tofu<\/a> behind a currently non-existent product. Sadly, that is because we just aren\u2019t a fan of this!<\/p>\nThere are many recipes for this style of vegan chip-shop fish, sometimes called \u201ctofish\u201d, and we know lots of people who enjoy it. Essentially, you are taking a block of tofu and getting it as firm as possible before wrapping it in seaweed, covering it in batter and frying it. There are different flavourings used for the tofu itself and for the batter but the main issue for us is that no matter what tofu you use and whatever you do to it, a piece of tofu is still a piece of tofu.<\/p>\n
Cauldron do an excellent extra firm tofu that is available in health food shops and some big supermarkets, as well as vegan specialists, such as TheVeganKind Supermarket. This, or similar tofu, is a good starting point and using a tofu press (or just weighting it on kitchen roll) will make it firmer still. But even the firmest tofu comes nowhere near the required texture and, especially for those who are not fans of this soya-based food, this will be a problem.<\/p>\n
Recreating the flavour of fish is something that all of the substitutes we have looked at struggle with. A piece of nori may offer something of the taste of the sea but it won\u2019t be fooling anyone who has ever tasted the real thing. For those who ate fish with the skin on in a former non-vegan life, it does create a similar aesthetic though.<\/p>\n
Returning to the flavour, many recipes for this style of vegan fish seek to try and inject umami into the picture. This strikes us as a little strange given traditional fish and chip shop fish, usually cod or haddock, is not particularly umami. We have seen recipes include garlic powder, onion powder, soy sauce<\/strong>, miso, veg stock, lemon juice, Marmite and even curry powder!<\/p>\nThe obvious advantage over this type of vegan fish substitute is that you are in total control. As said, we are yet to try one that has really hit the spot but if you are a creative cook, and especially if you like tofu, this may be a good option. You will know exactly what is going into your vish, can easily avoid artificial ingredients and can tweak the flavours and batter to suit your personal taste.<\/p>\n
Vegan Fish Substitutes Conclusion<\/h2>\n
If you are a vegan who used to love fish, or a non-vegan wanting to move to a more sustainable and less damaging vegan fish substitute, there are many options when it comes to plant-based fish. Aside from the sort of fish you might get in a chippy, there are lots of vegan \u201ctunas\u201d and other fish substitutes too.<\/p>\n
In terms of vegan fish and chips, we are excited about what Impossible Foods might come up with. In addition, there are numerous other companies working on vegan fish and seafood right now. That includes some that is not plant-based but is cell-based and grown in labs<\/a>.<\/p>\nWe have little doubt that in the years to come we will see some incredible vegan options when it comes to fish and other seafood. Right now though, in our opinion, the best alternatives use banana blossom and the most authentic versions of these come from fish and chip shops who get the batter just right \u2013\u00a0something that is difficult to replicate in supermarket-bought products. If you live in a large city, you may have a vegan-specialist fish and chip shop option but many \u201cnormal\u201d chippies now also offer \u201cvish and chips\u201d. If yours doesn\u2019t, why not ask them to consider giving it a trial?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":2448,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"template":"","acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.veganfriendly.org.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/food\/2440"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.veganfriendly.org.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/food"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.veganfriendly.org.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/food"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.veganfriendly.org.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2448"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.veganfriendly.org.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2440"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}