Sunday, October 2, 2011

Faux Fish and Real Chips

This. is. it. Breaking open these faux 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.

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

METHOD
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.

28 comments:

gpope said...

Amazing! That sounds like an incredible recipe. I must try! Beautiful presentation, too. Ahhh, give it to me!

Elisabeth said...

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 said...

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 ^_^

Mallory said...

Wow! That looks amazing. Next time I'm feeling like frying something, it'll definitely be this.

Kristen said...

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 said...

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! :)

myveganlondon said...

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 said...

Wow, this is a gorgeous post and an impressive recipe! You do MoFo up right! Can't wait to try the "fish"!

saveyrgeneration said...

looks delicious!

Kittee Bee Berns said...

these are things of beauty!
xo
kittee

kohlrabiandquince said...

This looks fantastic. I think I'm going to try it for dinner tomorrow. What texture tofu did you use?

erinwyso said...

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 said...

this looks unbelievably good. putting on my mofo must-make list for sure!

Jeni Treehugger said...

That looks divine!

awesomeveganrad said...

oh my deep fried goodness. love it!

Debbie said...

The breading on the faux fish looks perfect. I really need to try this!

Maggie Muggins said...

This blows my mind! I never liked fish but my husband loves the battered stuff, I seriously need to try this.

Shaheen said...

Oh I wish I could smell this. the faux fish looks awesome.

Christina said...

That "fish" looks amazing. I have to try this recipe! :)

Anonymous said...

This looks so good! I can't have beer due to having celiacs. Do you recommend anything to replace that with?

erinwyso said...

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 said...

Wow! This looks amazing!

Anonymous said...

Thank you so much! Love your blog!!

Mel said...

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 said...

Wow! I have missed fish & chips. They were a favourite when I lived in England. I would love to try this!

Mandee said...

I have to try this! It looks sooo good!

Anonymous said...

The fish looks amazing!! Has the tofu been pressed??

erinwyso said...

Anonymous - no, there is no need to press the tofu for this method.