Make your own battered fish filets without fish! Thanks to tofu we can make a cruelty-free, plant-based alternative – perfect for vegan Tofish and Chips! Delicious with homemade Tartar Sauce!
I have been vegan for over 5 years now, and for me, fish was one of the hardest things to give up. If you know me, I’m always trying to find a way to make the foods I used to love in my pre-vegan times in a vegan and cruelty-free way. That’s why I really wanted to start experimenting with vegan fish recipes.
I tried many vegan fish products on the market, but they all disappointed. Also, they are really, really expensive. So I like the homemade vegan fish version much more!
What is Tofish…
Tofish is a great-looking, cruelty-free alternative to fish (perfect for fish and chips-lovers!). It’s made out of tofu filets with a sheet of nori, which adds a lovely ocean, algae taste. Then it’s coated and pan-fried in a light batter with seltzer water. You could also use beer or cider in that case.
Why Tofish is the better option…
Fish was actually one of hardest things to give up when I went vegan (besides cheese, obviously because cheese addiction is a thing). But even in my pre-vegan days, the options of either fish from the sea loaded with micro-plastics or farmed fish loaded with antibiotics to survive in the crowded and super filthy enclosures were both terrible. No thanks, I’m sticking to Tofish! You can read more about aquafarms here.
While this Tofish doesn’t have the consistency of fish (it’s still tofu), it certainly looks like “real fish”! That’s enough reason for me to share the recipe with you!
Serve the Tofish with…
Served with potato fries or wedges this vegan ‘fish’ makes quite an appearance. Don’t forget to add freshly squeezed lemon juice on top and sprinkle it with chopped dill. Makes it only better! :)
The perfect dip is of course: Vegan Tartar Sauce.
You know what also would be good with this tofish? Rice and peas or mashed peas! Anything you would serve with regular fish would be delicious with this cruelty-free, vegan alternative!
How to make Tofish…
Many people don’t give tofu the love it deserves. Tofu is so versatile, it’s great. For this recipe, you’ll want to use firm tofu, not silken tofu as it would be too wobbly and would not hold its shape.
Basically, you cut tofu slices into the fishy form, add a nori sheet on top, dip in a light seltzer-batter (feel free to use beer or cider instead) and fry. So easy!
Scroll down to see the full recipe!
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- The Tofish before dipping it in the seltzer batter
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- Tofish being fried in the pan
More Vegan Fish Recipes
I hope you will enjoy this ‘fish’ as much as I did! Let me know if you give it a try!
And don’t forget to rate the recipe if you like it, this helps other users figure out if it’s worth a try!
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Cheers, Bianca
Vegan Tofish and Chips Recipe
Ingredients
Tofish
- 2 slices firm tofu
- 1 nori sheet
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon curry powder
- 1/2 cup seltzer water (or beer or cider)
- canola oil for pan-frying
Chips
- 3 large potatoes
- 2 teaspoons olive oil
- 1/4 teaspoon salt + more to taste
- 1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary
Vegan Tartar Sauce
- 1/8 cup unsweetened soy milk
- 1/4 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- 1/8 teaspoon mustard
- 1/4 teaspoon maple syrup
- 1/4 teaspoon kala namak (or salt)
- 1/2 teaspoon lime juice
- 1/3 cup canola oil
- 1 teaspoon dill - chopped
- 1 tablespoon relish
- 1 teaspoon capers - drained and finely chopped
- salt to taste
Instructions
Vegan Tartar Sauce
- Add in an immersion blender cup unsweetened soy milk, apple cider vinegar, mustard, maple syrup, kala namak, and lime juice. Blend for 1 minute then slowly start drizzling in the canola oil while the immersion blender is running. Blend for about 3 minutes until it is thick and creamy. If it’s too liquidy, add a bit more oil and blend further.
- Transfer the mixture to a bowl and add the dill, relish, capers and more salt to taste. Stir to combine. Set aside in the fridge.
Chips
- Preheat the oven to 480°F / 250°C.
- Peel the potatoes. Cut them in fries or wedges. Put them on a baking tray lined with parchment paper. Toss in oil and spices. Mix until they are coated well. Spread them around the baking tray so they don't overlap each other. Bake in the oven for about 20 minutes until golden and crispy.
Tofish
- Cut the two large slices of tofu in half, so you have 4 pieces. Cut the nori into the forms of the tofu and put the nori sheet on the tofu slices. Press the nori a bit onto the tofu so that it sticks. Sprinkle the backside of the tofu with a pinch of salt.
- In a mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, cornstarch, salt, curry powder, and pepper. Then add the seltzer water and whisk until it’s a smooth batter. You can adjust the consistency, by adding a bit more flour if it’s too runny, or by adding more seltzer water if it’s too thick.
- Prepare a pan and fill enough canola oil so that the fish filets can swim in the oil. Make sure to leave enough space in the pan to prevent the oil to boil over.
- Dip the tofu with the nori sheet into the batter, flip until coated on all sides and put it in the hot oil. Pan-fry for about 3-4 minutes on each side until golden. Transfer the vegan fish on a paper towel to remove excess oil.
- Once everything is ready, serve the Tofish (add a squeeze of lemon juice and sprinkle with chopped dill) with the chips and tartar sauce.
Notes
Nutrition
This post was first published on August 27, 2017. Updated on May 25, 2018
Jessica
Monday 21st of December 2020
Everything about this Tofish and chips meal is fantastic. I followed the recipe as written and used beer instead of seltzer water in the batter. I also used the freezing technique for the tofu, according to David's comment. What really brought this home was the amazing homemade tartar sauce. Just genius. We are still in shock about how much this tasted like the real deal. Thanks so much for such a great recipe!
Nisha
Wednesday 8th of July 2020
Really liked your recepi... Sure! I'm gonna try it
Aman Marghani
Thursday 11th of June 2020
I Love French Fries. This made my day. I use to eat french fries outside but I didn't make it at home. Thanks for such a simple recipe with easy steps to follow.
Michael Hawkins
Sunday 3rd of May 2020
El heffe, what a very sad, pathetic rambling statement you have made.Look up the word "cognitive dissonance", I think that it apply's strongly to you. Bianca look's great to me, and by being vegan she is also beautiful on the inside aswell as the outside. Vegans are morally superior to your speciest arse, it is a fact, get over it.
Debbie
Friday 24th of January 2020
We went to a vegan restaurant today to try tofish for the first time, but disappointingly they’d run out, so I’ve decided to make my own. Your recipe looks great and not overcomplicated.