Chiktay (Smoked Herring Salad)
January 30, 2022
So chiktay is something I could say is fairly new to me. I’ve definitely seen it at parties before but never tried it. If you’ve been following me for a while now then you will know that my love affair with smoke herring started sometime circa 2017 I think, and I also think I talked about that day in this post: mayi moulen ak aranso (cornmeal with smoked herring). Ever since then, I have been in love with it. Now I’m making whatever I can make with it and it so happens that it is the absolute star of this recipe (did I mention it was an easy recipe?).
The ingredients are super simple. I got the recipe from my cousin Nida in Canada (I miss you guys sooooooo much!!I pray we’re reunited after all this craziness that’s currently going on in this world is over). Ok back to this post… the ingredients are simple and this recipe comes together in 30 minutes or less depending on your chopping skills (or just use a food processor). I noticed that some folks cook the veggies and the herring together in the oil as opposed to only infusing the oil and pouring it over the mixture. This recipe is a salad similar to chicken salad, potato salad or macaroni salad so I kept the same concept (as my cousin instructed) and didn’t cook everything together; however I’m sure it tastes just fine cooked.
I have smoked herring filets pictured above, those are the ones I usually buy (without the head attached). Then I desalt the filets, I’ve had instances where I didn’t desalt the herring well enough and my end product ended up salty. But I’ve also had instances where I did too good of a job desalting and I had to add salt back into it for a better taste. Keep that in mind… I would say rinse the smoked herring twice with warm water, discard it both times then give it one boil and also discard that water (try that and let me know if it’s too salty or needs salt).
Once you’re done with desalting you can remove some large bones. I’m anal so I like to take out a large amount of the bones even though I mention all the time that these bones are so thin that they won’t hurt you if you accidentally swallow them. After removing the bones use two forks to shred the herring (really you could get away with using one fork or just use a food processor). This is the food processor I use, I left my first one with my mom when I moved and loved it so much that I got another one. This isn’t a sponsored post by the way but if you click my link I get a small commission if you purchase it.
I served this with banann peze (fried green plantains) and hawaiian sweet buns cause that’s how my aunt served it to us when we visited Haiti in 2019; it was delicious! I’ll be honest with you guys, those 5 plantains up there were eaten by me and me alone, right after I took these pictures… Don’t judge me LOL.
Watch me make Chiktay here:
AFFILIATE DISCLOSURE
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Ingredients
Adjust Servings
| 5-7 pieces of smoked herring, desalted, deboned and finely shredded | |
| 1 garlic clove, slice or crushed | |
| 1 hot pepper sliced 3-4 ways | |
| ¼ cup olive oil | |
| Juice of half a lime | |
| ⅛ cup onions, diced | |
| ⅛ cup red bell peppers | |
| ⅛ cup green bell peppers | |
| ⅛ yellow or orange bell peppers |
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