Vegan Salmon Crispy Rice

I saw this on an episode of Queer Eye and wondered how it would turn out so I found a non-vegan version on TikTok and tried to replicate it :)
It was actually very delicious!

Vegan Salmon Crispy Rice

Ingredients

2cups cooked sushi or short grain sticky rice

2Tbls rice vinegar

6oz faux salmon (I used store bought but you could use the watermelon salmon sashimi recipe!)

2Tbls vegan mayo (I used Veganaise)

2 tsp soy sauce (I used tamari)

1 tsp sriracha 

1 Tbls sesame oil

1 green onion chopped 

Sprinkle of sesame seeds

1x Avocado, sliced

Method

Cook sushi rice ahead of time, mix in rice vinegar. (You can prepare as you would sushi rice if you prefer, the aim is for it to not fall apart when you fry it.) Line a 8" x 8" pan/tray and add the rice smoothing it down flat with the rice spatula, covering the top with cling film. Refrigerate for at lest 2 hours.

Meanwhile get the vegan salmon ready by chopping into small cubes and adding in the vegan mayo, soy sauce, sriracha, sesame oil, green onions and sesame seeds.

Slice the avocado thinly and set aside.

Once rice is ready slice into squares and heat some oil in a non-stick pan on a med-high heat. 

Sear both sides of the rice squares until golden brown and place aside on some paper towels. You may need to do a couple of batches.

Once the fried rice squares are cool enough to touch arrange them on the serving plate, top them with a spoon of the vegan salmon mix following by the avocado slices.

This was so delicious! My first batch of rice fell apart because I forgot the vinegar so I turned it into a poke bowl.

Watermelon "Tuna" Sashimi

I had this at an amazing restaurant called Planta Queen in Fort Lauderdale (highly recommend, other locations nationally) and hoped I was able to replicate it somehow. It really felt like I was eating salmon sashimi. I found this recipe on Australian website - Nourishing Magazine and changed it a little I've left the recipe for the sashimi in the top and added the sushi rice at the bottom if you want to turn it into sushi or nori rolls (shown with avocado). I would say the overall finished product wasn't bad but it just didn't have the tuna flavor I was hoping for.

Watermelon "Tuna" Sashimi 

Ingredients

¼ small seedless watermelon

3 Tbls sunflower oil

Marinade

2 Tbls tamari

2 Tbls mirin

1 Tbls Ume Plum Vinegar

2 tsp sesame oil

¼ cup rice vinegar

For serving

Pickled ginger

Wasabi paste

Method

Preheat oven to 180°C/350F.

For the watermelon sushi, cut two 10 x 2½cm blocks from the fruit without the skin. 

Add 2 Tbls of sunflower oil to an ovenproof dish and place the watermelon blocks in this. 

Drizzle with the remaining 1 Tbls of oil and bake in the oven for 20 minutes. 

Remove from the oven to turn the watermelon over before returning it to bake for another 10 minutes, watching to make sure it doesn’t brown. 

Remove from the oven to cool slightly.

Meanwhile, combine the tamari, mirin, sesame oil and rice vinegar in a small bowl. 

When the watermelon has cooled slightly, pour the marinade over the top, cover with foil and sit it for 20 minutes before placing it in the fridge for at least 1 hour (or overnight).

I rebaked it after marinating for a day because I still found it a bit crunchy and this helped it become more chewy.

Serve with wasabi paste and pickled ginger.

For Watermelon Sushi;

Prepare Sushi Rice.

To assemble the sushi, form a handful of the sushi rice into a 5cm log and repeat with the remaining rice. Take the marinated watermelon and slice it on an angle to mimic tuna sushi before laying it over the rice. I like to dot wasabi paste on the rice before layering over the watermelon.

Top with pickled ginger to serve.

Vegan Honey Prawns

I had been craving Honey Prawns lately, they were one of my favourites to get as a kid at the local Chinese restaurant. I found a recipe online that was easy enough to make GF and vegan! Original recipe from Recipe Tin Eats. I made the recipe with vegan prawns and with tofu and they both came out great!

Vegan Honey Prawns

Ingredients

300g vegan prawns or tofu (frozen and then thawed works best)

1/2 tsp kosher/cooking salt (halve for table salt)

Dredging:

1/2 cup corn flour/cornstarch

Ultra-crispy fry batter:

9 Tbsp corn flour/cornstarch 

6 Tbsp GF flour (I used rice flour)

1/2 tsp baking powder (NOT baking soda)

1/2 tsp salt , kosher/cooking (h1/4 tsp table salt)

2/3 cup + COLD soda water, club soda or seltzer water 

Oil, for frying:

3 - 4 cups vegetable or canola oil (1.5" depth in a pot)

Honey Sauce (Note 8 on sweetness):

1/3 cup vegan honey (or just use thicker corn syrup/golden syrup)

1.5 Tbsp agave or corn syrup (light) 

1 Tbsp GF soy sauce 

2 tsp Chinese cooking wine (or mirin)

Garnish / serving:

Cooked rice 

Sesame seeds, finely sliced green onions

Method 

Place 1/2 cup cornstarch in a bowl. 

Dip prawn/tofu chunks in, shake off excess then put on a plate. Repeat with all prawns/tofu.

For Batter: Whisk together flour, cornstarch, baking powder and salt in a bowl. 

Place in fridge while oil heats up. 

Heat oil: Fill small pot or large saucepan with 4cm / 1.7" oil. 

Heat to 160°C/320°F on medium high stove.

Make cold batter: When the oil is near target temp, add soda water into the dry ingredients. 

Then do the minimum whisks to just combine (10 or so) - a few lumps ok, better than whisking too much (changes coating texture).

Batter thickness: Should fully coat prawns easily, not be see-through, but not thick and heavy.  

Use extra soda water 1 teaspoon at a time to achieve right thickness.

Dredge: Holding a prawn by the tail, dip into the batter then hold up for a 2 seconds to let the excess batter drip off. Then carefully place in oil. Repeat with another 5 prawns/tofu chunks (6 per batch).

Cook for 3 minutes until light golden and crispy. When you pick them up, you can tell it's very crispy.

Drain and repeat: Place prawns/tofu chunks on a tray with paper towels. 

Repeat with remaining prawns/tofu chunks. 

Don't crowd the pot as it brings oil temperature down too much.

Cool prawns.

Honey Sauce: Place ingredients in a small saucepan over medium heat. 

Bring to simmer, turn down stove to medium low then leave to simmer for 3 minutes.

The consistency should be like maple syrup. 

Turn off stove, place lid on to keep warm (when cool, it gets too thick to toss prawns in it).

Transfer prawns to a metal bowl then pour over Honey Sauce. Quickly toss with rubber spatula to coat prawns in sauce. (Sauce starts thickening if you take too long, so be quick!)

Pile prawns over rice, scatter with sesame seeds, green onion and serve!

With cornstarch fried tofu;

Vegan Lox (Smoked Salmon)

 I had smoked salmon bagels at a vegan brunch place and was so impressed that I enquired about it. Totally shocked to find out it was just peeled carrots but how did it taste so much like salmon?!? That was when I discovered this was actually a thing people of the internet already knew! I tried a couple of recipe but I liked Love and Lemons the one the best although I added some items to it because I didn't feel like it was "fishy" enough. Another recipe mentioned using caper juice which I love the idea of...I just didn't have any at the time I was experimenting ;)

Vegan Lox (Smoked Salmon)

Ingredients

4 large carrots
Sea salt, for coating
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
½ teaspoon smoked paprika

2 Tsp Ume plum vinegar 

1/2 tsp dulse seaweed flakes
Big squeeze fresh lemon juice
Freshly ground black pepper

Method

You can choose one of two methods to cook the carrot;

1. OVEN: Preheat the oven to 475°F and line a medium baking dish with parchment paper. 

Coat the bottom with about a good layer of salt, then place the whole carrots in the dish and sprinkle with a good amount of salt.

Roast the carrots until easily pierced with a fork, but not mushy.

Check them, starting around 40 minutes, I turned after 20 minutes. It may take you longer.

Remove the carrots from the oven and let cool. 

Use your hands to rub off any excess salt. 

2. BOIL: Boil carrots in salted water until tender but not mushy and then place in an ice bath to prevent further cooking. This was my preferred method, it turned out much better and was easier to peel.

For the marinade combine ingredients in a bowl/container and whisk.

Use a peeler or sharp knife to peel the carrot into ribbons. I used a knife but felt like I didn't get thin

Place the strips in the marinade and toss to coat. 

Baked

Boiled

Transfer to the refrigerator and marinate for 15-30 minutes. Overnight is best.

Serve with bagels, cream cheese, cucumber slices, capers, chives, thinly sliced red onion and/or dill.

Carrot Lox and Cream cheese bagel

Vegan Eggs Benedict with Carrot Lox