Colombian Fried Fish is a typical dish from the coast. You can find this plate all over Cartagena. The salty fish is complimented with freshly squeezed lime juice and paired with patacones and coconut rice. The whole dish is beautiful and tasty!
I wanted to re-create this iconic dish by giving it a vegetarian twist. I replaced the fish with tofu and added nori to give it a seafood taste. I love the way this turned out and I hope you will give it a try!
This dish is also vegan.
What You’ll Need for the Tofu:
- 1 block extra firm tofu
- Avocado oil (for frying)
- 1/2 teaspoon of salt
- ½ teaspoon of pepper
What You’ll Need for the Batter:
- 1 lime (juice of)
- ½ cup of flour
- ½ cup of water
- 1 ½ tablespoons of yellow cornmeal flour (I use PAN)
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon of salt
- 1 teaspoon soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon of lemon pepper
- ½ teaspoon of pepper
- ½ teaspoon paprika
- ½ teaspoon of achiote
What You’ll Need for the Breading:
- 1 ½ cup breadcrumbs (or more as needed)
- ½ cup of shredded nori (the same type that is used for sushi)
- 1 teaspoon of salt
- ½ teaspoon of dill
What You’ll Need for Serving:
- Freshly squeezed lime juice
- Salt flakes
Directions:
- Take the tofu out of the packet, drain the water.
- Next, cut the tofu into 3 slabs. Note: as a visual, imagine that the tofu block is laying flat, the knife should cut from left to right twice to yield 3 square slabs.
- Then, press the tofu. To do this, place a dish towel on a cutting board. Then spread out all 3 tofu slabs ensuring that they do not touch. Add another dish towel on top. Find a pan or pot and place it on top. Next, add water, books, or anything heavy to the pan. This added weight will help drain water from the tofu and allow us to infuse it with flavor later on. Keep the tofu pressed by the weight for at least 30 minutes.
- Meanwhile, add all the dry ingredients for the batter in a bowl and whisk to combine. Then, add the water and soy sauce and use a spatula to mix until the batter thickens.
- In another bowl, add all the breading ingredients and whisk to combine evenly.
- Next, take a frying pan and add enough avocado oil so that at least half of each tofu slab can be submerged at a time. Bring to medium heat.
- While the pan heats up, remove the tofu from the dish towel and gently pat with a paper towel to gently dry off.
- Take a tofu slab, thoroughly dip it in the wet batter, being sure to cover all of the surface area on the tofu.
- Then, dip it in the breadcrumb bowl and once again cover completely.
- Next, place a few breadcrumbs in the hot oil to test whether it is ready or not. If the oil is ready, the crumbs should bubble up to the top of the oil and look like they are “frying”. If they float, or no bubbles are created then the oil is not hot enough.
- When the oil is ready, use a tong to carefully place the tofu into the hot pan and cook for about 3 minutes on each side. Note: Timing will vary based on the oil you are using or the power of your stovetop. As a general rule of thumb, keep an eye on it. You will notice the breadcrumbs crisp up and become golden. If at any time it starts to blacken, remove immediately. Repeat the process until all of your tofu slabs have been fried.
- After each tofu slab is fried, place it between paper towels on a plate to absorb any excess oil.
- When you are ready to plate, take the tofu and turn the squares so that the corners create a diamond or rhombus shape and begin to slice the tofu. This will give it a fish-y shape.
- Be sure to squeeze lime juice onto each serving and to sprinkle salt flakes onto each tofu slab before serving. You must do this to ensure that each bite tastes fishy!
- Serve with coconut rice, fried plantains, and a salad.
- Yields about 3 servings.
