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Of all the foods in the world that are begging to be veganized, fish, for me, is the hardest. This may be, in part, because before my vegan days I was not a big fish eater so to recall the texture and taste of something I probably ate only a handful of times over 10 years ago is no easy task. But regardless of my own experience, I think many veganizers would agree that finding the perfect vegan fish recipe is the Mount Everest of veganizing.
As you know, I am never one to step down from a challenge and so today I took on Mount Everest in the form of these Beer Battered Vegan Fish Sticks.
These Beer Battered Vegan Fish Sticks are made using heart of palm and seaweed to attempt both the taste and texture that I have been seeking.
If you are unfamiliar with heart of palm, it is a tender and delicate vegetable harvested from the inner core of certain palm trees. The tender texture, as well as the indistinct flavor, makes heart of palm a very popular whole food meat substitute, as seen before on this blog here. You can find heart of palm in the canned vegetable section of a well-stocked grocery store or grab some online.
I add the roasted seaweed and a few spices to give these fish sticks the flavors of the sea. To the best of my memory, at least.
Then theses fish sticks get dipped in a deliciously spiced beer batter and…
voila! You’ve got yourself some vegan fish sticks.
Since these fish sticks are fried, they need to be eaten quickly after preparation. Otherwise, you’ll find yourself with some soggy battered fish sticks and trust me, they don’t taste near as good.
So whipped up a batch of these beer battered vegan fish sticks today along with some vegan tartar sauce and enjoy the flavors of the sea once again.
These Vegan Fish Sticks are made with shredded heart of palm dipped in a rich beer batter and served with vegan tartar sauce for an unbelievably good snack.
- 1 can heart of palm, drained and broken into large pieces
- 1/4 cup panko bread crumbs
- 1 tablespoon crumbled roasted seaweed
- 1 teaspoon vegan Worcestershire sauce
- salt and pepper, to taste
- 2 tablespoon chickpea flour
- 1/4 cup water
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon garlic powder
- 1 tablespoon paprika
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoon pepper
- 1 1/4-1 1/2 cup dark beer
- about 2 cups cooking oil
- 1/2 cup vegan mayonnaise
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- 1 heaping teaspoon sweet pickle relish
- 1 teaspoon prepared horseradish
- salt and pepper, to taste
- Combine the ingredients for the tartar sauce and refrigerate until ready to use.
- In a food processor combine ingredients for fish sticks. Pulse a few times until ingredients are broken down and well combined. There should still be large chunks.
- Shape heart of palm mixture into 8-10 fish sticks and place on a parchment lined baking sheet, squeezing out excess water. Refrigerate for 1 hour.
- To make the beer batter, combine the chickpea flour with water until thick and goopy. Set aside. In a separate bowl combine flour and spices. Mix in chickpea egg. Slowly add beer, about 1/4 cup at a time, while mixing. Batter should be fairly think but thin enough to evenly coat fish sticks. If your fish sticks are falling apart in the batter, thin it with a little more beer.
- Heat oil in a small cast iron skillet, filling enough so that it's about 1" deep.
- Once oil is hot, coat the fish sticks in the batter 2-3 at a time. With a flat utensil, gently place in hot oil and deep fry for about 2 minutes, flipping half way in between if necessary.
- Remove from oil and place on a paper towel to absorb any excess oil.
- Serve immediately with prepared tartar sauce.
If you give this recipe a try, let us know what you think in the comments below. Or snap a photo and share it on Instagram. Make sure to tag @mydarlingvegan so I can see your creations!
These look so delicious! Can’t wait to make these this coming week for a dinner party.
Just a quick question. Do I need to use the chickpea flour? Can I just use more regular flour?
Thanks!
The chickpea flour, when combined with water, works as the egg would which is important for the battering. Unfortunately wheat flour would not do the same.
Hi,
Is the seaweed you are using Nori?
Also for the people that want them baked, they could try breading instead of battering. Spraying with oil after breading but before baking should give it a nice brown color.
Yes, the seaweed is Nori. I think they would have a harder time holding together breaded but if you give it a try, let us know how it turns out!
WOW! I could serve these to my Wisconsin Fish-Fry-lovin’ friends and they’d never be the wiser! I only wished I’d have made up some vegan coleslaw and rye bread as go-withs! They were amazing!! I’m not a fan of tartar, but husband loved it. The only downside — I did throw out a LOT of batter; I think I could have easily halved that part of the recipe. I’d love to try baking as well, but I’m not confident they would come out as well. But overall, wow…just wow!!! Thank you Sarah!
Yay! Glad they were a hit!
These look great, but I have a little trouble with anything fried. Can these be oven-fried? If not, I’ll tough it out because they look so good.
I’m not sure since I haven’t tried it and generally you’d have to adjust the recipe a bit for oven-fried. Do let us know how it turns out if you try it. Also, have you looked into an air fryer? I recently got one but haven’t tried this recipe yet using it. I could imagine though that that would work well!
You should fry in animal fat. Frying in vegetable oils are unhealthy and cause heart disease.
This is a vegan food blog. I would never suggest frying in animal fats.
What can I replace the beer with?
You could replace beer with water or a soda.
Hi,
Just wondering if anyone has experience with freezing these ??
They look lovely but I’m expecting my 4th daughter in a month and trying to stock up on freezer friendly food to make lunches and dinners easier when the baby arrives 🙂
Thanks !!
Did you try it? I’m dying to know if they’ll freeze!
Wow, I have never tried hearts of palm before. Im going to try this recipe cause I usually but the frozen mock fish sticks and it gets a little pricey lol. Thanks for this recipe ?
I love these as a replacement for fish!! Thanks for sharing this delicious recipe! Oh, and any batter we have left I used to make onion rings which are super yummy!!
Really interested in using your find in the hearts of palm! I am thinking artichoke heart as being similar? so really anxious to give your discovery some attention. Wanted to ask you if you had tried Jack fruit yet? I just found it on the shelf in the grocers, instead of the refrigerated section. Having it as a pantry staple is great. This new product is non flavored. Jackfruit many may find similar in texture to the pineapple. But will take on any flavor you choose. Well, thanks for the great tip and recipe. Really love thinking outside the box. ; ) PS. I am prohibition, ha ha, so I use mineral water in place of the beer, and some ACV.
Connie’s rawsome kitchen does a youtube video of fish fillets made with young green jackfruit.
These hearts of palm look so appetizing that I’m going to have to give them a try very soon. Pinned! Totally thrilled to see you use paprika (love, love, love) and chickpea flour in the beer batter. Of course, anything beer battered is automatically coated in an extra level of deliciousness. Beer makes the best batters:)
Thanks! I appreciate it!
Sara, are you supposed to put the 2 cups of oil in the beer batter? Or is that the oil you use to fry the faux fish sticks? It’s listed under beer batter ingredients.
It’s the oil that you fry it in. I can clarify that in the recipe.
I just cannot wait to make these! Perhaps minus the beer…but still! I love you are using heart of palm! So cool!