“When a man is tired of London, he is tired of life.”
~ Samuel Johnson
To me there is no city in the world that can compare to London. I feel like it is the city of my soul, it is home in a way that no other place has ever been. (Except here in Aramco of course, but this isn’t exactly the ‘real world’.)
Growing up, my family and I spent a few weeks every summer in London or elsewhere in the UK and I always felt ‘right’ when I was there. I fit in like I did no place else and to this day London is my favorite place in the world. I even spent my first year of University there. (Here’s another post I did about my love for the UK.)
London really has everything you could ever want (except sunshine), from a fast paced city feel to the tradition and quirky elegance I always associate with England. The architecture, the history, the endlessly charming people, the brilliant shopping, the diverse and eclectic culture, the beautiful parks and markets, are all stamped on my heart forever. I just can’t get enough of that place, which is why I’ve been thinking about spending a week there this summer for my birthday.
Ever since that idea popped into my head I’ve been in constant daydreaming mode, remembering all of my favorite places in London and making mental checklists of things I’ve got to do and people I have to see. But, as you would imagine from a food blogger, I’ve been mainly dreaming about the amazing food. And what is more quintessentially London than a big pile of greasy fish and chips?
My nostalgia must have inspired my culinary creativity because this recipe is truly out of this world authentic. The trick to making the tofu taste really fishy is the addition of 2 sheets of finely ground up nori rolls in the wet batter. It gave the tofu the perfect amount of ocean fresh taste that I had been missing. The right texture of the wet batter is essential to making this recipe really genuine. You have to make sure to get the oil super hot before adding the battered tofu so the batter will seal up instantly and be light and crisp. YUM!
Vegan Fish
1 lb extra firm tofu, frozen, thawed, pressed gently to remove excess water, then sliced into 4 pieces. You don’t want them too small!
1 cup all purpose flour
1 cup dark beer + 2 Tbsp (we used non-alcoholic because here in Saudi Arabia alcohol is illegal)
2 inches deep of very hot vegetable oil in a large pot
2 nori seaweed rolls
1/3 cup all purpose flour for dredging
1 tsp paprika
salt and pepper
- Place the pieces of tofu in a large dish and splash them with malt vinegar and let them marinate for 3 hours. They don’t need to soak in the vinegar, just give them a good splashing and turn them once.
- Grind up the nori rolls in a food processor till they are a powder
- Combine the 1 cup flour with the beer, paprika, salt, pepper, and nori powder
- Get the oil really, really, really hot.
- Remove the tofu from the marinade, dredge each piece in the 1/3 cup flour, then dip them in the wet batter and quickly place in the very, very, very hot oil
- Watch them closely, the oil is super hot so the batter will brown quickly. Remove when golden. Serve with a side of tartar sauce (vegan mayo and chopped pickles) and covered with lots of sea salt and malt vinegar.
The chips couldn’t be easier. Chop 2 potatoes into fry sized pieces, not too small, you want hefty fries! Toss them with a generous amount of olive oil, lots of salt, and then put them in a 400F oven. Don’t even think about touching them for 30 minutes. If you try to stir them before then they will break apart. Leave them alone for at least 30 minutes and only try to stir them and turn them over if you can do it without them breaking. In total they should bake for about 45 minutes or till they reach the crispiness you like. Serve them with lots of salt and malt vinegar!
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