Vegan Fish and Chips
Crispy vegan fish and chips made from flaky, marinated tofu in a crispy delicious beer batter. Served with golden brown air-fryer chips and vegan tartar sauce!
Servings: 4
Calories: 481kcal
Equipment
- Tofu press (or heavy object like a cast iron saucepan)
- Kitchen paper or kitchen towel
- small bowl
- Shallow baking dish
- Blender or spice grinder
- Pastry brush or teaspoon
- Large pot or deep saucepan
- colander
- Medium bowls (for the batter ingredients)
- Wire rack (for cooling the fried tofu)
- Thermometer (for checking oil temperature)
Ingredients
For the Vegan Fish
- 400 g firm tofu drained
- 1 tablespoon white miso paste
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 2 tablespoon boiling water
- Juice of 1 lemon
- 1 tablespoon caper brine
- 2 sheets sushi nori or 4 tablespoon nori flakes
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 teaspoon dried dill
- 1 teaspoon dried chives
- ½ teaspoon dried parsley
- 1 tablespoon potato starch or sub for cornstarch
- 1 tablespoon cold water
For the Chips
- 900 g Maris piper potatoes sliced into thick chips
- 3 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 1 teaspoon flaky sea salt
For the Batter
- 80 g cake flour or plain white flour plus 4 tablespoon extra for dusting
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 25 g cornstarch
- Pinch turmeric
- 125 ml beer or sub for carbonated water or cloudy lemonade cold
For Serving
- One batch vegan tartare sauce
- 1 lemon sliced into wedges
- small bunch of fresh dill.
Instructions
To Make the Vegan fish
- Slice the drained tofu in half width-ways, to make two squares of tofu. Then slice again into four rough triangles.400 g firm tofu
- Sandwich the tofu between a few sheets of kitchen towel and press with a heavy object like a cast iron saucepan. Leave to drain for 10-30 mins.
- Meanwhile, make the marinade by mixing together the miso paste, fine sea salt, sugar and boiling water in a small bowl.1 tablespoon white miso paste, ½ teaspoon fine sea salt, 1 teaspoon sugar, 2 tablespoon boiling water
- Leave to cool for a few minutes then add the lemon juice and caper brine. Transfer the marinade to a shallow baking dish then set aside.Juice of 1 lemon, 1 tablespoon caper brine
- Place one of the pressed tofu triangles between two chopsticks and score horizontal slices right along the tofu, using the chopsticks to ensure you don’t slice all the way through. Repeat with the remaining pieces of tofu.
- Place the tofu scored-side-down into the marinade. Cover with plastic wrap and leave to marinate for at least 30 mins, ideally in the fridge overnight.
- Once marinated, remove the tofu from the baking dish and place scored-side-down on a chopping board.
- Place the sushi nori, bay leaves, dried dill, dried chives and dried parsley in the cup of a blender or a spice grinder. Blend or grind until finely chopped but stop before the mixture becomes a powder.2 sheets sushi nori, 2 bay leaves, 1 teaspoon dried dill, 1 teaspoon dried chives, ½ teaspoon dried parsley
- Spread the blended nori mixture onto a flat plate.
- In a small bowl, mix together the potato starch and cold water to form a paste. Use a pastry brush or teaspoon to cover the top (non-scored side) of the tofu pieces with the starch paste.1 tablespoon potato starch, 1 tablespoon cold water
- Carefully lift a piece of tofu and dunk the pasted side into the blended nori mixture, coating the entire top. Set aside and repeat with the remaining pieces of tofu. Set aside.
To Make the Chips
- Place a large pan of water over medium heat and bring to a rolling boil. Season liberally with salt then add the chipped potatoes.900 g Maris piper potatoes
- Cook the chips for 3 minutes exactly (timed from the point the water begins to boil again) then drain into a colander and leave to steam for 5 mins.
- Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 200 °C (fan) or (if using) the air fryer to 185 °C.
- Transfer the chips to a large bowl and drizzle with the vegetable oil. Carefully toss to coat then transfer to a large baking tray (for oven baked chips) or the air fryer basket (for air fried chips).3 tablespoon vegetable oil
- Bake or air fry for 25 minutes, flipping carefully half way through.
- While the chips cook, finish cooking your vegan fish.
To Make the Batter
- In a medium bowl, whisk together all the batter ingredients. In a separate medium bowl, place the extra 4 tablespoon of flour.80 g cake flour or plain white flour plus 4 tablespoon extra for dusting, 1 teaspoon baking powder, 25 g cornstarch, Pinch turmeric, 125 ml beer or sub for carbonated water or cloudy lemonade
- Very carefully, dunk each piece of vegan fish into the bowl of flour, making sure they’re entirely coated.
- Place a deep saucepan or wok over medium/low heat and add around 2 inches of vegetable oil. Bring to 185 °C. If you don’t have a thermometer, heat until a teaspoon of batter bubbles immediately and starts to brown rapidly when added to the hot oil.
- Carefully dunk two pieces of vegan fish into the batter then gently lay into the oil, making sure they’re not touching. Fry for around 5-8 minutes on each side or until golden and crispy.
- Remove from the oil and lay on a sheet of kitchen roll to absorb any excess oil. Repeat with the remaining two pieces of vegan fish.
- Remove the chips from the oven or air fryer and immediately sprinkle with the flaky sea salt.1 teaspoon flaky sea salt
- Serve the vegan fish and chips together with a side of vegan tartare sauce, a good squeeze of lemon juice and a sprinkling of fresh dill.One batch vegan tartare sauce, 1 lemon, small bunch of fresh dill.
Nutrition
Calories: 481kcal | Carbohydrates: 71g | Protein: 17g | Fat: 16g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 9g | Monounsaturated Fat: 4g | Trans Fat: 0.1g | Sodium: 1051mg | Potassium: 1171mg | Fiber: 6g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 872IU | Vitamin C: 36mg | Calcium: 227mg | Iron: 4mg