Categorized | Fish

Oh lovely sardines from a can?

Posted on 08 May 2010
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trinidad sardine chokaFish 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.

trinidad sardine choka (2)

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.

trinidad sardine choka (3)

trinidad sardine choka (4)

trinidad sardine choka (5)

trinidad sardine choka (6)

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!

trinidad sardine choka (7)

trinidad sardine choka (8)

trinidad sardine choka (9)

trinidad sardine choka

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…

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20 Responses to “Oh lovely sardines from a can?”

  1. Juliana says:
    May 9, 2010 at 12:19 pm

    Love trying out completely different styles of cooking. Really enjoying trying some of your recipes.

    Reply
  2. Tuty @Scentofspice says:
    May 11, 2010 at 11:59 pm

    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).

    Reply
    • jumbieg says:
      May 12, 2010 at 12:15 am

      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…

      Reply
  3. Jonny Hamachi says:
    May 25, 2010 at 6:36 pm

    Looks great.

    Welcome to the Society.

    Reply
  4. tasteofbeirut says:
    May 27, 2010 at 4:15 am

    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!

    Reply
  5. Dhale says:
    June 1, 2010 at 2:41 pm

    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!

    Reply
  6. Lydia says:
    July 2, 2010 at 8:45 am

    Thanks. I’m sure you’ll find ones that you’re happy with.

    happy cooking

    chris

    Reply
  7. simmie says:
    July 13, 2010 at 12:38 am

    this looked sooooo good i just made it and had it with coconut bake…….HEAVENLY!!!!! tanx 4 sharing.

    Reply
  8. Kit says:
    October 29, 2010 at 9:49 am

    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.

    Reply
  9. Pamela says:
    February 8, 2011 at 7:23 am

    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.

    Reply
  10. anony mouse says:
    March 30, 2011 at 6:23 am

    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.

    Reply
  11. Ameena says:
    July 25, 2011 at 4:38 pm

    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

    Reply

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