Currybien Recipe Series: Bake N Shark

Bake N Shark, also called Bake ‘N’ Shark is a popular traditional fast food of Trinidadian cuisine. This classic pocket sandwich can be easily found in street stalls and beach shacks throughout the island region.

What makes it more appealing is the variety of side dips and dishes it goes with from mango chutney to sliced cucumbers. Bake refers to the several types of bread used in the sandwich, grilled or fried.

Currybien Recipe Series: Bake N Shark — Image Source: The Spruce Eats

It is made up of a fried bread usually filled with fried chunks of shark meat and supplementary ingredients along with different sauces. Other common ingredients include lettuce, tomatoes, garlic sauce and chilli sauce.

In Trinidad and Tobago region, bake and shark is widely linked with Maracas beach as it features a bunch of bake and shark stands, and even the significant blacktip shark is captured in the offshore surf.

Preparation time- 3 hours 40 mins
Cooking time- 30 mins
Total time- 4 hours 10 mins
Serving- 4-5

Ingredients

For Shark

1 lb shark
3 tbsp green seasoning*
Salt to taste
1 egg for egg wash
Flour to flour shark
Oil for frying
3 lemons or 4 limes

*For green seasoning- Cilantro, Celery, Green Onion, Garlic, Onion, Ginger, Thyme, Scotch Bonnet Pepper and Other optional herbs include – basil, oregano, rosemary.

For Bake

2 all-purpose flour
¾ tbsp salt
1 tbsp yeast
¾ cup water
1 tbsp baking powder
½ brown sugar

Steps

In a bowl full of water, squeeze about three lemons and soak the shark in the water for about three hours.
Now wash it with clean water. Once the shark is thoroughly cleaned, season it with green seasoning and salt.
Now dip the shark in the egg wash and coat it with flour. Deep fry the shark until it turns golden brown and drain the excess oil on paper.

Once you’re done with the shark, mix all the ingredients for the bake and leave the mixture to rest for 30 mins. Separate the dough into balls of about 3 inches in diameter.
Flatten the balls to about 1/4th of an inch thick.
Fry the flattened ball on both sides until it turns golden brown. Add veggies of your choice, season it with your favourite condiments and sauces along with the shark pieces.