Rihanna’s Fish Cakes Recipe Is Perfect for Mother’s Day Brunch
Looking for a recipe to jazz up the Mother’s Day menu this year? Take a page out of Rihanna’s book and bring some island flavors to the table.
Though it will be some time before the Bajan singer releases any new music (specifically R9), fans can curate a playlist with her songs while serving up one of her favorite foods. RiRi once shared her family recipe for codfish cakes and deemed them as “the perfect snack.”
Cod is a staple in Caribbean cuisine
Rihanna is known for infusing her Caribbean roots into everything she does. Touches of it are in her music, fashions, and beauty line. Of course, she keeps traditions alive at home. Her codfish cakes are a dish commonly found throughout the Caribbean — sometimes under different names like saltfish fritters.
They’re a treat in places like Bermuda, Trinidad, Jamaica, the Bahamas, Virgin Islands, and Barbados, and often eaten for breakfast, snack-time, and special occasions. And they taste best with a spicy dipping sauce!
Rihanna described her codfish cakes as protein and carb-packed bites
In 2014, Rihanna graced the pages of Esquire UK for a special food and drink edition of the magazine. She shared a few recipes, and in addition to doling out instructions for her unique take on mac and cheese, she laid out how to make her fish cakes.
Boneless cod is the primary ingredient, as are fresh herbs and spices such as thyme, spring onion, and garlic. The must-have addition? Scotch bonnet peppers are key to giving this dish a punch. (The full recipe can be found on Esquire) After the cod goes through several cycles of rinsing and boiling to remove excess salt, it will be ready to break up and mixed into the batter.
Sautee the wet ingredients together and pour into the flour mixture with the cod and some water. Once the fish cakes are formed, they only take 3-4 minutes to fry. They should be eaten when crispy and warm.
Rihanna suggests serving the cakes with sweet chili sauce, but any pepper sauce or one that’s sweet and spicy will pair well.
RiRi wants to create a cookbook
Some fans have seen Rihanna occasionally turn into a home chef on Instagram Live, but there’s a chance she’ll take it further. In a December 2020 interview with Closer (now deleted), she discussed quarantine life and her idea to publish a Caribbean-themed cookbook. The solitude of lockdown stirred up her creativity.
“I love what I do – but I am always busy and quarantine gave me the time to do things I wouldn’t always have been able to do – watch an entire box set in a day, cook, go for walk. It’s important we do little things we enjoy and are kind to ourselves,” said Rihanna (per Hypebae).
Until she delivers a new music or a book, fans can keep up with the singer’s cooking exploits on Instagram where she makes pasta dishes, popcorn, and other goodies. But for now, you can try out Rihanna’s fish cakes with a side of rum punch for Mother’s Day brunch.
