Categorized | Fish
Oh lovely sardines from a can?
Posted on 08 May 2010
Fish is a serious turn off for a lot of people and even more unattractive is when that fish comes in a can. But if you’re a regular on the site, you’ll know that I have a series that I call “lazy man” dishes (Corned Beef / Salmon). And today we’re about to add a new member into the family. Since it’s one of those meals you can put together in mere minutes and it’s very delicious. Providing you’re not afraid to try something a bit different.
My Trinbagonian people will know that this is a common snack type dish and everyone seems to have their own way of putting this together. No real cooking is involved, and you can experiment with ingredients as well.
BTW, fellas this is not something you eat before that big date your special someone. The combo of sardines and onions on your breath will not win you any points.
You’ll Need…
1 can sardines (I like the ones with the peppers made by Brunswick)
1/2 tomato sliced thin
1 scallion sliced thin (optional)
Juice of 1/2 lime or lemon
Black pepper
1/4 onion sliced thin
1/4 hot pepper sliced (I used a habanero – you can use whatever you have or like)
2 tablespoon vegetable oil (I like using olive oil)
Let’s see if we can do this in 3 steps.
Step 1.
Slice the onion, tomato, scallion and hot pepper very thin and set aside.
Step 2.
Open and empty the sardines into a bowl. The following step is optional, but this is the way I saw my mom doing it… break each sardine down the middle (length-wise) and remove the middle bone (can be left, but I find that it gives the dish a gritty texture that I don’t like) and secondly you must remove the inside of the belly (there’s no polite way of saying “guts’). Then break apart each fish so you have chunky pieces.
Step 3.
Top with all the stuff we sliced earlier, squeeze in the lime or lemon juice and add a dash of black pepper. Then on high heat, heat the oil in a small frying pan and allow to heat until you’re about to start seeing smoke. Now pour the hot oil over everything and stir well. YOU’RE DONE!
You can call this a salad, choka, talkarie or as in my case… a lazy man’s dish. Works well as a topping for Crix (a locally made crackers), on sandwiches, with roti , pita… you get the point.
I’d love to hear how our friends from the other islands and around the world make this (if you do) so please leave me a comment below and don’t forget to join us on Facebook. Our goal is to have 25,000 fans by the end of the year. Please help us make it happen.
Happy Cooking
Chris…
Caribbean Pot on Facebook
33 Responses to “Oh lovely sardines from a can?”
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Love trying out completely different styles of cooking. Really enjoying trying some of your recipes.
Thanks. I'm sure you'll find ones that you're happy with.
happy cooking
chris
Chris,
Can you get Brunswick sardines with olive oil where you are.. I can only get the soybean oil ones. Lately, I've been using the sardines from Morocco and they're pretty good (they are with chillies too).
Tuty, we're lucky enough to get a variety from Brunswick. With : olive oil, in lemon juice, pepper, mustard… the list is long. But I try to stay with the ones I'm familiar with. How does the ones from Morocco compare? Any brand in particular?
happy cooking
chris…
Yes, you’re lucky, Chris.
The Moroccan’s brand is Al Amir. It is less expensive than Brunswick’s sardine in soy bean oil and it is more tasty in my opinion.
Looks great.
Welcome to the Society.
thanks for having me
Chris
Sardines are wonderful provided you know how to mask the fact that they are canned! I made a sardine hummus that i liked a lot and I love your sardine salad; with these fresh vegetables how can you go wrong!
Sounds lovely and you're so right about masking.
This looks wonderful and simple! I'm definitely making it this week! I like fast meals and btw, I'm a HUGE fan of corned beef too!
But yes, meals in a can are just as mouthwatering. Thanks for sharing this recipe!
so how did it turn out for you?
Thanks. I’m sure you’ll find ones that you’re happy with.
happy cooking
chris
this looked sooooo good i just made it and had it with coconut bake…….HEAVENLY!!!!! tanx 4 sharing.
thanks for leaving the comment…much appreciated.
we make the sardines as in your recipe but we add Zaboca(avacado)
With fry bake,dat is the best!!
I agree 100%. I remember those days as a child in Trinidad having this dish for supper. You forgot to mention coconut bake or roast bake as some might call it.
I scrape the skin off, cut off the little fins, cut them open and remove the gut, bone and the spinal cord. Then I add finely sliced onion, some finely chopped garlic, cubed avocado, scotch bonnet pepper, some olive oil and a huge squeeze of lemon juice. I have this every single morning. Then I shower, and brush my teeth, tongue and use lots of mouth wash. I love Brunswick brand in olive oil.
I Brunswick is the best. Not as strong as some. Lighter dishes that involve little or no
cooking is a plus. Thanks Chris for all of your wonderful recipes.
FYI: canned sardines in oil have a not-healthy omega-6 to omega-3 ratio. I use the ones packed in water.
It might not be authentic, but I think some chopped cilantro on top would be tasty.
I could imagine some of this with some Crix and some lime juice …. OH Lord let me count the ways I miss Trinidad and Tobago
I have never tried sardines that way; but will try it. Looks very yummy and with crackers. (buscuits) I* like Sardines.
Thanks Chris.
Would you believe I was actually thinking of this today? My Dad made this for me long ago and was wondering how to do it? PERFECT FOR LENT! You're amazing Chris, amazing!
hmm didn't like it all that much but it was definitely better than plain sardines. I used brunswick sardines as suggested
Hello Chris I just did your steamed fish and it was truly delicious! I did not have any okra so I used beans in its place and it was still great! Thanks for all these lovely dishes………..
Hi Chris, love your recipes. The best sardines I have ever had is curry sardines served with coconut bake. I know "curry sardines" sounds weird but don't knock it 'til you try it. You cook it just like you are cooking curry shrimp or any other curry. Fry up one each of onion, tomato and clove of garlic. Chris you can put your pepper in also. Mix your curry powder with a little water and add it to the cooked vegetables, or if you make your curry sauce by adding the curry powder directly to the vegetables, fry it up and then add about a cup of water. When your sauce is just starting to thicken then you put in your two cans of sardines. Spoon some of the curry sauce over the sardines, cover them and cook just for one to two minutes maximum making sure that you have enough sauce to dip your bake in. Try not to break up the sardines. Remember they are already cooked so you are just basically trying to give them that curry look and taste. Serve with the hot buttered coconut bake.
Hi Chris,
Thank you for representing us so well. Love your work. Your Bhaigan Choka recipe is the best ever
Chris,
Thanks for reminding me of all the dishes from back home.
I love sardines just the way you prepared it, I also add avocado and thyme. I like it with Jasmine rice or Crackers. Keep up the good work.
Jennifer R.
I tried the recipe, but had to modify it. It came out fine. I enjoyed it with a toasted ciabatta roll. Yes, it is sort of a “lazy man’s” dish, but it solved the challenge of what to make for dinner with a can of sardines.
Thanks!
Constantine
LOL..I love sardines..it is one of the Trinidian joys….and your recipe is very yummy…I add shredded leaf lettuce and 'taco' it…lol…a cup of hot tea and ah good..Bless.
My Norwegian grandmother introduced me to sardines at a very young age. To my delight, she allowed me to roll back the can cover with the attached metal key. We just ate them straight from the can on soda crackers. Now I'm a senior with a more adventurous palette, and my long-lost desire for sardines has re-emerged. A quick Googling brought me to this site. I've made this recipe twice now (on my way to the store for a lime for a third serving), and I'm hooked! It's summer in AZ and this quick, easy, tasty, nourishing dish is perfect for those no-energy days when it's just too hot to think about cooking. Thanks for adding something wonderful to my little world.
Hi Chris ,you do sardines pretty much the way i do except for the heated oil and seriously i've never heard anyone doing it that way either but i can assure you i'm gonna try it ,i happen to like variety and this seems interesting . At the moment i have my Hops dough rising hope it comes out good ,wish me luck ! I've also been looking at your other dishes and there are variations that i'm surely going to try .What i especially love about you is the way you love your Hot Pepper and i'm certainly going to try those sauces with the fruit . With my cooking and your ideas i think i'm going to fall back in love with food . Thank you !
We eat them cold with thinly sliced onion, peppers and tomatoes on crackers. But more often, we fry onion and some potatoes, then add chopped tomatoes and the sardines to warm thru. This mixture we will eat with rice or roti. Sardines make a great, inexpensive and nutritious meal! Thanks for the recipe Chris.
Been trying to find a way to consume these fish and THIS is it! Thank you!