This. is. it. Breaking open these vegan fish fillets and taking a bite of crispy, perfectly seasoned breading along with some steaming nori-laced tofu inside made all of my deep-fried dreams come true. Even my husband, who is a die-hard fried fish connoisseur, loved these. This pairs perfectly with homemade russet potato chips, malted vinegar and a squirt of fresh lemon.
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FAUX FISH AND REAL CHIPS
- Yield: 2 servings
- Diet: Vegan
Ingredients
- 1 cup flour
- 1 cup cornstarch
- 1 tsp dill
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp Old Bay Seasoning
- 1 tsp salt
- 10 ounces of your favorite beer
- 1 large russet potato, scrubbed
- 1 1/2 tsp Ener-G, whisked with 5 TB water, mixed with 1 sheet of nori that has been ground into a powder
- 1 block of firm tofu, cut into 1/2 or < 1/2-inch thick sticks or slices
- plenty of vegetable oil for frying
Instructions
- In a medium-sized bowl, mix together the flour, cornstarch and seasonings. Slowly pour in the beer and mix the batter until there are no lumps left. Place in the refrigerator for about three hours.
- When you are ready to prepare the dish, start by heating plenty of oil in a small saucepan over medium high heat.
- While you are waiting for the oil to heat, slice the potato into thin slices on a mandoline slicer. Test the readiness of the oil by inserting a potato slice into the oil halfway with heat-resistant tongs. If it immediately bubbles up around the potato, you are ready to fry.
- Working in batches, slowly slide about 10 slices (one at a time) of the potato into the hot oil. Fry until golden, about 5 minutes. Remove the potatoes from the oil with heat-resistant tongs and let drain on paper towels, sprinkling with a little salt. Set aside.
- To make the faux fish filets, work with the tofu one piece at a time, dunking it first into the Ener-G/nori mixture, then dunking it into the batter, coating well. Transfer it immediately into the hot oil and fry until golden brown, about 2-3 minutes. Remove carefully from the oil with heat-resistant tongs and place on paper towels to drain.
- Serve with the potato slices, lemon wedges and malt vinegar or vegan tartar sauce, which can be made by mixing equal parts relish and Vegenaise together.
- Any leftover batter can be refrigerated for an extra day or frozen for up to three months and reused.
- Category: Vegan Seafood
Elisabeth says
OMG! I cannot wait to make this! I love malt vinegar on my "chips" too 🙂 I love the picture, it looks like an Irish pub dinner that I wish I had right now 🙂
Becky says
This sounds like something I'd love to try! And I have nori sheets on hand! I'm not great at frying, but I'm saving this to def. try ^_^
Kristen says
The picture had me! I don't miss much as a vegan, but a good fish & chips is one of the few exceptions. Really looking forward to trying this!
Scissors and Spice says
Ah! Thank you! I miss the fish and chips of my youth. It was the only fish would eat and since I was raised Catholic, my dad would get it every Fridays. Of course, being from New Bedford, there was always fish around! 🙂
gpope says
Amazing! That sounds like an incredible recipe. I must try! Beautiful presentation, too. Ahhh, give it to me!
Mallory says
Wow! That looks amazing. Next time I'm feeling like frying something, it'll definitely be this.
myveganlondon says
Amazing! It looks fabulous, thanks so much for this recipe, I have been trying to reproduce this famous English dish without any success. Will try again now 🙂
JL goes Vegan says
Wow, this is a gorgeous post and an impressive recipe! You do MoFo up right! Can't wait to try the "fish"!
saveyrgeneration says
looks delicious!
Kittee Bee Berns says
these are things of beauty!
xo
kittee
kohlrabiandquince says
This looks fantastic. I think I'm going to try it for dinner tomorrow. What texture tofu did you use?
erinwyso says
Thanks kohlrabiandquince — I just used Naysoya firm tofu for this (and I updated the text in the recipe as well to clarify – thanks!) I hope you enjoy the recipe! : )
corrinadarling says
this looks unbelievably good. putting on my mofo must-make list for sure!
Jeni Treehugger says
That looks divine!
awesomeveganrad says
oh my deep fried goodness. love it!
Debbie says
The breading on the faux fish looks perfect. I really need to try this!
Maggie Muggins says
This blows my mind! I never liked fish but my husband loves the battered stuff, I seriously need to try this.
Shaheen says
Oh I wish I could smell this. the faux fish looks awesome.
Christina says
That "fish" looks amazing. I have to try this recipe! 🙂
Anonymous says
This looks so good! I can't have beer due to having celiacs. Do you recommend anything to replace that with?
erinwyso says
Anonymous – I think you may be able to sub 10 ounces of soy/rice milk with 1 TB of apple cider vinegar here — good luck!
Vanessa says
Wow! This looks amazing!
Anonymous says
Thank you so much! Love your blog!!
Mel says
My hubby was just telling me the other day how much he misses fish and chips. I have seen a few faux fish and chips recipes but yours looks superior. Bookmarked!
Isobelle says
Wow! I have missed fish & chips. They were a favourite when I lived in England. I would love to try this!
Mandee says
I have to try this! It looks sooo good!
Anonymous says
The fish looks amazing!! Has the tofu been pressed??
erinwyso says
Anonymous – no, there is no need to press the tofu for this method.
Sophie Baker-Britton says
This looks absolutely stunning, well done!
mrandmrsvegan says
Is there any substitute for the Ener-G portion? Thank you
erinwyso says
You can try one of the following egg replacement options:
2 Tbsp. potato starch
2 Tbsp. water + 1 Tbsp. oil + 2 tsp. baking powder
But I can't guarantee success, as I've never tried them. You can also just leave it out, but it may result in the batter sticking too fast to the tofu, so instead of being fluffy, it may be more dense. Good luck!
Thisby says
Yet another delicious dish from your website! My hubby says that it's the best thing I've made to date! He's allergic to soy, though, so he can only enjoy small tastes of mine…more for me!!! There is lots of batter left over, so I'm frying zucchini. Great batter! Thank you for this recipe!
erinwyso says
yay! so glad you and your hubby enjoyed! Isn't beer batter the best?
Thisby says
Yes, It was hard to wait 3 hours to use it!
Jan Bartel says
Made this dish last night and it was amazing. My husband said it's his new favorite dish. However, I had a heck of a time trying to grind the nori sheet into powder. Would Kelp Flakes work? Also your photos are always amazing. Thank you for all your recipes.
erinwyso says
Jan, so happy to hear that! Kelp granules would work here, although they may be a little crunchy. I use a coffee grinder to grind the nori into a powder. Thanks again for your kind words!