This Vegan Fish made with Banana Blossoms is life-changing - especially if you thought that you would never eat anything that tastes like fish again! The soft and flaky texture of the banana flowers is perfect as the base!
I've seen a couple of fishy recipes with banana blossoms on Pinterest and immediately knew that I wanted to give them a try. But I've never seen banana blossoms in the stores, so I thought it was one of the ingredients I would never get my hands on. You can probably guess how excited I was when I found a can of banana blossoms in brine at my local Asian grocery store. I almost freaked out.
For the preparation, I kind of followed the process of making tofish (fish made with tofu). The banana blossoms are tossed in a flour mixture, then dipped in a batter, and fried until golden brown. I've served them with Oven Baked Potato Slices and Tartar Sauce.
This is fishy dream come true! I've never had anything that tasted THAT MUCH like fish. The banana blossoms are the perfect base because they are soft and flaky.
Nori, lemon juice, and dill in the flour mixture and batter add the typical fishy flavors. I highly recommend making a tartar sauce to serve with this vegan fish. It's so good!
What are Banana Blossoms?
Bananas on trees grow in clusters and at the end of the cluster, there's a purple flower growing - this is known as the banana blossom (or banana blower or banana heart).
The petals are fleshy and soft and therefore PERFECT for vegan fish! For the recipe, we are using canned banana blossoms in brine.
Where to buy Banana Blossoms?
I've found these canned Banana Blossoms in an Asian grocery store, but not all of them carry them. Most owners are really nice and stock up on them when there's a demand, so it's worth asking for them!
Until now, I've found canned banana blossoms in brine from two brands: AROY-D and CHAOKOH. I've found that the banana blossoms from AROY-D are in better shape (bigger pieces) and therefore better for making vegan fish but if you can only find the CHAOKOH ones, that's okay, they will work too!
You can also order banana blossoms on Amazon.
How to make Vegan Fish out of Banana Blossoms
You'll need:
- banana blossoms
- for the flour mixture: flour, salt, nori, dill
- for the batter: flour, salt, turmeric, pickle juice, caper brine (or more pickle juice), water, lemon juice
- frying oil
See the different layers? Banana Blossoms are perfect to make vegan fish! But if you can't find banana blossoms, this artichoke fish recipe is a good alternative.
Serve the banana blossom vegan fish with...
Banana Blossom Vegan Fish FAQ
After frying, let the oil cool off completely. Then strain it (to remove small pieces) and pour it into a bottle to use it the next time. I usually use the oil 4-5 times if it’s not too dark.
You can use rice flour or chickpea flour instead to make it gluten-free.
You can probably do that BUT you will have to make the batter thicker so that it sticks more to the banana blossoms. Bake it at 350°F/180°C for about 10 minutes.
You can find canned banana blossoms in (some) Asian markets. Sometimes even health food stores carry banana blossoms. The third option is to order it online.
Do you have any more questions? Put them in the comments below and I will do my best to answer them all!
More Vegan Fish Recipes
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Banana Blossom Vegan Fish
Ingredients
- 1 can banana blossoms in brine (20 oz)
- frying oil
Flour Mixture
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon dill
- 1 ½ tablespoons crushed nori
Batter
- 1 cup flour
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 pinch turmeric
- 1 tablespoon pickle juice
- 1 tablespoon caper brine (or sub with more pickle juice)
- 2 teaspoons lemon juice
- ½ cup sparkling water
Instructions
- Rinse and drain the banana blossoms.
- In separate bowls, combine the ingredients for the flour mixture and whisk together the ingredients for the batter.
- In a pot or wok, heat the frying oil. You'll want enough so that the battered banana blossoms can swim in the oil but make sure you leave enough space in the pot/wok so that it doesn't spill over.
- Coat the banana blossoms in the flour mixture. Then dip them in the batter. Carefully lower them in the oil. Let them fry for about 4-5 minutes until golden brown, flipping them once.
- Transfer the fried banana blossoms onto a kitchen paper to remove excess oil. Serve with tartar sauce, fries, and mashed peas, for example. Add fresh dill on top and squeeze with lemon juice.
Notes
- The vegan fish will taste a lot fishier if you add dill and lemon juice on top, and when it's served with typical sides for fish e.g. tartar sauce, potatoes or mashed peas.
- You can re-use the frying oil. Let it cool off completely, then pour it through a strainer to remove small bits and crumbs. Fill it in a bottle and store it at room temperature. You can use it for approx. 3 times!
- Can I make the batter gluten-free? You can use rice flour or chickpea flour instead to make it gluten-free.
- Can you bake/air-fry the banana blossom fish instead of frying? You can probably do that BUT you will have to make the batter thicker so that it sticks better to the banana blossoms.
Alison says
Just found canned Banana Blossom in our local Asda - excited to try these :-)
JoJo says
I've just bought all the tins of banana blossom up from my local Asda store as I thought they will definitely reorder if they see they sell. SO excited to see what all the different recipes are like I've found on the net. .
Anita Sørheim says
Genious!!
Cristina says
I was really excited to try this recipe and found myself disappointed when it didn't turn out how I thought it would. The batter mixture came out waaay too thick and I ended up adding more sparkling water just to make it usable. I didn't realize until later that I should've just added more lemon juice and pickle juice because it seemed like the "fish" didn't have as much flavor as I thought it should. Both the flour and the batter mixture made way too much - I used a 20 oz. can of banana blossoms like the recipe says, but it only had 3 large blossoms and 1 smaller one so I ended up throwing away half of the mixtures which is frustrating. Also, 4-5 minutes is not enough time for the blossoms to cook properly. My sister had the smaller blossom and she said that one was fine, but the larger blossoms were nowhere near as tender as they should've been. I like the idea of using banana blossoms for vegan fish, but this recipe didn't work for me. I'll definitely have to make adjustments if I make it again in the future.
Bianca says
Your can of banana blossoms was very different than mine. I usually have 10+ pieces of banana blossoms that I can use. As you can see in the second photo, the banana blossoms I use are usually cut in thirds or so. That explains why you ended up with much more leftover batter. You could cut the banana blossoms into smaller pieces. Then you will end up with more vegan fish; will need more of the batter; and they won't need to cook that long.
Susie Janov says
I'm curious how I could use fresh banana blossoms to make this. We actually have banana trees and I have a blossom hanging on one bunch right now. Would I cut it & brine it for a while first? Just a salt & water brine? Maybe if I'm starting from scratch like that, I could infuse the brine with some nori to really permeate it with the fishy taste?
RAMECA says
https://snapguide.com/guides/clean-a-banana-blossom-flower/
You have to clean the fresh ones here a guide on how to clean.. then yes probably soak then follow her guide for the fish recipe
Susie says
Loved it! I found half the amounts for the flour and batter were enough and it was still tasty leaving out the caper brine and pickle juice!
Eszter says
Hi! I love the look of this recipe, but am finding it difficult to source nori near me. Would I be able to replace it with some spirulina powder?
Bianca says
I'm not sure about this replacement. Nori sheets shouldn't be too hard to get, though. I'm pretty sure you can find them in any supermarket in the 'ethnic food' aisle or in a health food store or Asian market.
Charlotte says
I made this but deviated from the recipe by A) using rice flour for the batter and the flour mix and B) using water/pickle juice in lieu of sparkling water. I wouldn’t recommend doing either of these things. Maybe rice flour mix or for one of the mixes, but not both. And I’m sure the carbonated water was important but I didn’t have any. I also only had old palm oil/crisco substitute handy to fry in. But I was desperate for something fishy and figured I’d try to make it all work.
The flavor was spot on and absolutely delicious. The texture wasn’t bad but I’m sure would be better if I’d actually followed the directions.
The can of blossoms I had made 4 “fish”. And the recipe I used called for 1 c. Flour in both the batter and the the flour mix. I thinned the batter out enough to keep it kinda pasty, but used it to help glue the pieces together and roll in the flour mix. All of that worked very well.
Thanks for a great recipe! I am excited to give it another go with sparkling water and regular flour. I know it will be delish!!
Veronica says
We have just enjoyed this "fish" meal, delicious 😋 thank you so much for the recipe.
Janine says
Hi I tried this dish this evening and wow amazing 11/10! I replaced the flour with Doves gluten free flour and still gorgeous. It was just as tasty as our local vegan chippie and cafe (we’re spoiled where we live). Thank you for sharing. Even my omnivore mum loved it and is going to make it for her partner!
Bianca says
Hi Janine, awesome, so glad you all enjoyed it! This makes me so happy! :)
Lynsey Stuart says
What is pickle juice please?
Bianca says
With pickle juice, I mean the liquid in which pickles are preserved aka brine. :)
Lynsey Stuart says
Thanks! I never got around to trying the recipe although I bought the banana blossom. I have caper brine but not sparkling water so I'm going to try it with water and lemon.
Eva says
Wasn't expecting much because of my unfamiliarity with the ingredients and the process but oh my! This surely turned out to be surprisingly good! Tasted fishy even without the dill and turmeric (poor planning on my side). Will definitely make again, this time adding all the spices.
Bianca says
Haha! I remember my first time when I made fish out of banana blossoms. I was blown away by the texture! :)
Lina says
Hi Bianca!
Fish and chips used to be FAVORITE meal, so I'm happy I stumbled upon your lovely recipe :) I have a question I hope you can assist with: can I omit the pick/brine juice, or this there another alternative? Since becoming vegan, I've become sensitive to a lot of foods (taste/smell wise).
Thank you!
Sven says
Love it!
We're not vegan, but the OH has a fish allergy so thought we would give this a go, sooo good!
He's also gluten free, so used all purpose gluten free flour, tried a tester piece and the batter was too thick (assuming the gums in the flour caused this) so added more sparkling water, to loosen. Also cooked for about 8 mins in total at 180°c
I would quite happily have this over fish anytime, just add some beans/peas for some protein,
Corinne Ferguson says
Is this made with dried dill or fresh dill?