Hi folks! On Friday, some friends are coming over to play Unfathomable, a board game set on a boat in the Cthulhu mythos, so I thought it would be fun to cook something with a bit of a seafood / ocean taste. Only catch: I’m vegetarian, so no fish.
I’m looking for inspiration for something that might have this sort of flavor. So far, I’ve thought about something using wakame or nori sheets, but although I do have experience cooking Chinese and Japanese dishes, I couldn’t think of any sort of full dish that might have the right taste.
I’m aware that there are vegan “fake salmon” or “fake tuna” things that you can buy, but I haven’t been too impressed with those so far.
Any thoughts?
Vegetarian sushi comes to mind. Sometimes I even prefer it to sushi with fish when I’m in the mood; it’s crisp and refreshing when done right. If you use good quality nori and rice vinegar you’ll get that oceanic flavor you’re looking for without any fish.
I’m not vegan/vegetarian, but I like the idea of foods with more veggies and been making my own sushi recently. What do you like in your vegetarian sushi?
I usually do avocado, carrot, and cucumber with a sprinkling of sesame seed. The avocado is soft while the others are crunchy and they offer a nice texture dinamic when balanced. They also have a nice fresh taste that compliments the sharpness of wasabi and the savory/salt of soy sauce
That sounds delicious, thanks for sharing!
Question about the carrot, is it raw and hard or do you cook it or shred it?
Of course! If you cut it very thin it’s crunchy but not hard to chew through. A julienne cut (1/8in or 3mm) with a knife gets it to look pretty but shredding would work too taste-wise
My first thought is that making a vegan dashi should be easy. Put some dried kombu and shitake in water in the fridge overnight, then boil the mixture, strain the solids and skim any foam/particulates off the top and now you’ve got an seafood broth you can use for soups/pastas/etc
I’ve never made a vegan dashi, but that certainly sounds like an option, and relatively straightforward. I’m then thinking what I could make with it…when I think of a fishy dashi, I’d likely end up with some sort of noodle soup. Any other thoughts?
I also would lean towards noodle soups. I like a Korean soup called Sundubu-jjigae that uses tofu and veggies. You could also use the dashi broth to make rice and now you’ve got seafood rice without animal products
Seaweed is the way to go. As others have noted, miso soup with kombucha is good, seaweed salad, maybe tofu wrapped in seaweed, nori snacks (I like the wasabi ones).
Think of the tentacles shape, too. Maybe make a dense shallow cake and cut it into tentacles shape before frosting it? I don’t think it all has to taste of the sea to be thematic.
Miso soup is something I make often and guests have commented that there is a seafood-like taste.
Mushrooms cooked the right way can be used to imitate mussels.
Seaweed/kelp in any form add an oceany flavor.
I haven’t tried these recipes yet, but maybe you’ll find one that you like: vegan seafood recipes.
Lobster mushroom definitely does taste seafoody. Hard to find though.
Go for some vegetarian recipes from Goa. Kokum sharbat and Kande Pohe might be a good fit.
https://themadscientistskitchen.com/category/goan-vegetarian-and-vegan-recipes/
My first thought was using seitan as a shrimp substitute.
I found this site that has it and a few other ideas for vegan themed seafood.
Kelp noodles! Kelp salsa!
I’m fond of dulse but it’s an acquired taste. Certainly tastes of the sea.
I’ve never heard of dulse before, but just looked it up. Certainly sounds interesting. What do you usually make with it? Or just add it to a soup?
I’m also not sure where I would buy that, but maybe some of the organic markets around here have some.
