Bake and shark

Ingredients

Bake dough

• 500 gplain flour
• 2 tspinstant yeast
• 1 tbspsugar
• 1.5 tspsalt
• 1 tspbaking powder
• 30 gbutter or shortening, rubbed in
• 300 mlwarm water
• 1 litreneutral oil, for frying

Shark

• 600 gshark steaks (or kingfish), skinned and cut in 1.5 cm slices
• Juice of 2 limes, plus 1 tbsp for washing
• 4garlic cloves, crushed
• 1 tbspgreen seasoning (blended chadon beni, thyme, garlic, spring onion)
• 1 tspsalt
• 1 tspblack pepper
• 150 gplain flour
• 1 tspcurry powder
• 1 tsppaprika

Sauces and fillings

• Chadon beni sauce: 30 g culantro, 3 garlic cloves, 1 lime, 60 ml oil, blended
• Tamarind sauce: 60 g tamarind pulp, 60 g brown sugar, pinch of pepper sauce, simmered
• Garlic sauce: 4 tbsp mayonnaise, 3 crushed garlic cloves, 1 tbsp lime juice
• Shredded cabbage or coleslaw, sliced cucumber, tomato, fresh pineapple slices

Directions

1. Mix the flour, yeast, sugar, salt and baking powder, rub in the fat, then add the warm water and knead 8 minutes to a soft, slightly tacky dough. Cover and prove 1 hour until doubled.
2. Wash the shark in water acidulated with lime juice, then rub it with the remaining lime juice, garlic, green seasoning, salt and pepper. Marinate 30 minutes in the fridge.
3. Knock back the dough, divide into 4 balls, cover and rest 15 minutes, then flatten each into a disc 15 cm across and 1 cm thick.
4. Heat the oil to 180°C (350°F) in a deep pan. Fry the discs one at a time for 90 seconds a side, spooning hot oil over the top – they should balloon dramatically, turn golden and stay hollow inside.
5. Drain on a rack, not paper, so the crust stays crisp.
6. Mix the flour with curry powder and paprika, dredge the drained shark slices and shake off the excess.
7. Fry in the same oil at 180°C (350°F) for 3–4 minutes, turning once, until deep gold and firm; the flesh should flake in dense white sheets when pressed.
8. Split each bake without cutting all the way through, lay in the shark, then let everyone build their own with cabbage, cucumber, tomato, pineapple and generous pours of chadon beni, tamarind and garlic sauces.

Technique

• The bake must balloon. If it does not, the oil is too cool or the dough was rolled too thin – a hollow bake is what makes room for the fillings without going soggy.
• Chadon beni (culantro, shado beni) is not coriander. It is stronger, more resinous and stands up to frying oil; coriander leaf is a distant second best.
• Shark stocks are under real pressure and several Maracas vendors have moved to kingfish, catfish or swai. The technique is identical and no Trinidadian will object.

Substitutions

• Any firm, meaty white fish – kingfish, catfish, swordfish or even large cod – takes the marinade and fries the same way.
• For a lighter bake, use a ‘float’ dough with baking powder only and no yeast; it fries flatter but crisper.

Variations

• Bake and bangamary, or bake and shrimp, sold along the same Maracas Bay strip.
• Buljol bake – saltfish salad in the same fried bake, eaten at breakfast.

History

A sandwich of fried bread, called bake, filled with fried shark meat and a wide array of toppings and sauces, most closely associated with Maracas Bay in Trinidad, where beachside vendors selling the sandwich became a defining feature of the beach’s food culture through the 1900s. Shark itself was historically an abundant and inexpensive catch off Trinidad’s coast, making it an accessible, affordable protein for a casual beachside fried sandwich rather than a luxury ingredient, and the sandwich’s now-extensive topping bar, often including a dozen or more sauce and vegetable options at established Maracas vendors, developed gradually over decades as individual stalls competed to offer the most elaborate condiment selection.

Frequently asked questions

What is Bake and shark?

Bake and shark is a street food from Trinidad and Tobago: fried shark in fried bake with sauces; Maracas beach icon. A sandwich of fried bread, called bake, filled with fried shark meat and a wide array of toppings and sauces, most closely associated with Maracas Bay in Trinidad, where beachside vendors selling the sandwich became a defining feature of the beach’s food culture through the 1900s. Shark itself was historically an abundant and inexpensive catch off Trinidad’s coast, making it an accessible, affordable protein for a casual beachside fried sandwich rather than a luxury ingredient, and the sandwich’s now-extensive topping bar, often including a dozen or more sauce and vegetable options at established Maracas vendors, developed gradually over decades as individual stalls competed to offer the most elaborate condiment selection.

How long does Bake and shark take to make?

Bake and shark takes 40 min of preparation and 1 hr 30 min of cooking. The recipe makes 4 servings. It is rated medium to make.

What can I substitute in Bake and shark?

Yes, within limits. Any firm, meaty white fish – kingfish, catfish, swordfish or even large cod – takes the marinade and fries the same way. For a lighter bake, use a ‘float’ dough with baking powder only and no yeast; it fries flatter but crisper.

What is the most important thing to get right in Bake and shark?

The bake must balloon. If it does not, the oil is too cool or the dough was rolled too thin – a hollow bake is what makes room for the fillings without going soggy.