Trinidadian · main

Bake and Shark

Bake and Shark reads sourness 6.5, citrus 6.4 and richness 5.6 on Palate's 0–10 flavor X-ray — a Trinidadian main, about 1 hr 17 min. Measured from the recipe itself: ingredients and technique.

The flavor X-ray — six axes, 0–10

• Umami & Savory — 4.3 / 10
• Sweet & Fruity — 4.0 / 10
• Sour & Bright — 8.4 / 10
• Bitter & Earthy — 2.4 / 10
• Rich & Fat — 5.9 / 10
• Aromatic & Spice — 3.8 / 10

The measured notes (of 18)

Sourness 6.5 · Citrus 6.4 · Richness 5.6 · Sweetness 4.0 · Salinity 3.9 · Heat 3.6 · Umami 2.7 · Earthy 2.2 · Warm Spice 1.9 · Marine & Briny 1.7 · Bitterness 0.9 · Nutty 0.9 · Herbaceous 0.6

What's in it (16)

• shark steaks — 600 g
• lime juice — 60 g
• green seasoning — 45 g
• all-purpose flour — 400 g
• baking powder — 10 g
• granulated sugar — 4 g
• salt — 10 g
• cold unsalted butter — 45 g
• water — 260 g
• all-purpose flour — 120 g
• cumin — 5 g
• oil — 1104 g
• chadon beni sauce — 120 g
• tamarind sauce — 30 g
• hot pepper sauce — 15 g
• shredded lettuce — 150 g

Time & effort: about 1 hr 17 min (17 min active) · effort: involved

Nutrition (per 100 g, engine-estimated): 157.9 kcal, 3 g protein, 8.9 g fat, 21.2 g carbs

Dietary: Contains meat · Contains dairy — engine-derived; double-check anything allergy-critical.

How it's cooked (8 steps)

1. This is the sandwich sold from huts at Maracas Bay on Trinidad's north coast: a fried yeasted-style bread called a bake, split and stuffed with fried fish and a row of sauces the eater applies themselves. Note honestly that shark stocks are under pressure and that many Maracas vendors now serve kingfish, which they label bake and fish; if you would rather not buy shark, kingfish is the substitution Trinidadians themselves make and the dish survives it.
2. Wash the fish in the lime juice, then rub it with the green seasoning and leave 30 minutes.
3. Rub the cold butter into the 400 g of flour with the baking powder, sugar and salt until it looks like coarse sand, then add the warm water and bring it together into a soft dough, about 6 minutes of mixing and light kneading.
4. Rest the dough, covered, 30 minutes, then divide into 6 balls and roll each to a 12 cm round about 1 cm thick.
5. Mix the dredging flour with the roasted geera and a pinch of salt and turn each piece of fish in it, pressing so it sticks, about 3 minutes.
6. Heat the oil to 180 C and fry the bake rounds about 2 minutes a side. They puff into hollow pillows — lift them out the moment they are deep gold and drain on a rack, not on paper, or the bottoms go soggy.
7. Fry the fish in the same oil for about 4 minutes, turning once, until the crust is crisp and the flesh flakes.
8. Split each bake along one edge like a pocket, lay in the fish, and let people build their own: chadon beni sauce first, then tamarind, then pepper sauce with real caution, then the lettuce and tomato. Eat standing near the sea if at all possible.

Dishes with a similar flavor shape

• Soup Joumou — Haitian
• Esquites (Elote en Vaso) — Mexican
• Peruvian Crab Causa — Peruvian
• Legim (Pureed Vegetable Stew with Beef and Salt Cod) — Haitian
• Panko-Crusted Cod with Tartar Sauce — American

Keep reading: what sourness, citrus, richness mean in the flavor lexicon · the world's cuisines, by flavor.

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Every number above is Palate's engine-measured estimate, computed from this recipe's ingredients and techniques — not human-tasted ratings or reviews.