Jamaica’s melting pot culture is second nature to me and anyone else who grew up there, but it shows itself off in certain circumstances. Airports around the holidays, for example, are places to see islanders of every ilk, particularly Jamaican Chinese, making their way home and chatting in a familiarly vivacious patois. So are island groceries, many of which are still run by descendants of the laborers brought from China to the Caribbean during the 19th century. And home and restaurant kitchens are not only the nucleus of this cultural fusion but also where it continues to evolve most clearly.
Take pepper steak. The framework of this beef‑and–bell pepper stir-fry is classically Chinese: strips of meat and colorful vegetables cooked fast and seasoned with garlic, ginger, and soy sauce. But those seasonings have also become Jamaican pantry staples. Many of the stir-fry’s other key
