Bake & Shark
Whitefish stuffed in homemade fried bread, with mango slaw and homemade sauces
This is the 11th recipe from Cooking Space.
Today we’ll be traveling back to the Caribbean to create my version of a local Trinidadian fried fish sandwich called bake & shark. It’s a simple dish, but the ingredients are so aromatic and blend together to create a perfect bike.
I’ll be using swordfish as the base, but you can substitute that for any white flaky fish, like cod or snapper. I like using swordfish because it’s closest to shark, and easy to find in any grocery store.
We’ll make an easy no-yeast bread that’s ready to fry after just an hour of resting, and we’ll stuff it with the fried swordfish and a beautiful homemade cabbage slaw with mango and a sweet and spicy vinaigrette.
Finally, we’ll make two homemade sauces that are quick and easy, but elevate the dish to a whole new level.
Ingredients
For the fried fish
4 large pieces of swordfish
4 eggs
1/2 cup flour
1 cup breadcrumbs
4 tbsps. salt
1 tbsp. pepper
3 cups oil
For the bread
300 grams all purpose flour
13.5 grams baking powder
3.5 grams salt
1.5 grams sugar
13 grams butter
230 grams water
For the marinade
1/3 cup lime juice
1 bunch scallions,
2 tbsps. thyme
2 tbsps. jalepleno
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 tbsp. culantro (chadon beni), finely chopped
For the vinaigrette
1 tbsp. dijon mustard
1/2 cup honey
2 tbsps. jalapeno, diced
1/3 cup lemon juice
1 clove garlic, minced
2 tbsps. hot sauce
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
For the slaw
1/2 head Savoy cabbage, shredded
1/2 head red cabbage, shredded
3 mangos, cut into small cubes
1 carrot, finely julienned
1/2 bunch scallion, finely chiffonade
1 tsp. ground white pepper
2 tbsps. parsley, chopped
3 tbsps. almond, thinly sliced
3 tbsps. salt
For the green garlic sauce
6 cloves garlic
2 tbsps. white wine vinegar
2 tbsps. sugar
1 tbsp. salt
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/2 bunch culantro (chadon beni), finely chopped
For the mango habanero sauce
2 habeneros, whole
1/2 onion
2 cloves garlic
1 mango
1 tsp. cumin
1 tbsp. vinegar
1/3 cup lime juice
1 tbsp. Dijon mustard
1/3 cup brown sugar
4 tbsps. salt
1 tbsp. ground white pepper
2 tbsps. parsely
2 tbsps. cilantro
2 tbsps. basil
Preparation
Start the bread
Mix together flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt. Add butter and mix with a fork or use your fingers until the flour resembles coarse breadcrumbs. Make a hole or well in the center of the flour and start pouring 3/4 cup water while mixing and stirring in a circular motion. Add 1/4 cup more water and continue mixing gently for about 5 minutes until you form a nice soft dough.
If dough is too sticky, dust with a tablespoon of flour, and if it’s too dry, one tablespoon of water at a time until the dough comes together.
Allow to rest for 3-5 minutes, then dust with flour and knead to form a smoother dough.
Rub oil on top of the dough and allow it to rest for 25-30 minutes (or longer), covered with plastic wrap or a damp paper or kitchen towel.
We’ll move on to some of the other steps while the dough rests, then come back to complete and fry it later.
Prepare the marinade
Combine all ingredients from the marinade list in a blender, and puree until smooth and loose.
Place in a large bowl with the swordfish, and marinate for 20-60 minutes (preferably for 60 minutes) while you prepare the other ingredients.
Prepare the slaw and vinaigrette
Make the vinaigrette by combining honey, mustard, lemon juice, garlic, hot sauce, and jalapeno in a blender. Puree smooth.
At a lower setting, slowly drizzle in extra virgin olive oil to emulsify.
Make the slaw by combining all ingredients from slaw list, then dress with the vinaigrette. Season with salt and combine.
Make the sauces
Green garlic sauce: Puree garlic with white wine vinegar, sugar, and salt in a blender. Once complete, slowly pour in olive oil to create an emulsification. Add culantro and gently pulse, then transfer to a container and store.
Mango habanero sauce: Blend habenero, onion, garlic, and mango until pureed smooth. Add lime juice, vinegar and pulse. Add cumin, mustard, pepper, and sugar. Pulse again, then transfer to a container and store.
Finish and fry the bread
Once your dough from the first step is rested, cut it into 6 or 8 pieces (depending on how large you want the fried bakes to be), roll into balls, and place on a clean, well-floured surface. Allow to rest for at 10-15 minutes covered.
Flatten the balls of dough until they are about ¼ inch thick, and 5-6 inches in diameter using your fingers or a rolling pin. Add oil in a deep pan to a depth of about two inches over medium heat, bring to 375 degrees F.
When oil is heated through, start adding the rolled out dough to the hot oil. Turn dough immediately as it’s added to the oil. This will help the bake puff up.
Fry in hot oil until both sides are golden brown, about 30-45 seconds per side, turning over once.
Fry the fish and assemble
Combine flour, salt, and pepper in a medium sized bowl. Place breadcrumbs in a separate bowl. Place eggs in a third bowl, and whisk until smooth.
Place fish in flour, then egg, then breadcrumbs, and set aside. Once all the pieces are breaded, fry in oil at 350 for at least 7 minutes, up to about 10 minutes, or until cooked through.
To assemble the sandwiches, cut open a piece of bread to create a pocket. Spread in green garlic sauce, then stuff with cooked fish. Top with slaw and mango habanero sauce.
Serve immediately.
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