Rachel Steenland is a vegan blogger and recipe developer who is on a mission to shake up the world through the power of plants, by sharing tasty and easy 100% plant-based recipes to resources to help you live a vegan lifestyle. In this article, she shares her recipe for vegan battered ‘fish’ using tofu.
Vegan Battered ‘Fish’
Nobody will believe that this crispy, flaky battered fish recipe is 100% plant-based!
The secret to getting that authentic umami flavor is a combination of miso paste and nori. They give the tofu a full-bodied, savory flavor, and when topped off with a little lemon or tartar sauce, create the perfect vegan replica.
What You’ll Need
For the ToFish (battered ‘fish’)
- Extra firm tofu
- Lemon juice
- Nori sheet
- White miso paste
For the batter
- All-purpose flour or 1:1 gluten-free flour
- Water (or light lager style beer)
- Lemon juice (approx. juice of half a lemon)
- Baking powder
- Sea salt
- Baking soda
To fry
- Oil for frying
To serve
- Sea salt
- Squeeze of lemon
- Vegan Tartar sauce
How to Make this Vegan Battered ‘Fish’
Vegan Battered Tofu 'Fish'
Ingredients
- ToFish - battered ‘fish’
- 1 16 oz 455grams extra firm tofu, drained and pressed for at least 15 minutes
- 3 tablespoons lemon juice - juice of one large lemon
- 1/2 nori sheet - finely chopped
- 1 teaspoon white miso paste
- Batter
- 1 cup all-purpose flour or 1:1 gluten-free flour
- 1 cup water - or light lager style beer
- 1 –2 tablespoons lemon juice - approx. juice of half a lemon
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- To fry
- Oil for frying
- To serve
- Sprinkle of sea salt
- Squeeze of lemon
- Vegan Tartar sauce
Instructions
- Prepare the ToFish: Cut pressed tofu into 8 slices, then make multiple slices 3/4 of the way through to create a flaky texture (see photo above). Place into a casserole dish (or similar), so each piece of tofu covers the base of the dish.
- Into a small bowl, add lemon juice and miso paste, then whisk well to combine. Pour liquid over the tofu pieces, and then sprinkle with nori flakes. Cover and set aside on the counter for 15 minutes.
- Heat the oil: Pour oil into a medium size pot and bring to a boil. Be careful as hot oil can splatter.
- Prepare the batter: Place ingredients into a medium size bowl, whisk together to form a batter.
- Batter the ToFish: Carefully place pieces of marinated tofu into the batter, using a spoon to coat all sides. Batter tofu pieces in batches immediately before frying.
- Fry the ToFish: Drop a small amount of batter into the pot of hot oil. If the batter bubbles and turns gold brown quickly you will know that the oil is hot enough and ready for frying your battered tofish!
- Carefully place pieces of battered tofu into the hot oil and cook until golden brown on all sides, around 2-3 minutes. Once cooked, carefully transfer to a plate lined with paper towel, and then sprinkle with a little sea salt. Cook tofish in batches to avoid overcrowding the pot.
- Serve immediately while hot and crispy with a generous squeeze of lemon. Enjoy!
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You Might Also Like…
If you enjoyed this battered tofu ‘fish’ recipe, you might also like these Thai-inspired vegan ‘fishcakes’ by Best of Vegan columnist Seiran Sinjari. Click here for the recipe.
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Recipe & Photography by Rachel Steenland.
Connect with Rachel on instagram (@thegardenparty.official) and find more delicious recipes on thegardenparty.com.
