These salty, savory, oven-fried pieces of joy will instantly transport you to good ol’ London, or a Wisconsin fish fry… whichever floats your boat! So, turn up your oven for a healthier version of a classic fried fish and chips.
A couple years back, I had the pleasure of living in London for a good six months. While over there I found myself devouring that classic London dish: fish and chips. Yeah, the fried flavor was amazing, but this decadent bar dish was not so great on my waistline, not shocking considering this British dish can set you back almost 1,000 calories!!!
So, five years later I’ve decided to recreate this London favorite minus the guilt.
The traditional fish and chips dish is a battered fish fillet that is promptly deep fried and served along side a heaping pile of also deeply fried potatoes. That's a load of fat and calories. To make this vegan delight lighter and healthy, let’s drop that deep fried component and oven fry instead.
Now obviously we're not using fish, instead, we're using an extra firm tofu, which is the perfect vehicle for our fish-like marinade.
Once the tofu is dipped in our egg-wash and rolled in seasoned bread-crumbs, and you switch out the deep fryer for your more easily accessible oven, you'll get a crispy “fish” fillet without all the added fat, oil, and calories!
Now I can kick back and enjoy my study-abroad favorite without worry about causing any harm to animals or myself!
HOW TO MAKE VEGAN OVEN FRIED "FISH" STICKS
First- Drain the tofu by pressing it between paper towels and placing some heavy objects on top of the tofu to press out the liquid. Also, quickly preheat the oven to 400°F (204°C).
Second- While the tofu is draining, mix that marinade up by combining the seaweed, soy sauce, lime, old bay, and water in a small bowl. Let the marinade sit for an hour in the fridge to let those flavors mingle.
Third- Marinate that tofu!
Fourth- Make your egg wash by combining the egg replacer and almond milk in a small bowl. Then mix up the dry ingredients for the crust! You can use a store bought egg replacer or ground flax seed with water.
Fifth- Slice up the tofu into long pieces, dunk the tofu in the egg wash, then roll the tofu in the dry mix and place the tofu on an oiled baking sheet.
Sixth- Lightly spray the tops of the tofu with olive oil and bake for 15 to 20 minutes on each side, or until they're golden brown and crunchy.
See! It’s totally do-able! Pair the tofu fillets with some of our oven baked fries or sweet potato fries (we used purple sweet potatoes for this dish, so pretty) for a healthy and traditional side for a meal or cut the tofu into smaller pieces and pair with some toothpicks for an awesome appetizer!
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Vegan Oven Fried “Fish” Sticks
Ingredients
- 14 ounce extra-firm tofu
MARINADE
- ½ cup water
- 2 tablespoon tamari
- Juice of ½ lime
- ½ cup dulse/seaweed See Note
- 1 teaspoon old bay
WET MIXTURE
- ½ cup unsweetened plant-based milk
- 2 egg equivalent egg replacer we used Bob’s Red Mill gluten-free mix
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
DRY MIXTURE
- ¼ cup gluten-free flour
- ½ cup gluten-free bread crumbs or regular if you don’t mind a little gluten
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast
TOPPINGS
- Vegan tartar sauce
- Vinegar
- Lemon wedges
- Minced parsley
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°F (204°C)
- Drain and press the tofu for 30 minutes.
- Combine the soy sauce, lime, seaweed, old bay, and water into a small bowl. Stir to combine and allow it to sit in the fridge for at least 20 minutes.
- Marinate the tofu in the sauce for 1 hour.
- Combine almond milk, egg replacer, and lemon in a shallow dish.
- Mix the flour, panko, cayenne pepper, salt and pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, and nutritional yeast in a shallow dish.
- Slice the tofu into ½ inch sticks lengthwise then dunk in the wet mixture and then dredge and cover in breadcrumbs, place on lightly oiled parchment lined baking sheet. Bake for approximately 15 minutes on each side, or until golden brown and crunchy.
Notes
Nutrition
Dianne says
We lived in England for a few years when I was little, and I have fond memories of "going down the chippy." My family never ate fish though, so we would always just got the chips. (And sometimes we'd get a bag of "scraps" which was just a bag of deep fried batter without the fish. It's so gross when I think about it now!) I love that you've veganized the fish part of fish and chips so I can finally try it!
Linda Meyer says
Big bags of fried batter! Okay, I'm sick and twisted for thinking that sounds good-hahaha! What a fun memory from your childhood, Dianne. 🙂
nicoleanndawson says
Linda, you just may have recreated the perfect dish for me and my hubby! I really loved fish and chips growing up in Canada and then moving to Baltimore, Old Bay became a staple ingredient. Now I can have my vegan version.... it's been years. Can't wait.
Linda Meyer says
Yay!!! Actually, Alex is the genius behind this recipe. Let me know what you think. 🙂
alisamarie says
This looks like such a great lunch! I love tofu served this way and with tartar sauce - yum!
Linda Meyer says
Thanks! I made too much so we had them in tacos for dinner and they were delicious!
Christine @ Run Plant Based says
Yum, love this healthier version and I must try it since hubby is such a fan. Thanks!
Linda Meyer says
Let us know what he thinks! 🙂
Laura says
This recipe specifies GF coating but uses regular soy sauce. Regular soy sauce almost always contains wheat. For folks new to GF, that is not something they would necessarily know to look out for. I would change the recipe to use Coconut aminos or Tamari instead. (or at least caution folks about the hidden gluten).
Linda Meyer says
Hi Laura! Great point, thank you for this. We'll adjust the recipe card, now. 🙂