Vegan “Fish” Tacos with Spicy Sauce and Pickled Onions
So there is nothing wrong with real fish tacos, in fact they are one of my favorite things to order at a taco restaurant. But when I am cooking at home, I like to try and eat more plant based just to be a bit more climate friendly and frankly it saves me money as well. A can of Hearts of Palm, which is the secret ingredient to making these fish-less fish tacos is around $2. I can not buy fish for $2. So if you are looking for a great plant based or vegan main for taco night and you don’t want to make a bean taco for the thousandth time, give these a try!
Ingredients:
2 cans Hearts of Palm (preferably whole not pieces)
1 1/2 cups AP flour
1/4 cup Corn Starch
1 tsp baking powder
12 oz tonic or club soda
3 tsp old bay
Neutral Oil for frying
1/4 red onion thinly sliced
1/4 cup Apple Cider Vinegar
1/4 cup Water
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
1/2 cup Vegan Mayo (I prefer Hellmann’s)
Juice from half a lime, save the rest of the lime for serving
2 tbsp Sriracha
Corn tortillas (I like the street taco size)
Rough chopped cilantro for serving
Recipe:
Start by making the pickled onions. Combine the Thinly sliced onions, apple cider vinegar, 1/2 tsp salt, 1 tsp sugar and water into a microwave safe jar.
Heat the pickles and the brine in the microwave for 1 minute just to speed up the pickling process.
Then make the spicy sauce. Just combine the Mayo, lime juice and sriracha together and set aside.
Now lets make the wet and dry batter for the “fish”. Combine 1 1/4 cup AP flour, corn starch, baking powder, 2 tsp old bay into a large bowl, then add the 12 oz of tonic or club soda and whisk to combine. The mixture will bubble up so don’t over mix because we want a light airy batter for the “fish”.
Combine the remaining 1/4 c flour and 1 tsp old bay in a smaller bowl and whisk to combine.
Open the can of Heart of Palms and drain off the liquid. Then tear the Hearts of palm in half. If you bought the kind of hearts of palm that comes in pieces, just leave them alone and have “fish” nuggets to put in your tacos.
Fill your frying pan with about 1/2 inch of oil. I prefer sunflower oil but whatever oil you have on hand will work. Heat on medium heat.
Dredge the heart of palm pieces through the dry batter then into the wet batter allowing the batter to drip off before placing in the hot oil.
Fry 2-3 minutes on each side. If it is sticking to your pan, it is not ready to be flipped. I use a rubber spatula to loosen the battered “fish” before flipping. Both sides should be golden brown.
Remove from the frying oil and sprinkle with flaky salt.
Place a piece of “fish” into a tortilla, top with pickled onions, drizzle on the spicy sauce and sprinkle on some cilantro to finish.
Serve with additional lime wedges and your favorite salad. A fresh corn salad would go well or some delicious rice and beans. Add a cold beer or a margarita and it’s a party! Link to a short video below.
