Bake and Shark

“Mommy, why did you keep me from this place?” You’ll have to excuse my dramatic words; I was only a kid. I was in the blue ocean. The sun was shining. My family and I were frolicking in the water. I was completely in awe of the island that I had only been to as a baby before then.

The first time that I can remember visiting Trinidad was a transformative experience, not least because of the food. My mother always cooked Trinidadian dishes but there was one experience she couldn’t recreate: bake and shark at the beach. The drive to Maracas Beach follows a long, winding road over the lush mountains on the island. The trek is worth the reward. When you emerge from the trees, you are greeted by the sight of white sand and blue ocean to your left and a food stall in the parking lot to your right. This makeshift shelter holds one of the tastiest dishes the island has to offer.

Richard’s Shark and Bake is always busy but efficiently run. They serve a delicious dish containing fried shark placed inside bake. Bake is a type of bread that can be baked or fried depending on your taste. Once you get your bake and shark, there is this large table underneath a wooden shelter with all the toppings you can think of.

At first, the idea of eating shark was a strange concept to 8-year-old me. Once I tried it though, I was never the same. After half the afternoon had past, I dug into this delicacy with only ketchup as a topping due to my childhood tendency to be a picky eater. This dish is available at most beaches in Trinidad and Tobago. I wanted it so often during my trip that my mom once fed me dolphin so she wouldn’t have to tell me that the vendor was out of shark.

To this day, I love getting bake and shark at any Caribbean food restaurant. It is a source of comfort and familiarity in the cold Canadian winter months. Finding a good bake and shark immediately makes me a fan of the whole restaurant. I've also learned to eat fried bake with eggs, salt fish, etc.

My mom was born and raised in Trinidad and Tobago. She came to Canada in her late teens to attend University and has taken us back to visit family and enjoy some sun periodically since then. Being the child of immigrants (my dad is from Jamaica) can be an interesting balancing act. On the one hand, I was born and raised in Canada. My whole life is here. On the other hand, my cultural background has always influenced my life. Whether it is the food I eat, the music I listen to, or the slang I use, it is all influenced by my families’ heritage. It can all be traced back to my trips to my second home.

Food is a great window into the culture of a place. Bake and shark loaded with toppings is flavourful, colourful, and hearty. Eating it at the beach perfectly encapsulates the culture I was being introduced to. Trinidad is a place with a vibrant and joyful character. Food, drinks, and spending time with loved ones is paramount. My experience at the beach that day was exactly that. I’ll never forget that day and how it connected me to my heritage.

Credit to Simply Trini Cooking:

Ingredients

• FOR BAKE:

• 2 cups flour all purpose

• 3/4 tsp salt

• 1 tsp. baking powder

• 1 tsp. yeast

• 1/2 tbsp. brown sugar

• 3/4 cup water

• Oil for frying

• FOR SHARK:

• 1 lb shark

• 3 tbsp green seasoning*

• 3 lemons or 4 limes

• 1 egg for egg wash

• flour to flour shark

• salt to taste

• oil for frying

Instructions

1. Squeeze about 3 lemons in some water and leave the shark to soak for about 3 hours. Wash the shark in clean water. Season with the green seasoning and salt.

2. Dip the seasoned shark in the egg wash, then in some flour. Deep fry the shark until golden brown and drain on paper.

3. Mix the ingredients for the bake and leave to rest for 30 minutes. Separate into balls about three inches in diameter.

4. Then flatten out to about 1/4 of an inch thick. You can vary the size according to how large or small you want your fry bake to come out.

5. Fry on both sides until golden brown. Drain on paper. Assemble using fresh tomatoes, lettuce, and other condiments.