Tofu Fish and Chips!

Hello hello, and welcome to my blog!

Today is going to be a super lame and awful day (filled with homework and SPEECHES, ew), but that's all just a precursor to tomorrow night.

What's tomorrow night?

A new episode of Doctor Who, that's what!

(Is everyone else really diggin' Capaldi's Doctor interpretation? Yeah? Good, me too.)

Today's recipe is one that I adore. It's probably the best thing I've ever made. I've even gotten other people (who are NOT vegan or vegetarian, like my family and my boyfriend) to eat it and they've all liked it. So, yummy yum yum! I was going to save this for a possible future cookbook, but I'm just too impatient and you guys are all way too lovely. I can't hide this from you anymore!

So, for your Doctor Who viewing party, feel free to serve some "fish" and chips!

For all of you Whovians out there, you should know that this was the first "date dish" that the Doctor had with Rose (who is currently tied as my favourite companion - her competition is the new and vibrant Clara). At the end of the episode 'The End of the World' (heh, fitting), Rose and the Doctor discuss going out for some fish and chips and they frolic away together. It's lovely.

This recipe will give you the fish flavour without the overpowering fish "smell" (many vegans, myself included, get a bit overwhelmed with nausea when they pass the seafood section of a grocery store). Thankfully, we have ways of getting around that, right folks!?

Another note: This recipe is one of the most time-consuming ones that I've ever posted here. It's not hard, but do keep in mind that it takes over two hours to prepare. And please, PLEASE read the instructions carefully. I make specific notes and it's easy to flub this up if you don't read carefully. (Really, I'm probably just being overly cautious with you guys.)

ingredients:

for the fish fillets:

• 1 14-ounce container of extra firm tofu (I prefer the Nature's Promise brand, I find Nasoya's texture isn't appealing but that's a personal opinion)
• 4 sheets of nori (roasted seaweed sheets; I found them in my grocery store's Asian section, but you can find them in Asian grocery stores and on Amazon)

for the marinade batch #1:

• 2 Tbsps lemon juice
• 1 Tbsp soy sauce (I like to use the low sodium ones because they tend to have a more subtle taste)
• 1 tsp Old Bay seasoning
• dash of salt

for the marinade batch #2:

• 2 Tbsps lemon juice
• 1 Tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tsp Old Bay seasoning 
• dash of salt

for the batter:

• 1/4 cup flour
• 2 Tbsps cornstarch
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp onion powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 7 Tbsps water

misc:

• 1/4 cup flour, to pat the tofu with (see instructions)
• oil, for frying (I used a plain vegetable oil because I was out of canola oil)
• optional: your favourite bag of frozen "chips" (I used seasoned French fries from the store because I was laaaaazy), or your favourite recipe for homemade ones
• optional: tartar sauce (I whipped up a little homemade one for this, but there are a ton of recipes online and one of these days I'll post mine!)

instructions:

1. In a small bowl, whisk together the ingredients for marinade batch #1. Set aside.
2. Press your tofu (either use a tofu press, which I will discuss in a few minutes, or follow these simple instructions). Cut your tofu in whatever fashion you prefer (I used to cut it lengthwise and make five giant pieces in an attempt to make it look more "fish fillet-y", but now I cut it widthwise in order to prevent it from breaking and because it's easier to handle small pieces; do whichever you'd like, but I recommend the small pieces on your first go-around with this recipe). 
3. Lay two sheets of nori into a 5 inch x 9 inch ceramic or glass pan, letting the sides extend. (You'll be heating this, so please make sure you don't use plastic.)
4. Sprinkle each side of the tofu with a dash of salt, lightly, and a dash of Old Bay seasoning. Lay the tofu on top of the nori in the pan, and pour marinade batch #1 over everything evenly. Put two more nori sheets on top, covering the tofu entirely.
5. Place the dish in the microwave and heat on high for two minutes. Cover and let sit at room temperature for 1 hour.
6. After an hour has passed, pour marinade batch #2 over the tofu (you may gently remove the nori and flip them and put the nori back if you wish; that's what I do) and let it sit at room temperature for 1 more hour.
7. (At this point, your tofu has been sitting at room temperature for a total of two hours.) Start prepping your batter. In a medium bowl, whisk 1/4 cup flour, cornstarch, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, cayenne pepper, and baking soda. Whisk the water into the batter mixture until you get a thick, gooey consistency.
8. Fill a small pot with 1 1/2 inches of oil over medium-low heat. (I like to work with a smaller pot and just do small batches of this at a time; it's more time consuming but safer.) I recommend using a thermometer to check the temperature of the oil (you can use a candy thermometer) but if you're like me and you don't have one, you can drop a tiny amount (I'm talking a DROP) of batter mixture into the oil. If it sizzles and starts to float quickly, your oil is hot enough to start frying.
9. Put some more flour onto a plate (that's what the misc. flour is for) and dip your seasoned tofu fillet into it. Pat flour on and make sure there's an even coating, you want it to start drying up the tofu a little. 
10. Once you have an even coating of flour on your tofu fillet, dip it into the batter and get a nice even coating.
11. NOTE: PLEASE BE CAREFUL WHEN DEEP FRYING AND USING OIL. In the event of a grease fire, you can cover the pan with a lid to remove it's source of oxygen, and if that doesn't work you can snuff it out with baking soda. DO NOT THROW WATER ON A GREASE FIRE. NEVER EVER. I just recommend having baking soda on hand. If your oil starts to smoke, turn down the heat. That means it's too hot. But now that I have given you some safety tips... Carefully, one at a time, put the tofu fillets into the hot oil. If you're an experienced cook you can VERY GENTLY place it into the oil with your bare hands (my boyfriend does this and I cringe whenever I see him do it), or you can use tongs. Be gentle when you do it so the batter stays intact and on your food!
12. Once the tofu is in the oil, fry it for about two minutes. I like to turn it after a minute. Remove from the oil and place it on a plate with a paper towel on it so you can drain some of the excess oil away.
13. Note: Feel free to make your favourite chips with this as well! You can start preheating the oven while the tofu sits in the marinade, whatever floats your boat. And feel free to serve this with tartar sauce. Follow Your Heart makes a really good tartar sauce if you're not in the mood to make your own. (But making your own takes three seconds so really it's up to you.)

I know this recipe SEEMS complicated, but really most of it is just waiting around and then deep frying at the end.

For how complicated the recipe seems, this is serious it for the most part. I mean I left the spices out for the sake of counter space, but look at how simple this is! (I plan on using this fish recipe for more recipes in the future, so watch out!)

Earlier I mentioned using a tofu press to drain your tofu. This is the one I use. Dad bought it for me for my birthday last year and I love it! It's so simple to use, and it takes a lot less time than draining it without a press.

When making your marinade batches, this is the colour you're aiming for. 

Nori is kind of like a stiff piece of paper, so don't be afraid when you're trying to put it in the glass dish; it's okay to break it. (I feel kinda wasteful using it and then throwing it out instead of eating it, but it gets slimy after using it with the marinade and guhhhh the texture just doesn't do it for me!)

I wanted to teach Eric how to make my favourite recipe, so I had him help me with some stuff. (Like cutting tofu!)

Don't be afraid of letting the tofu fillets touch when you put them in the pan! It's okay to have them smush up a little, heh.

This is what they'll look like with the marinade.

Here's the mise en place for when you go to fry them. You take the fillets, dip them in the flour, dip them in the batter, and place them in the oil! When you line them up like this it's a lot easier; then it's just a straight line!

And bam! Fish fillets! Made entirely of tofu, entirely vegan.

You're welcome, guys!

Eric actually ended up taking this photo because I actually really suck at food photography (I'm better with portraits) and it was frustrating me to no end. So thanks for the shot!

Who's ready to dig in?

I know this recipe seems complicated and a little overwhelming, so if you have any questions or concerns, feel free to leave me a comment here or send me an email!

Get cookin', lovelies!

xo, Kate