Bake and Shark

Story

Bake and shark is a Trinidadian street-food sandwich built from a fried yeasted flatbread ('bake') split and stuffed with seasoned, battered shark. The dish became synonymous with Maracas Bay on Trinidad's northern coast, where a cluster of beachside stalls turned it into a tourist and local institution from the 1970s onwards. Richard's Bake and Shark, one of the founding stalls at Maracas, is credited by many with elevating it to a legendary dish, drawing crowds willing to wind down the steep coastal road for nothing else. Toppings vary by vendor and personal preference, with combinations of pepper sauce, garlic sauce, chadon beni, tamarind, pineapple and shredded lettuce all considered fair game.

Ingredients

• For the fried bake:
• 250 g plain flour, plus extra for dusting
• 8 g baking powder
• 4 g fine salt
• 6 g caster sugar
• 75 g cold butter or shortening, cubed
• 180 to 220 ml cold water
• 1 to 1.5 litres vegetable oil, for deep-frying
• For the shark:
• 450 g boneless shark fillets (or kingfish as a substitute)
• 60 ml lime juice
• 45 ml green seasoning (blended chadon beni, garlic, chives, thyme)
• 6 g garlic, minced
• 4 to 6 g fine salt
• 1 g ground black pepper
• 1 small Scotch bonnet pepper, finely minced (optional)
• 60 to 80 g plain flour, for dredging
• 500 ml vegetable oil, for frying
• To serve:
• 100 g shredded lettuce
• 150 g tomato, sliced
• 100 g cucumber, sliced
• 100 g fresh pineapple, sliced or diced
• Pepper sauce, garlic sauce, tamarind chutney, to taste

Method

• 1. Make the bake dough: sift together the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar. Rub in the butter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
• 2. Gradually add cold water and mix until a soft, smooth dough forms. Knead briefly, then cover and rest for 20 to 30 minutes.
• 3. Divide the dough into 4 to 6 equal portions. Flatten each into a disc roughly 6 to 8 mm thick.
• 4. Heat the frying oil in a deep pot to 175 to 180 degrees C. Fry the bakes in batches until puffed and golden on both sides, about 3 to 4 minutes per batch. Drain on kitchen paper and split open while still warm.
• 5. Prepare the shark: rinse the fillets with lime juice and water, then pat dry. Cut into serving-size pieces.
• 6. Season the shark with green seasoning, garlic, salt, black pepper and Scotch bonnet if using. Marinate for at least 30 minutes.
• 7. Dredge each piece lightly in flour. Fry in hot oil at 175 to 180 degrees C for 2 to 4 minutes per side, until golden and cooked through. Drain well.
• 8. Tuck the fried shark into the split bake and pile on toppings and sauces to taste.

Common questions