The balık (fish) ekmek (bread) is a popular street food snack from Turkey. It consists of a fried or grilled mackerel fillet and assorted vegetables stuffed in a baguette. Very simple street food item, nothing fanciful. You can easily find this Turkish mackerel sandwich near the Galata Bridge (along the waterfront of Karaköy and Eminönü) for about 6-8 lira (SGD2.40-4.00).
I was inspired to recreate this Turkish delight at home after catching a travel programme on TV some time back. Instead of using baguette, I thought I would use the Gardenia brand of Mediterranean Panini that I came across in the supermarket. Could not be more apt, haha.
I chose to grill the mackerel fillets in the oven as I didn’t want my house to stink up. Alternatively, you can pan-fry them if you like.
The mackerel was salty, oily (omega-3 fatty acids!) and juicy. Thought it went really well in a sandwich.
If you find your usual sandwiches getting a little boring now, try making a mackerel sandwich like this. ?
- 2 mackerel fillets
- sea salt
- lettuce leaves
- tomato slices
- pickled carrots (see ingredients below)
- coriander leaves
- reduced fat mayonnaise
- 2 pcs Gardenia Mediterranean Panini bread, halved
- 1 medium carrot, julienned
- 1/4 cup white rice vinegar
- 1/4 cup sugar
- pinch of salt