Key Ingredients in Fried Vegan Fish

TOFU

My Dad said lately that he’s not a big fan of tofu. Then.. I served him this Vegan Fish and his mind was blow away. ‘How is it possible that it really tastes like fish?’

Some people say tofu doesn’t taste like anything. What they don’t like, is actually the biggest advantage of tofu to me. Tofu can be marinated and cooked in thousands of ways. Baking, frying, blending is just top of the ice berg of endless possibilities. It can taste like anything you want! Did you know that freezing tofu improves it’s texture and ability of sucking the marinade in? Check it out!

To make Fried Vegan Fish we need firm tofu, preferably frozen before.

NORI SEAWEED

Does seaweed taste like fish? Or fish tastes like seaweed? In the end that’s what they eat in the sea, isn’t it..

You probably know Nori sheets from sushi, but what you may not know is that it has more uses than wrapping rice in it.

Nori sheets are one of the most important ingredients, as they give the fish flavor to our tofu. We use them twice in this recipe, in the broth and in coating.

Seaweed are not only super healthy, but they provide seafood flavor to plant based dishes.

ONION

Normal yellow onion will do just fine in this recipe. We only want it to give the umami flavor, that will enhance fishiness of the broth.

SOY SAUCE

Fish is usually quite salty, so we need to bring this flavor out in our vegan tofu fish. Additionally soy sauce is another great source of umami taste.

VEGETABLE BROTH

Good quality vegetable broth is very important in this recipe. It is our basis that will give tofu the flavor and juiciness.

SPICES

Bay leaves, mustard seeds and salt is what I use to to enhance flavors of the broth. They compose well with aroma of nori and soy sauce.

FLOURS

Wheat flour is the basis of vegan fish coating, but it is corn or potato starch that is responsible for awesome crispiness.

Crispy, juicy, 100% plant based fish made of tofu and nori seaweed.

Fried Vegan Fish

Recipe by VegnFitCourse: DinnerCuisine: MediterraneanDifficulty: Medium

Servings

4

servings

Prep time

10

minutes

Cook time

40

minutes

Total time

50

minutes

A real game changer for those who crave the taste of fish on a plant based diet. This Vegan Fish is juicy and tender with perfectly crisp skin.

Ingredients

• BROTH

• 2.5 cups vegetable broth

• 2-3 sheets nori seaweeds

• 1 small onion

• 3 tbsp soy sauce

• 3 bay leaves

• 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar

• 1 tbsp mustard seeds

• 1/2 tsp salt

• TOFU and COATING

• 2 blocks of firm tofu – 400g / 14oz (preferably frozen before)

• 1.5 tbsp wheat flour

• 1 tbsp corn starch (or potato starch)

• 1/2 tsp garlic powder

• 1/2 tsp salt and pepper

• 2 sheets Nori seaweed

• 3-4 tbsp frying oil (sunflower oil, colza oil, grapeseed oil)

Directions

• If you are using frozen tofu (which I strongly recommend), take it out of the freezer one night before cooking. Let it thaw on the counter or unfreeze in the microwave. Press tofu to get rid of excess liquid.
• Cut tofu pieces in half to make thinner slices (around 1cm / 0.4 inch). You can cut them crosswise in smaller, square pieces.
• Prepare the ‘fish’ broth putting all ingredients in big pan* and bringing them to the boil.
• Place tofu pieces in boiling broth and cook on medium heat for 30 minutes.
  In the meantime prepare coating by mixing all ingredients (apart from nori sheets) together.
• Turn the heat off and gently take pieces of tofu out of the broth. Don’t press them. Place them in a bowl and wait for them to cool down.
• Coat tofu evenly on all sides, gently shaking to get rid of excess flour. Place on a cutting board. Heat the oil up on a frying pan.
• Cut nori sheets so they correspond with sizes of tofu pieces. In order to glue them to tofu, wet the coating with a bit of broth. You can use silicone pastry brush.
  Stick nori sheets on one side of tofu. Pat gently with your fingers.
• Fry Tofu Vegan Fish until golden, around 4-6 minutes on each side.
• Place on paper towel to get rid of excess oil.

Notes

• * Make sure to use cooking pan big enough to fit not only broth and spices, but also all the tofu pieces.

FRIED VEGAN FISH SERVING SUGGESTION

This tofu fish is ideal to serve as Vegan Fish and Chips. I like eating it with potatoes in any form and simple coleslaw salad.

Here are other recipes you may like:

How to make Tofu Taste Like Chicken

Crispy Fried Tofu Cutlet

How to make Fried Vegan Fish

The whole process of preparing this Vegan Fish can be divided in two stages: 1 – cooking tofu in broth to give it the flavor, 2 – coating and frying tofu for a lovely crisp.

FROZEN TOFU

I really suggest using frozen tofu for this recipe. It improves the texture and makes it easier for the flavors to penetrate tofu. Please check this out if you want to know why frozen tofu is better for cooking.

Take your tofu out of the freezer few hours before preparing the ‘fish’ and let it thaw on the counter.

PREPARE ‘FISH BROTH’

That’s pretty much the easiest part of the recipe. Just toss everything into the medium cooking pan and bring to the boil, so that flavors combine together. That’s when your family members start coming into the kitchen, asking you what is it that smells like fish here.

COOK TOFU

Place all tofu pieces in the boiling broth and bring the heat down a little. It should only simmer for around 30 minutes.

While the tofu is cooking, prepare the flour coating. Place all ingredients in a bowl or plastic container and combine together.

STRAIN AND COAT TOFU

You can leave tofu in a broth for a while if you want. I even left it overnight once.

When you’re ready for frying take the tofu out of the broth, and place it gently in a bowl to strain. Don’t press it. We want this flavorsome broth inside.

Cover all pieces in the flour with spices shaking gently to get rid of excess flour. If you have small plastic container with cover you can put the flour inside, place 2 tofu pieces in, cover the lid and shake gently. The goal is to have even layer of flour covering whole tofu.

Place tofu pieces on a chopping board.

Cut remaining Nori sheets in rectangles that will cover one side of tofu piece. Use pastry brush to wet top of the tofu with broth. Stick the seaweed gently on one side.

Now your vegan tofu fish is ready for frying.

FRY TOFU FISH

The best texture of crispy fish skin is obtained by deep frying in really hot oil. We don’t have to fry for a very long time, as our tofu was cooked in a broth. We only want to get this perfect crunch outside.

4 minutes on each side should be enough. Please check if the flour is well cooked on all sides.

GET RID OF EXCESS FAT

Being health freak, I always place the tofu on a paper towel for a minute to get rid of excess oil after frying. You may omit this step if you’re not bothered.

Can you prepare Vegan Fish another way?

If you’re not happy about frying, you can bake tofu vegan fish in the oven. Place tofu pieces on baking sheet, bake in 180°C / 350°F for 12 minutes, flipping the tofu to the other side midway.

What about leftovers?

Tofu fish is best served right after frying, when the skin is extra crispy. It is however still good the next day. So if you have some leftovers, keep them in the air tight container in the fridge. Store the leftovers up to five days.

You can heat it up in the oven or air fryer the next day.

Let me know if you liked this recipe for Fried Vegan Fish! Please share it on Pinterest and Yummly!

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