This hearty Seychellois Creole Fish Daube with Snake Gourd –Ladob Pwason ek Patol-is one of my favourite dishes of all time. It is flavoured with onion, garlic, and ginger, and is the hearty comfort food you have been waiting for.
Origin of daube
The daube is a cooking method that could have derived from the French word ‘daube’ which is a classic Provençal stew made with inexpensive beef braised in wine, vegetables, garlic, and herbs and traditionally cooked in a ‘daubière’, a braising pan. Or, could it also have derived from the Malagasy word ‘dauba-dauba’?
What is a Seychellois Creole Daube or ladob?
In Seychelles, this method of cookery is totally different from its French classical version, and it gets even more confusing because it has a totally different meaning when it applies to fish and meat to when it applies to desserts.
The meat or fish ladob is like a stew to which fried potatoes and at times small green peas or some vegetables have been added. The daube, as a dessert dish, is one that is cooked over moderate heat with coconut milk, nutmeg, vanilla, and sugar, eg. ladob banann or banana daube. When the dish is cooked the coconut, the milk turns into a creamy consistency.
Our choice of fish for the dish
The ideal fish for this dish is the Red Snapper –bourzwa -, which is one of the most sought-after fish in the Seychelles. It has succulent, moist white flesh with a large flake and a mild flavour. It is an impressive and attractive fish to present either whole or as a skin-on fillet.
If you cannot access the red emperor, any other fish from the emperor or snapper family would do or any firm white-flesh fish with high fat content will be a good substitute. Because we are in Melbourne, Australia, and have minimal access to tropical fish, we have chosen the next best option for this daube which is the trevally.
Although most fish can be used for this recipe, I have chosen the bludger trevally- Karang Balo– because it has a fairly oily flesh that stays moist when fried and has minimal small bones. The fish is cut into bite size, seasoned with salt and cracked black pepper and fried. The reasons why we fry the fish is because the frying process imparts an extra flavour dimension to the daube as well as minimising the possibility of the fish breaking up during the cooking process
The Snake Gourd
The second main ingredient in this Creole Fish Daube with Snake Gourd –Ladob Pwason ek Patol-is the snake gourd, which is a snake-like gourd, hence its name. Snake gourd grows year-round all over the Seychelles islands. It has a waxy green skin and is often speckled or striped with a lighter shade of green. The texture is crunchy with a bland, and faintly bitter taste, which disappears when cooked. It is a very versatile vegetable that is also very popular as a raw salad .
SELECTION
Always choose firm and immature snake gourds because the mature ones are very fibrous and cannot be eaten. Look for a firm and smooth exterior. Do not buy if they have wrinkled skin.
PREPARING THE SNAKE GOURD
Wash the gourd and pat dry. Scrape off the very thin outer skin with a knife and trim the ends. Slit in two lengthwise and use a spoon to remove the seeds and white pith leaving only the outer flesh and an empty cavity where the seeds were. Rinse and cut into 5 cm square pieces and keep.
Snake gourd is a superfood
Snake gourd is loaded with various nutrients which provide numerous health benefits. It possesses meaningful amounts of carbohydrates, protein and soluble fiber that may support digestive health, treat diabetes, detoxify and eradicate cholesterol from the body. It also contains vitamins such as vitamin C, vitamin A, riboflavin, thiamine and niacin, as well as a high content of minerals such as magnesium, calcium, iron, manganese, phosphorus, potassium and iodine.
Prepare the potatoes
Wash and peel the potatoes and pat dry. Cut into bite size and shallow fry until golden brown and keep.
Prepare the fish
Wash the fish, pat dry and chop into bite size cubes. Traditionally, the bones are not removed because they impart an extra layer of flavour to the dish. Season the fish with salt and pepper. In a deep pot, add and heat enough oil for deep frying and deep-fry the fish until golden brown. Keep. The fish must be still moist on the inside and crispy on the outside.
Finishing the Fish Daube with Snake Gourd- Ladob Pwason ek Patol
Make your roux
The first step in cooking the Fish Daube with Snake Gourd- Ladob Pwason ek Patol– is to make a ‘rough’ brown roux. A roux is a combination of butter or margarine and flour cooked together. It is a base for many thick sauces and there are three types depending on the degree of cooking, namely the white, blond and brown roux. I call this step a ‘rough’ roux because we are using oil and not butter or margarine. Basically, what we do is heat the oil in a pot and add the flour and stir until it starts to brown.
FINISH THE DISH
When the roux starts to brown, reduce the heat, and add onion, garlic, and ginger, cook until the onion is translucent. Add the chopped tomatoes, snake gourd and thyme, and about 200 ml of the water and stir thoroughly and simmer on low heat for about 10 minutes.
Moisten with remaining water, and add fish and fried potatoes and gently stir and simmer for about another 15 minutes. Avoid stirring too much as this may break up the fish. This daube will end up with a thick sauce. All that is left for you do do, is to season the daube and serve with plain boiled rice and a pumpkin chutney.
This hearty Seychellois Creole Fish Daube with Snake Gourd –Ladob Pwason ek Patol-is one of my favourite dishes of all time. It is flavoured with onion, garlic, and ginger, and is the hearty comfort food you have been waiting for.
- 700 g trevally with skin and bones (Tail end)
- 1 medium size onion, chopped
- 2 fresh ripe tomatoes, roughly chopped
- 1 medium immature snake gourd
- 2 tbsp plain flour
- 2 potatoes, cleaned and cut in thick wedges
- 3 cloves garlic, crushed
- 400 ml water
- 1 tsp crushed ginger
- 1 sprig thyme
- 1 sprig parsley- finely chopped
- Oil for deep-frying fish and potatoes
- 3 tbsp oil, for the roux.
- Salt and pepper
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Wash the fish, pat dry and chop into bite size cube, drain and season. Do not remove the bones. They impart an extra layer of flavour to the dish.
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In a deep pot, add and heat enough oil for deep frying
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Deep-fry the fish until golden brown. Keep. The fish must be still moist on the inside and crispy on the outside.
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Wash the immature snake gourd and pat dry.
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Scrape the thin outer layer off the gourd with a knife and wash the gourd again.
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Trim the ends and slit in two length-wise and use a spoon to scrape off the central core of seeds and white pith leaving only the outer flesh.
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Rinse and cut into pieces of approximately 3 cm x 2 cm and keep.
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Wash and peel the potatoes and pat dry. Cut into bite size and shallow fry until golden brown and keep.
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In a pot, heat oil add flour, stir until it starts to brown. You are basically making a brown roux (note 1), except that you are using oil and not butter.
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Reduce heat and add onion, garlic, and ginger, cook until the onion is translucent.
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Add chopped tomatoes, snake gourd and thyme, add about 200ml of the water and stir thoroughly. Simmer on low heat for about 10 minutes.
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Moisten with remaining water, and add fried fish and fried potatoes, gently stir and simmer for about 15 minutes. Avoid stirring too much as this may break up the fish. The sauce of the daube will be fairly thick.
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Season and serve with plain boiled rice and a pumpkin chutney.
- A roux is a combination of butter or margarine and flour cooked together. It is a base for some thick sauces and there are of three types depending on the degree of cooking namely the white, blond, and brown roux. I call this step making a ‘rough’ roux because we are using oil and not butter. Basically, what we do is heat the oil in a pot and add the flour and stir until it starts to brown.
- Traditionally the bones are not removed because they impart an extra layer of flavour to the dish, but you may decide to remove all bones and it will not affect the dish much.
- If you are game enough, why not try the fish head instead of the fillet.
- If you cannot access the trevally any snapper will do, or any firm white-flesh fish is also a good substitution.
- The frying assists in imparting more flavour to the dish as well as giving the fish a ‘hardened surface’ so that it does not break up in the cooking process
Did you make this recipe?
I hope you will enjoy cooking this dish. Please let me know how it turned out for you. If you have a different version of the recipe or have related questions, please leave your comments below.
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