"ATW80DS" - Shark & Bake

Bake & Shark is a very popular street food sold in Trinidad and Tobago. It is one of those very yummy, must-try items for visitors. And for locals, well, a week without eating Bake & Shark would just be unheard of.

The "Bake" part refers to the fried bun part of the sandwich. It is a dough made of all purpose flour, baking powder, a pinch of salt, a little bit of butter and mixed together with water. Once allowed to rest, the dough is then divided into 3-inch balls, rolled into flat circles and fried until it puffs up. The inside of the bake is hallow and it works perfect for stuffing meats and other stuff. 

Ingredients

For Bake:

2 cups flour ( all purpose)

3/4 tsp salt

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp yeast

1/2 tbsp sugar

3/4 cup water

oil for frying

For Shark:
Since blacktip shark — the traditional choice — is not readily available, catfish or tilapia fillets are   substituted here. 

1 lb shark or halibut

3 tbsp green seasoning*

3 lemons (or 4 limes)

1 egg ( for egg wash )

flour ( to flour shark )

salt to taste

oil for frying

Arrange fish in single layer in 13x9x2-inch glass baking dish. Mix lime juice, green onion, garlic, thyme, and chile in small bowl; season with salt and pepper. Spoon over fish; let stand at room temperature at least 20 minutes and up to 1 hour.

Heat oil in large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Sprinkle fish on both sides with salt and 
pepper, then flour. Working in batches, add fish to skillet and cook until golden and opaque in center, about 2 minutes per side. Transfer fish to paper towels to drain.

To serve, make a wide slit in the side of each float and fill each with a piece of shark, then garnish with sliced tomatoes and cucumbers,  a few lettuce leaves, slices of onion, mango chutney and/or coleslaw, and several dashes of hot pepper sauce, if you like.