How to Make Vegan Fish with Okara

If you have ever wondered how to make vegan fish, this neutral-tasting faux fish recipe using okara is a good place to start. This recipe is similar in consistency and texture to fish analogues commercially available in Thailand, where I spend a significant amount of time.

Okara, a byproduct of soy milk (and hence tofu) production, is a nutritious ingredient that works well in mock fish and meat recipes. It's also a very easy ingredient to work with, which I hope this vegan fish recipes shows.

This recipe produces a very neutrally flavoured vegan fish that is suitable in recipes with strong surrounding flavour elements. Think curries, bold citrus flavours, and oily fried dishes. It's especially good sliced and fried. If you plan to use it in something very wet, such as a soup, don't stew it for long because it won't hold up to prolonged boiling; instead add it at the end of cooking.

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Homemade vegan fish with okara

When I reference wet okara, I mean okara that has been squeezed by hand in muslin to extract as much soy milk as possible. Because the ratio of liquid to soy waste will vary in this process, I highly recommend weighing your okara and all other ingredients when making this recipe. You can halve the ingredients for a smaller portion.

Ingredients

• 675 grams 3 ¼ cups wet okara
• 105 grams ¾ cup vital wheat gluten
• 50 grams ½ cup soy flour
• 40 grams â…" cup tapioca starch
• 35 grams â…" cup rice flour
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 2 teaspoons fine sea salt
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• ¼ teaspoon MSG
• Nori sheets

Instructions

• Place a plate in a large steamer and heat it to medium-high. Depending on how many rolls of fish you have, you may want an extra tier.
• Mix all of the ingredients except the nori together in a large bowl. Massage with your hands or a wooden spoon until a thick but pliable dough forms.
• To make a large fish piece, overlap two pieces of nori by about â…" sheet. Take two cups of the dough and form it into a roll that extends to the edges of the nori when placed across the shortest length of the seaweed. Dampen the nori and roll the mass up into a tube.
• To make smaller sushi sized fish pieces, places â…" cup edge to edge on a piece of nori. Dampen the edges and roll.
• To make a medium sized fish piece, place 1 cup on a sheet of nori and press to close to the edges. Dampen nori and roll.
• Place the faux fish pieces onto the plate in the steamer and steam for 45 minutes. Leave the fish to cool, ideally overnight and in the fridge, before using.