper to taste.
7. Add okra and fish maw.
8. Add cut-up fish fillet and thyme.
9. Add butter
10. Add scallion.
11. Cook 5 minutes and serve. Garnish with tomatoes

Note: if using a Scotch Bonnet pepper, this may be added at any point during cooking.