Spoiler: the "fish" is tofu. Stay with me! It gets soaked in a briny lemon-miso marinade, battered, fried until irresistibly golden and crispy, then stuffed into warm tortillas with creamy homemade vegan Baja sauce. They're crunchy, messy, ridiculously delicious, and just might become your new favorite taco night.
Have you noticed that I mostly steer clear of vegan seafood recipes? Not a coincidence. For one thing, I never liked seafood, even before giving up meat as a kid. But also, a lot of vegan seafood recipes just seem… bad. Sorry! Trying to make things taste "oceany" (for lack of a better word) can go all kinds of wrong. So why the heck am I sharing a recipe for vegan fish tacos? Glad you asked!
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See, there are aspects of seafood dishes that can absolutely be veganized without going overboard on the oceany flavors. That's my sweet spot! Flaky hearts of palm work great in my vegan lobster rolls, hearty chickpeas and hearts of palm make an awesome vegan tuna salad, artichoke hearts are perfect in vegan crab cakes, and mushrooms are delicious in vegan clam chowder. (Did I say I avoided seafood recipes? Maybe I lied.)
One of my favorites, though, is my vegan scampi, which uses tofu and artichoke hearts. That recipe got me thinking: why not use tofu to make vegan fish? So I marinated it in a savory lemon-miso mixture, coated it in crispy beer batter, fried it until golden, then tucked it into soft tortillas with crunchy cabbage and creamy vegan Baja sauce. The result is a meal I get excited to eat every single time I make it. Not bad for a former seafood hater, huh?
Ingredients You'll Need
Below is a detailed photo tutorial on how to make this dish. Scroll all the way down if you'd like to skip right to the recipe!
- Hot water.
- Miso paste. Miso paste isn't just for miso soup! It's great for adding umami flavor to dishes like this one, where we'll be incorporating it into our marinade. The recipe calls for white miso, but other varieties will also work.
- Lemon juice. Use fresh juice to give the marinade the best possible flavor.
- Extra-firm tofu. I like extra-firm tofu best for this recipe, as it gives a nice balance between texture and ability to soak up marinade. Super-firm will do in a pinch, but may not turn out as flavorful.
- Flour. I've only tested this recipe with all-purpose wheat flour, so I can't say how it will turn out with other varieties.
- Salt.
- Ale. I used a pale ale, but other ales will work, and you can even experiment with different types of beers to vary the flavor in your batter. Just make sure your beer is vegan — I like to run mine through Barnivore before buying.
- Vegetable oil. Any neutral high-heat oil you like to cook with is fine — corn, canola, and peanut oils are all options.
- Vegan mayonnaise.
- Lime juice. Use fresh juice please — you'll need to buy a lime for the zest anyway.
- Hot sauce. I recommend sticking with a mild, vinegar-based hot sauce such as Cholula or Valentina.
- Ground cumin.
- Lime zest. See? You'll need to buy a lime anyway.
- Tortillas. I like my vegan fish tacos in small flour tortillas. The softness provides a nice contrast to the crunchy batter coating. If you prefer corn tortillas, be my guest!
- Cabbage.
- Fresh cilantro.
Tip: These tacos are already pretty packed and very flavorful, but feel free to add more toppings if you'd like. Sliced avocado, pico de gallo, radishes, cashew cream, mango salsa, and guacamole would all be delicious!
How They're Made
Below is a detailed photo tutorial on how to make this dish. Scroll all the way down if you'd like to skip right to the recipe!
Marinate the tofu. Mix hot water, miso paste, and lemon juice to make the marinade. Then cut your pressed tofu into 16 slabs and soak them in the marinade for about 30 minutes.
Mix the sauce. While the tofu marinates, stir together your mayo, lime juice, hot sauce, ground cumin, lime zest, and salt if needed.
Get ready to fry. Place your flour in one bowl, and mix your batter (flour, salt, and ale) in another bowl. Start heating a half-inch of oil in a large skillet.
Batter the tofu. First, dip each piece in the flour, lightly coating all sides, then dip each piece in the batter. Shake off any excess batter as you move each piece from the batter to the hot oil.
Fry the tofu. Add only as many pieces to the skillet as you can fit without crowding. You can cook the rest in subsequent batches. Fry them for a few minutes per side, until they're golden brown and crispy. Let the pieces drain on a wire rack when they're done.
Assemble and serve. Stuff each tortilla with two pieces of tofu, some shredded cabbage, and sauce. Give each one a sprinkle of chopped fresh cilantro, then dig in!
Frequently Asked Questions
I'm not sure. My instinct tells me the wheat flour could be replaced with an all-purpose gluten-free blend, but I haven't tested this myself. You'd also need to ensure that your miso paste is certified gluten-free and use gluten-free tortillas.
Store the components of the dish separately, in airtight containers in the fridge. The sauce will keep for about a week, and the tofu will keep for 3 to 4 days. To reheat the tofu, place it on a baking sheet and pop it into a 400°F oven. Cook the pieces for a few minutes on each side, until they start to sizzle. If they're sluggish getting there, turn on the broiler for a minute or two. The fried tofu also freezes really well! Separate the pieces with parchment paper, and thaw them on the counter or in the microwave before reheating.
Unfortunately, not that I'm aware. If I come up with a reliable oil-free method of beer battering, I will share it in the notes.
Sure! You can use a non-alcoholic beer or replace the beer with seltzer water. If using seltzer water, add ¾ teaspoon of baking powder to the batter.
More Vegan Taco Recipes
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📖 Recipe
Vegan Beer-Battered Fish Tacos
Ingredients
For the Beer-Battered Tofu
- 1 cup hot water
- 3 tablespoons white miso paste
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 (14-ounce) package extra-firm tofu, drained and pressed for 30 minutes
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour, divided
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup ale
- Vegetable oil, for frying
For the Vegan Baja Sauce
- ⅔ cup vegan mayonnaise
- 2 tablespoons lime juice
- 1 tablespoon vinegar-based hot sauce (such as Cholula)
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon lime zest
- Pinch salt, or to taste
For Serving
- 8 small (soft taco-sized) flour tortillas, warmed
- Shredded cabbage
- Chopped fresh cilantro
Instructions
- Stir the hot water, miso paste, and lemon juice together in a shallow dish. This is your marinade.
- Cut your block of pressed tofu in half, thickness-wise, then cut each half into 8 slabs (Note 1). Place the tofu slabs into the marinade. Let them soak for 30 minutes, occasionally rearranging them and/or spooning the marinade over the top pieces to ensure even absorption.
- Stir the Baja sauce ingredients together while the tofu marinates. Taste the sauce and make any adjustments needed to suit your preference.
- Once the tofu has finished marinating, place ½ cup of the flour into a small bowl. To make the batter, whisk together the remaining cup of flour, salt, and ale in a second small bowl.
- Place a large skillet over medium-high heat and add about ½ inch of vegetable oil. Let the oil heat up for a couple of minutes.
- Once the oil begins to shimmer, begin battering your tofu. Dredge one piece at a time in the flour, then transfer it to the batter and dip to coat all sides. Gently shake off any excess batter, then transfer the tofu piece to the hot oil. Repeat the process for as many pieces of tofu as you can fit in the skillet without crowding.
- Fry the tofu slabs for about 4 minutes on each side, until golden brown and crispy. Transfer them to a wire rack to drain when done, then continue battering and cooking the tofu in batches, adding oil to the skillet between batches if needed.
- To serve, stuff each tortilla with cabbage and 2 pieces of fried tofu. Drizzle with Baja sauce and sprinkle with fresh cilantro. Add any additional toppings of choice.
- Serve immediately.
Notes
- You can cut the tofu into pretty much any size and shape pieces you like, but smaller pieces may require more batter
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Just a question, I need to be gluten free, any swaps you'd recommend?
Possibly! I haven’t tested a gluten-free version myself, but I’ve included my best substitution suggestions in the FAQ section above.