Recipe
🍽️ DINNER
Hudut
The Garifuna signature of Belize: fish simmered in a coconut broth called sere, served with fu-fu, green and ripe plantains pounded into a soft, sticky mash.
Garifuna · medium · serves 4
prep 25 min · cook 35 min
~917 cal · 55g protein · 85g carbs · 42g fat · 9g fiber · 40g sugars · 29g sat fat (estimated, per serving)
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Hudut is the signature dish of Belize's Garifuna communities along the southern coast, in Dangriga, Hopkins, and Punta Gorda. It has two parts served together: sere, a fragrant coconut broth of fish cooked in freshly squeezed , and fu-fu, green and ripe boiled and then pounded in a tall wooden mortar until they hold together in a soft, dense ball.
The two are eaten by hand from one bowl, pieces of the fu-fu pulled through the coconut fish broth. The word hudut names the pounded in the Garifuna language, but in everyday use it means the whole meal. The key technique is the sere: the must be kept constantly moving with a spoon as the fish cooks, or it will curdle, and a whole habanero is added at the end for aroma without piercing it.
Comforting, coconut-forward, and lightly spiced with onion, garlic, and cilantro, hudut is a cornerstone of Garifuna identity, a cuisine shared with kin in Honduras, Guatemala, and Nicaragua.
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Make it yours
✓ Naturally gluten-, dairy-, egg- and pork-free. No swaps needed.
Toggle a diet and the ingredients rewrite themselves with regional substitutes.
🥕 Vegetarian
🌱 Vegan
🌾 Gluten-Free
🥛 Dairy-Free
🥜 Nut-Free
🥚 Egg-Free
🐖 Pork-Free
Dietary labels are a cooking guide, not allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish; we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, read the label on every product you use, and note that a kitchen can cross-contaminate in ways a recipe cannot control.
Ingredients
US
Metric
Serves 4
2 lbs whole fish or firm fillets (snapper or grouper), seasoned
2 cups
3 green
2 ripe
1 onion, sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 tbsp fresh cilantro, chopped
a handful (optional)
1 habanero pepper, left whole
1/2 tsp black pepper
to taste salt
Instructions
1
Season the fish with salt and black pepper and set aside.
2
Soften the onion and garlic in a little oil in a pot, then pour in the coconut milk and a cup of water and add the cilantro and okra.
✎ Chef’s note
Keep the coconut milk moving with a spoon the whole time it heats, without stirring the fish itself; constant motion is what stops the milk from curdling.
3
Slip in the fish and simmer gently until cooked through and the broth has thickened, about 10 minutes, dropping the whole habanero in at the end for aroma. This is the sere.
4
Meanwhile, peel and boil the green plantains in unsalted water, adding the ripe plantains once the green are half done, until all are fully tender.
5
Pound the drained plantains in a mortar (or pulse in a processor) with a splash of the broth until they hold together in a soft, sticky mash.
6
Serve a ball of the plantain fu-fu in each bowl with the coconut fish sere ladled around it, and eat by hand.
Garifuna coastal tradition, Dangriga.
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🌏 While it simmers, know your destination
📍
Belize City. Hudut belongs to the Garifuna towns down the coast, Dangriga and Hopkins, rather than to the city: fish poached in a coconut broth with green plantain pounded by hand in a wooden mortar until it is smooth. Fry jacks, puffed squares of fried dough, are the ordinary breakfast alongside beans and eggs.
🗺️
Belize. Belize is the only English-speaking country in Central America, and its kitchens sit side by side rather than blending: Creole coconut rice, Maya corn and recado in the west, Mestizo escabeche and salbutes in the north, and Garifuna hudut in the coastal towns of Dangriga and Hopkins, fish in coconut broth with pounded plantain.
🌍
North America. The most consequential technique on this continent is nixtamalisation, cooking maize with lime or wood ash. It loosens the skins, makes the dough that becomes tortillas and tamales, and frees up niacin the body cannot otherwise absorb, which is why maize spread around the world without the technique and took pellagra with it.
The story behind this dish is up top, worth a read while the pot works.
More from Belize
Belizean Stew ChickenChicken marinated in recado rojo, browned in caramelized sugar, and stewed dark, served with rice and beans.
Fry JacksPuffy, crisp triangles of fried dough eaten with refried beans, eggs, or jam, the golden centerpiece of a Belizean breakfast.
GarnachesCrisp fried tortillas topped with refried beans, cheese, and pickled cabbage, Belize's favorite street snack-lunch.
Browse all Belize recipes →
Good to know
You’ll need: Pot or saucepan, Mortar and pestle.
Storing it: Thickens as it sits. Reheat with extra water or milk to loosen, and keep 2 to 3 days refrigerated.
Make it a Belize meal
Seaweed ShakeDrink
Belizean Bread PuddingDessert
GarnachesLunch
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Cuisine
Diet
Frequently asked questions
What is Hudut?
The Garifuna signature of Belize: fish simmered in a coconut broth called sere, served with fu-fu, green and ripe plantains pounded into a soft, sticky mash.
Where does Hudut come from?
Hudut is a Garifuna dish from Belize City, Belize.
Can Hudut be made vegan, gluten-free, or dairy-free?
This Hudut recipe includes substitution suggestions for vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free, egg-free, and pork-free versions, including several at once such as gluten-free and dairy-free together. Treat them as a starting guide rather than a guarantee, and see the allergen note below.
Is Hudut safe for people with food allergies?
Our dietary labels and substitutions are a cooking guide, not medical or allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish, but we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, always read the label on every product you use, and remember a home or commercial kitchen can cross-contaminate ingredients in ways a recipe cannot control.
How long does Hudut take to make?
About 60 minutes total (25 minutes prep, 35 minutes cooking), serving 4.
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