Something fishy
By Monica on January 30th, 2008
I may open the floodgates with this one, but today I’m going to poke fun at fish eaters. Everyone knows a pescatarian or two, everyone knows one who calls him or herself a vegetarian (much to our horror). I have a friend who calls pescatarians “fishocrites”. Perhaps you were a pescatarian at some point? I was, for about a week when I first began my journey to veganism.
In any case, here are some good reasons why eating fish stinks, and tasty ways for you to get your fish craving on, sans cruelty, PCB’s, or mercury poisoning.
Reason #1, Meal #1 - If current rates of overfishing continue, our seas will be barren by 2048. “100% of [fished] species will collapse by the year 2048. (…) In addition, ocean ecosystems will be unable to recover from shrinking populations of so many species of fish and other sea creatures…”
And for the tasty meal to eat instead of adding to the global overfishing crisis? Cornmeal Battered Tofu Phish Phillets. I was pleasantly surprised at what a great fish replacer this turned out to be. The texture was amazingly fish-like, they’re simple to make, and really inexpensive. Serve it up with some uber-simple vegan tarter sauce.
Reason #2, Meal #2 - Factoid: Some fish tend well-kept gardens, encouraging the growth of tasty algae and weeding out the types they don’t like. Cool, eh? In 2008 it seems silly to have to say this, but fish do feel pain. They have social structures, talk to one another, build nests, and have cognitive learning abilities matching or exceeding mammals. In short, they deserve our respect and compassion too, fishocrites.
Ok, the meal is kind of a cheat, I admit. I’ve personally never had a “Fillet-o-Fish” from McSucks, but I have to wager that this version tastes better. It’s certainly healthier for you, and absolutely healthier for the fish. Look, you can even throw it on a cheap white bun for authenticity!
Reason #3, Meal #3 - “Salmon raised in ocean feedlots, the main source of supply for American consumers, contains such high levels of PCBs, dioxins and other toxic chemicals that people should not eat it more than once a month, according to an extensive study reported in the journal Science.” And it’s not just salmon, do some research into PCBs, pesticides, and methylmercury before chowing down on Nemo.
Meal #3 was an experiment trying to replicate the salmon patties I would make as an omnivore. Back then the salmon was the canned variety. The patties were just firm enough to hold together, and it was always, always served with mac n’ cheese. On my first attempt, I came close enough to the original to call it good. This was also my first time sending tempeh into the food processor, but why not? Complete with a side of Mac N’ Cheez!
And finally, because I know it’s coming: “But, I need to eat fish to get Omega 3 fatty acids!” No, you don’t. Fish do not produce these essential fatty acids, they get them from plant life in their diet. So can you. You can also get them from canola oil, flax, walnuts, soybeans, tofu, etc etc etc ad nauseum. So there.
PCB-Free Salmon Patties
8 oz. tempeh, cubed
1/2 yellow onion, chopped
1/2 green pepper, chopped
3T vegan tarter sauce
3T cocktail sauce
1T tamari
4T fresh parsley
2 cloves garlic
3/4c cornmeal, divided
salt & pepper, to taste
vegetable oil
Place tempeh, onion, green pepper, tartar sauce, cocktail sauce, tamari, parsley, garlic, salt, pepper, and 1/4c of the cornmeal into a food processor. Pulse until the mixture is a course meal, adding a tad more cornmeal to help it stick together if needed. You’re looking for a loose burger patty consistency.
Divide mixture into 4 portions and shape into patties.
Place remaining 1/2c cornmeal into a bowl, season with salt & pepper, and coat each patty.
Coat the bottom of a nonstick pan with vegetable oil and brown patties on both sides over medium heat until golden brown, about 5 minutes per side.
Cornmeal Battered Tofu Phish Phillets
1 lb. extra-firm tofu, frozen, thawed, pressed, cut into 6 slabs
vegetable oil for frying
Marinade:
4T vegetable oil
1 1/2C water
2T Nutritional Yeast
1t sea salt
1/2t pepper
1T parsley
2t garlic powder
2t onion powder
Dry Mix:
1C cornmeal
1/2C flour
1t parsley
1/2t sea salt
1/2t onion powder
1/2t garlic powder
1/2t pepper
Mix all the marinade ingredients in a large bowl. Add the tofu and let marinate for one hour.
Mix dry ingredients in a shallow bowl. Remove the tofu from the marinade, shake off most of the liquid, and coat both sides with the dry mix. In a large skillet, heat enough oil to coat the bottom of the pan. Pan fry fillets until golden and crispy on both sides.
Liz² says:
hee hee! fishocrite! I’ll admit, tinned tuna and salmon was the thing I really missed after going vegan. It was hard to give up the insane amounts of light protein for pretty much no work. But I’d much rather make these delicious looking recipes and know that the oceans are at least safe from MY dinner habits. poor fishies.
(I was totally craving fish and chips yesterday, too - maybe those fish fingers will do the trick!)
January 30th, 2008 at 10:07 am
melody says:
This looks and sounds delicious! I love using tofu on a “fish” sandwich.. so good.
January 30th, 2008 at 10:32 am
Mel says:
Lol about the fishocrites! I know soooo many “vegetarian” that eat fish and sometimes I think I am losing the plot when get asked again “but you do eat fish”. If I had £1 for everytime I get that question asked then I would be a very rich person!!!
I will give that a try next week - sounds yum!
January 30th, 2008 at 10:39 am
Suzie says:
I never really liked fish growing up. It always smelled pretty bad to me. I did, somehow, eat tuna.
It frustrates me that vegetarians who are veggie for ethical reasons think it’s okay to eat fish. It doesn’t make sense. I once met a vegan who’d been vegan for 2 years but cheated sometimes because she couldn’t live without her milk chocolate. It doesn’t make sense to me.
In any case, my tastebuds have changed and I think I wanna try some mock fish. I like to expand my horizons!
January 30th, 2008 at 10:52 am
Chocolatecoveredvegan says:
Mmm mmm great post, I must say!
And I completely LOVE your idea for an improvement to my stud muffin post!
January 30th, 2008 at 12:07 pm
Trace says:
OMG. I just realized I have all the ingredients to make the fillets. YES!
It wasn’t hard for me to stop eating fish, though I sometimes crave shrimp - not very often, and not for very long though. Especially because I’m obsessed with sharks, and if I don’t like people eating shark, how can I be okay with eating other fishies? That’s just me though
January 30th, 2008 at 1:04 pm
Almost Vegetarian says:
Love the recipes. So perfect for this time of year. And I was looking for something new to do with tofu, so thanks!
Cheers.
January 30th, 2008 at 1:51 pm
Blogilicious Meal Plan « Snoogiewoogie’s Weblog says:
[...] Phish-Burgers from Rural Vegan: I love Monica’s blog - not only because we both descend from Czech family! I have bought a lot of Tofu at the Chinese supermarket - I have every single ingredient at home but will get some lettuce, tomatoes, burger buns and make some homemade oven chips to go with it. [...]
January 31st, 2008 at 9:39 am
Jess says:
THANK YOU!!! I don’t know why some people get so worked up when others (politely) tell them that FISH is not part of a veg diet. So obnoxious… I’ll agree with them that it’s better than eating ALL kinds of meat because it’s reducing the intake, but don’t you dare call yourself a vegetarian! Pescotarian, fine. Vegetarian = NO! Man, that really grinds my gears. It’s one of the few subjects to turn me into a “Veg Nazi.”
And that sandwich looks delish.
January 31st, 2008 at 1:04 pm
VeggieGirl says:
here’s to cruelty-free, delicious, FISH-FREE meals!!
so glad you posted about this since some people do not seem to comprehend the fact that fish are animals!! vegetarians/vegans do NOT eat them!! :0)
January 31st, 2008 at 1:15 pm
Tori says:
Nummy nummy nummy. I totally want that. I used to be a breaded fish eater. The only way I would eat it was if it was 75% bread. I guess thats a good thing.
January 31st, 2008 at 4:32 pm
Cakespy says:
Wow, these look awesome–like a GOOD version of actual fish sandwiches, which have always grossed me out.
January 31st, 2008 at 7:36 pm
vegetalion says:
ooo I love all things tempeh - I want to try your “salmon!”
I don’t think I was ever that crazy about fish, but I love making fake fish meals.
February 1st, 2008 at 11:12 am
Jules says:
Thank you thank you thank you, I just tried the phish phillets recipe today and it is ACE!
These are my results (with tofu in more phish phinger phorm [sorry, I'll stop now], crunchy batter, and deep fried instead of skillet fried.) Definitely not good for my waistline but definitely all sorts of heaven on a fork.
http://s167.photobucket.com/albums/u158/3flavours/food/fishnchips.png
I’m going to keep my eyes peeled on your blog for more recipes! I used to be a huge fish fan before going vegan and I thank you for this opportunity to enjoy that flavour again!
February 10th, 2008 at 2:14 pm
episcopophagous - del.icio.us links for 2008.02.09 to 2008.02.11 says:
[...] Rural Vegan» Blog Archive » Something fishy [...]
February 11th, 2008 at 1:16 pm
Mark says:
Looks yummy
February 14th, 2008 at 5:07 am
stoonytus says:
Thak you for the news
December 19th, 2008 at 11:18 pm