Bake and shark

Bake and shark is a traditional fast food dish of Trinidadian cuisine prepared using fried flatbread, shark meat and additional ingredients. It is a classic street food dish that is sold at a multitude of food stalls and cookshops all over Trinidad and Tobago.

Bake & shark
Bake & shark hut at Maracas Beach, Trinidad

Preparation

It consists of a fried flatbread ("bake") filled with fried pieces of shark meat and various other ingredients and sauces. Before frying, the shark meat is either seasoned with a herb blend and breaded,[1] or marinated in a mix of lemon juice, onion, garlic, thyme and capsicum chinense.[2] Popular additional ingredients are lettuce, coleslaw, tomatoes or pineapple; liquid condiments commonly used are mustard, ketchup, garlic sauce, chili sauce or a sauce made from culantro.[1] In Trinidad, bake and shark is widely associated with Maracas beach on the Northern coast as it features a multitude of bake and shark stands, and the needed shark is caught in the offshore surf.[3]

Environmental problems

As apex predators, sharks are of high importance for the ocean as an ecosystem. Through overfishing, many shark species are endangered. Apart from ethical problems this also causes economic problems as the demand for shark meat in Trinidad cannot be covered any more.[4] Often catfish and ray are used as substitutes and are declared incorrectly.[5] In return, bake and shark stalls sometimes advertise for using shark meat instead of cheaper alternatives.[6]

References
  1. "Bake & Shark fact sheet on About.com". Archived from the original on 2014-07-11. Retrieved 2014-07-11.
  2. Dave DeWitt & Mary Jane Wilson: Callaloo, Calypso & Carnival, S.70. The Crossing Press 1993
  3. Dave DeWitt & Mary Jane Wilson: Callaloo, Calypso & Carnival, S.24. The Crossing Press 1993
  4. Statement by FFOS (Fishermen and Friends of the Sea
  5. Blog entry on Rishiray.com
  6. "Bake and shark advertisement poster". Archived from the original on 2014-07-14. Retrieved 2014-07-11.
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