As the world looks for more and more plant based food options, manufacturers and chefs have been looking at some increasingly creative ways of serving up “faux fish”
Many people who have gone vegan are really missing fish and chips and so, to cater for this craving, there are now more options than ever ranging from the more traditional tofu to the new kid on the block, banana blossom.
In terms of restaurants and cafes serving vegan fish and chips, there are now nearly a dozen in London alone and most are doing quite a good job in terms of rating and positive feedback.
One Shoreditch cafe who claim to serve the “premier vegan fish and chips in London” have a bit of a sneaky secret – the talk about the dish and experience overall more than on the flavour of the “tofish” that they serve up.
Regulars say that the fish is OK but instead focus on the texture of the dish, which the tofu and batter do very authentically. The real stars of the show are the other authentic parts of the meal – great mushy peas, tasty tartar sauce, and brilliant hand cut chips – which combine well for a great overall “chippy” experience.
Again in East London there is a very well established Fish and Chip shop which opened a totally vegan branch in Hackney, a big call at the time in late 2018, but has since changed its offering to include traditional fish and chips but with the vegan menu too.
It differs from the usual ‘tofush’ and ‘tofish’ in that it also offers the rather more exotic banana blossom as the fish substitute.
One report says that the banana blossom works brilliantly as Scampi, and that it was the most authentic fish dish replacement they had ever eaten, but it was less good as the classic fish fillet as it was a bit chewy.
Interestingly enough their menu has evolved to offer ‘tofish’ as well as the banana blossom option, so it seems it’s a case of “fishes for courses” 🙂 in terms of the best substitutes for each dish.
And it’s not just in restaurants and takeaways where the vegan fish action is – it’s now made it into the big national grocery chains too.
Vegan alternatives are available for just about everything nowadays with options from old school sausages to ‘bleeding’ burgers, but now fish is in the spotlight – and in a tin!
Tuna mayonnaise in its traditional guise could never be accused of being especially vegan-friendly but Morrisons is now stocking fish-less replicas of this and other classic sandwich fillers.
The new product called Tuno is made from soya protein and allegedly has the same flakiness as real tuna.
It’s been available in the US and Australia for a while but has now hit the UK, initially via Holland and Barrett, and now it is on the shelves of Morrisons.
Morrison’s Tuna Buyer commented that “TUNO provides a convincing alternative for sandwiches, pasta and salads” but the reality from their customer reviews is somewhat different and there is an average rating of 2.1 out of 5 on the Morrisons.com home delivery section.
Among a few of the comments are “We didn’t like the smell, taste or texture. But well done for trying” and “Nasty. Revolting texture and the taste was no better.”
But there were a few people who enjoyed it, and it is still being stocked, so there may be a future for it as the science and ingredients are bound to improve over time.
PUBLISHED: December 10, 2019
