13 Years Vegan!

Time flies! I can’t believe I have been vegan for 13 years! When I first went vegan, I did it out of curiosity, like it was as an experiment to see what would happen if I took out all animal products from my diet.I’m so glad that I had this (weird?) thought, as it’s definitely one of the best decisions I’ve ever made.

Choosing veganism at such a young age, there are indeed a lot of food I didn’t even get a chance to try. Sashimi (aka raw fish), for example, is one of them. The “fish” in fish n chips will be another one. So whenever I visited a vegan restaurant offering these alternatives, I would be very eager to try and see how it would compare with the real ones. Recently, I had this fish n chips with vegan tartar sauce at a vegan restaurant in Sai Kung called 2048 on my birthday and I have been itching to recreate that at home.

And it turns out that these fish fillets from Meat Zero tastes just like the real ones (according to my omnivore brother). Meat Zero is a plant technology innovation brand from Thailand. I have been using their minced meat products sometimes when I cook Mapo Tofu or steamed “pork” patty as they have the perfect texture and taste. I would very highly recommend you to give it a try if you have access to them at your local markets.

Secret Ingredients

Most people think fish is the protagonist in fish n chips. To me, the tartar sauce as important as, if not more important than the fish or chips. A good sauce can not only complement, but it can also transform the whole dish. Therefore, in order to create the ultimate vegan fish n chips experience at home, I start to work on the vegan tartar sauce.

In search of the perfect vegan tartar, I have been experimenting with different ingredients. After several trial and errors, I found that adding dill pickles to the recipe gives a depth of flavor. Moreover, I also used aquafaba in this recipe to help emulsify the recipe. For those of you who are not familiar with aquafaba, it’s the liquid inside a can of chickpeas. The reason why it works is because of its high protein and starch content, which are beneficial in emulsification. For flavoring, I used miso paste to bring out the umami flavor of the sauce.

All Natural Ingredients

As usual, I prefer creating recipes with all-natural whole food ingredients. And this recipe is no exception. In order to reduce the heaviness of this vegan tartar sauce, I use tofu in substitution for part of the cashews. In fact, for most of the recipes, tofu and cauliflower works well in replacing cashews in a recipe. Tofu is a perfect substitution because it is not only naturally low in fat and high in protein, but it also provides lightness and fluffiness the a recipe.

Serving Suggestions

This vegan tartar sauce not only pairs well with fish n chips, it also works well as a salad dressing or use as a sandwich spread! I topped mine with some Vegan Chickpea Tuna Salad and it was so good! Another way I like to serve this sauce is to enjoy them with some sweet potato fries, tempeh fries or simply as a topping on a nourish bowl.