One of my favorite guilty pleasures to indulge in during the summer is fish and chips. I can always smell it from a million miles away and start craving it instantly. Once in a while, I don't mind eating a big plate of greasy food, but there are so many reasons why we shouldn't eat fish. Fish is one of the top causes of food poisoning in the United states and often contains many toxins, including mercury. Just by living in their natural habitat, wild caught fish live in oceans that have been polluted by human error such as the BP oil spill or even Fukushima. Farmed fish is also pumped with antibiotics, and I have even read that imported fish may contain antibiotics banned in the US. This is where the phrase "you are what you eat" comes in to play. There are so many more reasons why we should avoid fish, but this covers the basics.
To replace the fish, I substituted tempeh. I was going to use tofu, but I wanted a firmer texture. To add some saving grace to this meal after frying the tempeh, I baked the sweet potato fries. This saved me from eating an entirely fried meal. To serve, I made a vegan tartar sauce from scratch, but you could buy pre-made vegan mayo and mix in the relish and lemon juice to skip a few steps. You could also serve these as fish sticks if you cut the tempeh into strips rather than the bigger pieces.
YIELDS
1 meal
PREP TIME
COOK TIME
TOTAL TIME
- 1 package tempeh--I used three grain, unflavored
- 1 sweet potato
- 1/2 cup + 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/4 cup unbleached flour
- 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/4 cup almond milk
- 1 flax egg (1 tbsp. ground flax + 2.5 tbsp. water)
- 1/4 cup almond milk
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon agave
- 1/4 teaspoon ground mustard
- 6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 teaspoon relish
- 1/2 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon fresh parsley
- 1 lemon wedge
- 1 tablespoon green onions
Directions
For the sweet potato fries:
1. Pre-heat the oven to 450°F.
2. Wash the sweet potato and slice it into thin strips.
3. Add the sweet potato to a medium sized bowl and pour in the 3 tablespoons olive oil, garlic powder, and black pepper. Toss and spread evenly on a baking pan.
4. Bake for 20 minutes, flip, and return to oven for another 10-15 minutes, or a little longer if you like them more crisp like me. For the tartar sauce:
1. Add the almond milk, salt, agave, and mustard to a blender. Blend on high for a minute, then add in the 6 tablespoons of olive oil and blend on medium.
2. Stir in the relish, lemon juice, pepper, and parsley.
3. Put in the fridge while preparing the tempeh. For the tempeh fish:
1. Add the 1/2 cup oil to a stovetop pan and heat over medium heat.
2. Mix the flour, baking powder, salt, and pepper in a small bowl.
3. Add in the 1/2 cup almond milk and the flax egg and stir.
4. Cut the tempeh into 3 pieces. Season with salt, pepper and lemon juice. Coat in the batter.
5. Drop the tempeh pieces into the hot oil and let sit for 5 minutes, then flip and let sit for another 5 minutes.
6. Remove from the oil and pat dry with paper towels.
7. Serve with the sweet potato fries, tartar sauce, lemon wedges, and chives.
1. Pre-heat the oven to 450°F.
2. Wash the sweet potato and slice it into thin strips.
3. Add the sweet potato to a medium sized bowl and pour in the 3 tablespoons olive oil, garlic powder, and black pepper. Toss and spread evenly on a baking pan.
4. Bake for 20 minutes, flip, and return to oven for another 10-15 minutes, or a little longer if you like them more crisp like me. For the tartar sauce:
1. Add the almond milk, salt, agave, and mustard to a blender. Blend on high for a minute, then add in the 6 tablespoons of olive oil and blend on medium.
2. Stir in the relish, lemon juice, pepper, and parsley.
3. Put in the fridge while preparing the tempeh. For the tempeh fish:
1. Add the 1/2 cup oil to a stovetop pan and heat over medium heat.
2. Mix the flour, baking powder, salt, and pepper in a small bowl.
3. Add in the 1/2 cup almond milk and the flax egg and stir.
4. Cut the tempeh into 3 pieces. Season with salt, pepper and lemon juice. Coat in the batter.
5. Drop the tempeh pieces into the hot oil and let sit for 5 minutes, then flip and let sit for another 5 minutes.
6. Remove from the oil and pat dry with paper towels.
7. Serve with the sweet potato fries, tartar sauce, lemon wedges, and chives.
Also by Lauren: Vegan Toasted Coconut Ice Cream
Related: Vegan Tempeh BLT Wrap
Tempeh Stuffed Tomato and Kale
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Photos: Lauren Sacerdote
