If you want to save the ocean, eat vegan fish! These vegan tofu fillets are flakey and delicate, they have a mild taste of the sea, delicious served with a wedge of lemon, and best yet, they are easy to make too. Just 10 ingredients, and can be prepped ahead of time.
There are two key secrets to make tofu taste like fish:
Secret 1: The tofu is cut thinly part way through to give an amazing flaky texture that is so similar to fish. Bonus points, the thin cuts also allow the tofu to absorb the marinade better.
Secret 2: The marinade is made with a sheet of nori (the seaweed you use to make sushi), and white miso paste. The nori gives the marinade a sea taste while miso paste adds a subtle umami. The combo with lemon juice and a few other flavours give a beautiful delicate flavour to the tofu.
I mean just look at that delicious mouthful!
This recipe makes two large tofu fillets, but feel free to cut the tofu block into 4 to make four smaller fillets if you prefer. I love to whip up this recipe the day before and let the tofu marinate in the fridge overnight so that when it's dinner time, this dish takes just 10 minutes to cook up.
To Make Vegan Tofu Fillets (vegan fish):
Prep the tofu: Prepare the tofu by draining it, and then pressing it for 15 to 30 minutes. I love using my Tofuture tofu press, but you can also follow these instructions for a DIY tofu pressing method. Pressing the tofu squeezes excess water out so that the tofu can suck up more of the marinade and become more flavourful.
Cut the tofu in half horizontally into two large slices. Take one of the tofu pieces and place a chop stick on either side of the tofu to stop from cutting all the way through so the slices remain intact. Slice the tofu part way through repeatedly about ⅛" apart to give the tofu a flaky texture. Repeat with the other tofu slice.
Make the marinade: add the nori, vegetable broth, lemon juice, miso paste, Old Bay, garlic powder, and salt to a blender. Blend until smooth. If you don't have a blender you can chop the nori very finely then whisk everything together in a large bowl. This will make a very ugly greenish-brown marinade.
Place the tofu in a resealable bag or dish and cover with the marinade. Let marinated in the fridge for a minimum of 30 minutes or as long as overnight.
Cook the tofu fillets: In a large skillet or non-stick frying pan, heat the oil or butter. When hot add the tofu fillets to the pan, discarding any leftover marinade. Fry for 3 - 5 minutes per side until the tofu is golden brown and heated through. Be very careful when flipping the tofu as it's very tender.
Serve the hot tofu fillets with parsley and black pepper and a generous squeeze of fresh lemon.
I think this vegan fish goes wonderfully with a side salad and a potato dish such as French fries or garlic mashed potatoes, but feel free to serve it with your favourite side dishes.
Hot tip: if you want a crispy skin on the tofu, dredge the marinated tofu in cornstarch just before frying and fry until evenly browned all over. This will make a thin crispy skin.
Bon appetegan!
Sam Turnbull.
Vegan Tofu Fillets (vegan fish)
Ingredients
- 1 block (12 oz) extra-firm tofu, drained, pressed, and sliced (see step 1)
For the marinade:
- 1 sheet nori, torn into several pieces
- 1 cup vegetable broth
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon white miso paste
- 1 teaspoon Old Bay seasoning
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
To serve the tofu fillets:
- 1 tablespoon vegan butter or light oil, for frying
- lemon slices
- chopped parsley and black pepper, (for garnish, optional)
Instructions
- Prep the tofu: Prepare the tofu by draining it, and then pressing it for 15 to 30 minutes. I love using my Tofuture tofu press, but you can also follow these instructions for a DIY tofu pressing method. Pressing the tofu squeezes excess water out so that the tofu can suck up more of the marinade and become more flavourful. Cut the tofu in half horizontally into two large slices. Take one of the tofu pieces and place a chop stick on either side of the tofu to stop from cutting all the way through so the slices remain intact. Slice the tofu part way through repeatedly about ⅛" apart to give the tofu a flaky texture. Repeat with the other tofu slice.
- Make the marinade: add the nori, vegetable broth, lemon juice, miso paste, Old Bay, garlic powder, and salt to a blender. Blend until smooth. If you don't have a blender you can chop the nori very finely then whisk everything together in a large bowl. This will make a very ugly greenish-brown marinade. Place the tofu in a resealable bag or dish and cover with the marinade. Let marinated in the fridge for a minimum of 30 minutes or as long as overnight.
- Cook the tofu fillets: In a large skillet or non-stick frying pan, heat the oil or butter. When hot add the tofu fillets to the pan, discarding any leftover marinade. Fry for 3 - 5 minutes per side until the tofu is golden brown and heated through. Be very careful when flipping the tofu as it's very tender. Serve the hot tofu fillets with parsley and black pepper and a generous squeeze of fresh lemon.
Notes
Nutrition
KB says
This recipe was awesome! I totally enjoyed it. I was uncertain about how the nori would have tasted but was surprised at how delicious the final product tasted. The cornstarch was an excellent idea for for the "skin". It's an easy recipe; however, you need to have time for the pressing and the marinating. I will definitely try it again.
Laura says
I make my own tofu and it's not in the traditional block form. How thick should the slab of tofu be before pressing?
Dee says
What can I use instead of the old bay? I know it won’t taste the same, but don’t want to buy it for only 1 recipe - will never use it up! Maybe chili powder & dried dill?
Sam Turnbull says
If you have my cookbook Fast Easy Cheap Vegan I have a recipe for homemade Old Bay, which I call New Bay! 🙂
Véronique Nadon says
Didn't like the recipe the first time I made it, the press and marinade times indicated are not enough. So I made it again with frozen (and thawed) tofu, pressed for half a day, marinated for at least a day, added a second sheet of Nori, 1/2 tsp of Hickory liquid smoke to the marinade and put some corn starch on one side before frying it in the pan. It became one of my favorite recipes!
Cate says
*update from my last comment*
Tried the other half of the tofu block once it had marinated in the fridge for a day and a half.
I enjoyed it much more. It still has a mild flavour, next time ill probably add 1-2 more nori sheets to the marinade.
Definitely don't skip the cornflour. It makes a really nice delicate "skin".
Thanks for the recipe Sam 🙂
Oh ALSO don't forget the lemon wedge
Sam Turnbull says
Glad you enjoyed!
Cate says
Marinated for an hour in the fridge. The final product had an extremely mild flavour. Will leave the other half in the fridge overnight and cook it once it’s marinated for 24 hours and post back here.
The flavour was definitely nice…so I think marinating longer will help.
I’m just glad I had fresh lemons for a lemon wedge that helped make the 200 grams of tofu edible.
I used firm tofu and the texture was pretty rubbery despite pressing it with a tofuture tofu press.
Wondering whether using a “once frozen” then defrosted block would make a difference in texture.
Oh and definitely shallow fry in oil. I used spray canola oil and couldn’t quite get the crispness I desired.
I had to make a batch of old bay seasoning from scratch as I live in Australia where it’s not to be found.
Carol says
Hi Sam,
Sorry to say, I didn't care for it. Marinated overnight still, no real flavor and kind a dry. This is the first thing of yours I didn't care for. Maybe because I'm not used to tofu this way. Thank you for all your recipes. I've only been at this vegan cooking for about 9 months.
Brandon says
This recipe is quite inventive and a brand new way for me to prepare tofu. I made the recipe as-is except that I didn't use nori but rather a 1/2 Tbsp of kelp granules. Making the marinade and letting the tofu absorb those wonderful flavors for 6 hours was so easy. I used my cast iron skillet to cook the marinated tofu, and I served it with pole beans and flavored rice. I made about half the cuts in the tofu as compared with Sam's picture, because I was unsure how well it would hold up while cooking, but next time I'll commit to thinner slices since the extra firm tofu should hold up fairly well. A fresh take on tofu, and I'll be making this again! One note is that next time I'll reserve some of the marinade to reduce down in a pan to make a sauce to drizzle on top of the tofu after it's done cooking.
Sam Turnbull says
So happy you enjoyed it so much, Brandon! 🙂
novajen says
Glad you did this review! I don't have nori on hand but I do have kelp granules and was wondering if they'd work.
Silver says
WOW!!!!! Sam, girl, you are some kind of wizard and I am here for it ! 🙂 this recipe is insanely delicious and soo easy to whip up. First time I marinared my tofu for 24 hours and because of someone in the comment section suggests doing ten days, I'll try a week (mostly because I don't want to wait any longer! haha) and am so looking forward to it. Good work, thanks for sharing this recipe x
Sam Turnbull says
Aww wonderful! Thrilled you enjoyed it so much, Silver 🙂
Jess says
DELICIOUS! It’s a killer recipe, we followed it exactly except slicing our tofu block into 4 slabs then proceeding with the “flaky” slicing directions.
The second time we made it I swapped the seaweed for capers because I too have a seaweed aversion - it was great! I also halved the salt since my miso, broth, capers were all very salty.
One thing I would change though is marinated it much longer than 1 hour... it wasn’t as flavorful when I did that. I’d do minimum overnight up to a few days for the tofu to really absorb the flavor! Just prep it day before and the next day your dinner is ready to go!
Like I reviewer suggested, I only added cornstarch to the smooth bottom for a “crispy skin” side. We also liked basting it with the marinade while cooking.
Served with roasted broccolini and potato hash browns.
Finally, use the cast iron!! It worked a lot better than the nonstick for getting that beautiful browning.
Beata says
Lost count how many times I've made this recipe for my boyfriend and me, and we are not even vegan! Since finding this recipe, I used super firm high protein spouted tofu (makes "swordfish" steaks), pressed super firm tofu (makes "cod" fillets) and pressed firm tofu (makes "flounder" or "sole" steaks). So cool that you can achieve different fish effect by using different tofu every time. Latest one was the "swordfish" marinated for at least 10 days. No joke. I love to make a lot of marinade so that the tofu is completely submerged in the liquid, kind of like it is submerged in the liquid before you open the package. I think complete submersion is the key for the tofu not to go bad, but I have to say I was surprised that the acids did not break down the tofu protein too much. It could happen with the softer tofu varieties, but I guess I'd have to make this recipe again with softer tofu and see.
I can totally see using this recipe in fish tacos, like someone asked. I think I'd go for the softer tofu and slice it kind of thin, so that it fits nicely in the taco shell. I would not worry too much about the tofu pieces breaking, as the fish is kind of thin and sometimes broken up in fish tacos, too.
I sauteed and seared our "swordfish" in a little bit of butter and white wine, and served with roasted asparagus last night. Holy cow yum!!! Thank you, Sam!!!
Kate says
Tyvm for including the tofu types for fish textures as I'm trying to recreate a swordfish appetizer on the grill! Much love to you!
Fluteed says
works great in "fish" tacos. Add vegan coleslaw and avocado.
Sandyp_eats says
I would love to try this recipe to make fish tacos which I miss so much! However, I have a real aversion to all kinds of seaweed and nori. Is there another thing I could substitute? I was thinking capers?
Thanks for any input and I love your recipes- just received the new cookbook yesterday! 🙂
Sam Turnbull says
Thank you so much!! Yes capers would be a nice alternative. Enjoy!
Véronique says
Hi, I am wondering about the salt in the recipe, is your vegetable broth salted? I’m making the recipe right now and I can’t wait to eat it tonight! Thank you
Jo says
This recipe is amazing! Followed the recipe exactly (including dredging in cornstarch) and it was flaky, flavorful, and had a crispy crust! Definitely will make again!
Sam Turnbull says
Wonderful! Thrilled you loved it so much, Jo 🙂
Brenda V Schnell says
I made this tonight and it was so good! Amazing how fish like it tastes. I cooked it on my Cuisinart grill pan without oil and it worked very well.
Sam Turnbull says
Yay! Thrilled you enjoyed it so much, Brenda!
Abi says
So, so delicious! It's also fun to prepare with the chopstick trick!!! We had it with your mashed potato recipe and a ton of garlicky greens and it was insane. Thank you!!!!!
Sam Turnbull says
Wonderful!! Thrilled you loved it, Abi 🙂
Emma Richey says
Am I able to freeze the marinated tofu for future fillets?
Jenny says
This is good but just an fyi to anyone who uses cornstarch. Do not do oil free frying, it won't work.
Sam Turnbull says
Glad you enjoyed, Jenny!