Bake and shark

Name: Bake and shark
Prep time: 40 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 130 min
Yield: 4 sandwiches
Cuisine: Trinidadian
Ingredients: 600 g Firm white fish, firm fillets such as kingfish, catfish, cod or haddock, in 4 pieces; 1 bunch Coriander, leaves and stems; shado beni if available; 3 piece Spring onion; 4 clove Garlic; 1 tbsp Thyme, leaves; 1 piece Lime, juiced; 0.5 piece Scotch bonnet, seeds out; 1 tsp Salt; 100 g Wheat flour, seasoned with salt, pepper and a pinch of paprika, for dredging; 400 g Wheat flour, plain; 2 tsp Yeast, instant dried; 1 tbsp Sugar; 1 tsp Salt; 20 g Butter, or oil; 240 ml Water, lukewarm; 750 ml Neutral oil, for frying bakes and fish; 150 g Cabbage, finely shredded, with lettuce if you like; 2 piece Tomato, sliced; 150 g Pineapple, fresh, in thin slices; 4 tbsp Mayonnaise, mixed with 2 crushed garlic cloves and a squeeze of lime, for garlic sauce; 2 tbsp Tamarind, paste, loosened with water and a little sugar

Maracas Bay's beach sandwich: seasoned fried fish in a puffy fried bread, piled with salad, pineapple and a row of sauces.

Recipe by I Want Some Food · Reviewed by the editorial kitchen.

Start cooking

Prep: 40 min
Cook: 30 min
Rest: 1 hr
Total: 2 hr 10 min
Difficulty: Medium
Spice: Mild
Cost: A bit special$16–28 USD · indicative, not a store price

Know it before you cook it

About

Bake and shark is a fried fish sandwich from the north coast of Trinidad. The bake is a yeasted dough fried until it puffs hollow like a thick pitta. The fish is marinated in green seasoning, a blend of herbs, garlic, lime and chilli, dusted in seasoned flour and fried crisp. Then the sandwich is built at a counter from a row of toppings: shredded lettuce and cabbage, tomato, cucumber, pineapple, coriander chutney, garlic sauce, tamarind sauce and pepper sauce. The fish was traditionally shark. This recipe uses any firm white fish, which is what many stands now do and what you should do too.

What you'll need

21 ingredients. Tap each one once it's out on the bench.

0 of 21 ready

4 servings

Ingredients
Green seasoning
Fish
Bake
Toppings

Ingredients

Servings

Ingredients

Firm white fish, firm fillets such as kingfish, catfish, cod or haddock, in 4 pieces600 g
Neutral oil, for frying bakes and fish750 ml

Green seasoning

Coriander, leaves and stems; shado beni if available1 bunch
Spring onion3
Garlic4 clove
Thyme, leaves15 ml
Lime, juiced1
Scotch bonnet, seeds out½
Salt4.9 ml

Fish

Wheat flour, seasoned with salt, pepper and a pinch of paprika, for dredging100 g

Bake

Wheat flour, plain400 g
Yeast, instant dried9.9 ml
Sugar15 ml
Salt4.9 ml
Butter, or oil (optional)20 g
Water, lukewarm240 ml

Toppings

Cabbage, finely shredded, with lettuce if you like150 g
Tomato, sliced2
Pineapple, fresh, in thin slices (optional)150 g
Mayonnaise, mixed with 2 crushed garlic cloves and a squeeze of lime, for garlic sauce59 ml
Tamarind, paste, loosened with water and a little sugar30 ml

Scaling multiplies the written quantities. Baking still prefers a scale.

Steps

Step 1
Blend the green seasoning ingredients with a splash of water to a rough paste. Coat the fish pieces in it and leave 1 hour in the fridge.
5 min
Step 2
Mix the bake ingredients to a soft dough, knead 5 minutes until smooth, cover and rest 1 hour until doubled.
8 min
Step 3
Divide the dough into 4 and roll each into a round about 1 cm thick. Heat the oil to 180°C in a deep frying pan. Fry the bakes one at a time, spooning hot oil over the top, until they puff and turn golden, about 1 minute a side. Drain.
10 min180°C
Tip: Spooning oil over the top is what makes them balloon. A hollow bake is a correct bake.
Step 4
Scrape the excess marinade off the fish, dredge in seasoned flour and fry in the same oil 3 to 4 minutes a side until crisp and cooked through. Drain on paper.
10 min180°C
Watch: Wet marinade on the fish makes the flour slide off. Scrape, then dredge.
Step 5
Split each bake along one side, put in a piece of fish, and load with cabbage, tomato, pineapple, garlic sauce, tamarind sauce and pepper sauce to taste. Eat over a plate.

Nutrition

Per serving · estimate

Calories: 966 kcal
Protein: 45.8 g
Carbs: 117.7 g
Fat: 34.4 g
Saturated fat: 6.6 g
Fibre: 7.4 g
Sugar: 15.4 g
Sodium: 1310 mg

Calculated from canonical ingredient data (USDA FoodData Central averages and equivalent published tables). Estimates only.

Allergens

Informational only. Not a medical guarantee. Cross-contamination happens in real kitchens.

Wheat
Fish
Eggs

Pescatarian
Dairy-free

Adapt this recipe

The original recipe stays as it is. Personal versions are labelled. Serving changes are simple maths.

Adaptations · 0 / 15 used. Resets 11 November.

Substitutions

Firm white fish → Salmon or firm tofu
Salmon fries well and takes the seasoning. Tofu pressed and marinated makes a decent bake and tofu.

Tips

Green seasoning keeps a week in the fridge and a month in the freezer. Make double and use it on chicken.
The bakes are best within an hour of frying. The fish holds up better; fry bakes last.
Coriander chutney and a Trinidad-style pepper sauce round out the toppings bar if you have time.

History & culture

Bake and shark means Maracas Bay. Trinidadians drive over the Northern Range on Sundays to swim and then queue at the stands along the beach, where the toppings bar is the attraction. Richard's is the famous one. Visitors are told to eat it with everything, and should. It is messy, which is part of the experience.

Fried bakes are old Trinidadian everyday bread, and fried shark was cheap coastal protein. The combination at Maracas grew up with the beach road in the mid-20th century and became a tourist rite by the 1980s. Shark populations have fallen hard and shark meat carries mercury, so many stands and most home cooks have switched to kingfish, catfish or other firm fish.

Regional variation — Shark is replaced with any firm white fish, on purpose. The sauces are simplified to the three that matter most: garlic, tamarind and pepper. Add pineapple if you want the full Maracas effect.

Provenance: Editorial adaptation.

Questions about this recipe

Answers taken from this dish's times, amounts, swaps and tips.

How long does Bake and shark take?

2 hr 10 min all in — 40 min prep, 30 min cook, 1 hr rest. Cook and rest follow the method. Leftover storage and optional extra waits are not included.

How many does it serve?

The recipe is written for 4 sandwiches. Scale the ingredient list on the page if you are cooking for a different number.

How hard is it?

Medium.

How spicy is it?

Mild.

What allergens should I watch?

This recipe is labelled for Wheat, Fish, Eggs. Labels are informational — check the packets in your kitchen. This is not medical advice.

Does it fit a diet?

The published recipe is labelled Pescatarian, Dairy-free.

8 more questions

What does it cost to cook?

A bit special — about $16–28 USD, as a grocery budget for this recipe, not a restaurant price.

What equipment do I need?

Frying pan, Mixing bowl, Blender, Spider or strainer.

How much salt do I put in?

The recipe lists Salt at 1 tsp.

How much sugar?

1 tbsp of Sugar.

What can I use instead?

Firm white fish → Salmon or firm tofu. Salmon fries well and takes the seasoning. Tofu pressed and marinated makes a decent bake and tofu.

What should I watch for?

Wet marinade on the fish makes the flour slide off. Scrape, then dredge.

Any tips from this recipe?

Green seasoning keeps a week in the fridge and a month in the freezer. Make double and use it on chicken. The bakes are best within an hour of frying. The fish holds up better; fry bakes last. Coriander chutney and a Trinidad-style pepper sauce round out the toppings bar if you have time.

Can I use an air fryer?

This method is not written for an air fryer. The core technique on the page still applies.