Recipes
Vegan Fish Tacos
5min read
Crispy flaky vegan 'fish' tacos are here for all your summer needs, topped with a fresh mango salsa and wrapped up in warm toasted corn tortillas.
As you can see, my love affair with banana blossom continues. When testing vegan fish and chips for the blog last month, fish tacos came to mind straight away. I hoped that if I could slightly alter the method and form smaller 'fillets' of fish to be fried - say double a bitesize - and made a fresh vibrant salsa to go with it along with a sour-cream like sauce, that they would taste like the fish tacos ones I grew up eating. The result is an extremely crispy, flaky, summery taco that's bursting with flavour. If you're not in the mood for frying but are in the mood for tacos, try out these crispy tempeh tacos, sweet potato and plantain tacos or breakfast tacos.
If you're as excited as I am about vegan fish tacos but don't know where to find banana blossom, fret not. The first time I bought banana blossom, I ordered it online but since then I've started seeing it in most supermarkets I've gone into - Tesco's, Waitrose, Budgens and most Asian supermarkets. Look for tins containing simply banana blossom, water, salt as these will give you more cooking and flavour flexibility.
Prep Time
35 mins (+ marinating)
Cook Time
25 mins
Serves
4
Ingredients
‘Fish’:
2x 510g tins banana blossom
20ml white wine
60ml tamari (or soy sauce)
60ml olive oil
2 cloves garlic, smashed
50 + 100g self raising flour, divided
1 tbsp cornstarch
½ tsp salt
180ml beer or sparkling water
Vegetable oil, for frying
Mango salsa:
1 mango, cubed
½ red onion, cubed
½ jalapeño, seeded and minced
10g coriander, finely chopped
½ lime, juiced
1 tbsp olive oil
½ tsp salt
To serve:
8 corn tortillas
Fresh coriander
Cashew sour cream
Method
STEP 1
To make the fish, drain the banana blossom and rinse it in cold water for 2-3 minutes - this removes any remains of brine from it. Once rinsed, transfer it to a shallow and wide baking dish.
STEP 2
In a bowl, combine white wine, tamari, olive oil and garlic and whisk to combine. Pour the marinade over the banana blossom and massage it in using your hands. Cover the baking dish and let the banana blossom marinate for at least 2 hours, but overnight for best results.
STEP 3
Once it has marinated, add 50g of flour to a small bowl (the banana blossom will be coated in this before being battered) and prepare a tray or cutting board to place the individual ‘fillets’.
STEP 4
Remove 3-4 small pieces of banana blossom from the tray, and squeeze to compact them together and to drain out most of the marinade from them. Coat the fillet in flour and place on the tray or cutting board. Repeat with the rest of the banana blossom until you have 16 - two per taco.
STEP 5
Add the remaining 100g of flour to a large bowl along with cornstarch and salt. Whisk to combine. Stir in the beer and mix until fully incorporated.
STEP 6
Pour 1L of sunflower or vegetable oil into a large heavy-set and sturdy pot and heat it over high heat to 190˚C, or until a small piece of batter dropped into the pan starts bubbling rapidly and floats to the top.
STEP 7
Dip a couple floured fillets into the batter to coat, then quickly place them into the heated oil to fry. Quickly repeat that process with two more - to cook 4 at the same time.
STEP 8
Fry for 3-4 minutes on each side, until they reach a dark golden brown colour. Once cooked, transfer to a tray lined with kitchen paper. Repeat with the remaining fillets.
STEP 9
To make the mango salsa, combine diced mango, red onion, jalapeño, coriander, lime juice, olive oil and salt in a bowl. Mix, taste for seasoning and adjust to taste.
STEP 10
To serve, heat tortillas until slightly charred and puffy - about one minute per side. Top each tortilla with banana blossom fish, mango salsa, fresh coriander and cashew sour cream.
By Valentina Concordia
Valentina is our Food Editor, who dreams up our tasty dishes and recipes for our social channels. She has loads of experience cooking up a storm in Italian kitchens, so it’s no surprise she can’t live without good-quality olive oil (don’t come between her and her olive oil) and fresh pasta.
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