The ultimate Vegan sweet and sour 'fish' - 糖醋素鱼

Hello everyone, this is Woon Heng. Today, let's make Tang Cu Yu, sweet and sour vegan fish. Similar to my vegan unagi, I'm using tofu for the filling, but added some king trumpet mushrooms to the mix. You can use other mushrooms like fresh shiitake or enoki. Chop the mushrooms into chunks so they cook evenly and don't worry about the size because we're going to blend them later with tofu. And how do you tell when mushrooms are ready? I always look for the brown crust on the outside and the aroma that they release when you saute it. Once you transfer the mushrooms to the food processor, be sure to add the completely pressed or drained tofu so the filling will not be too mushy, but rather more pasty-like after you blend it. Don't forget to season. I also added some cornstarch as a binder so it will absorb the extra moisture from the mushrooms and tofu. This is the perfect texture for the filling, not too dry and not too wet. To wrap the vegan fish, I'm using rice paper this time instead of tofu skin. This rice paper is about 25 cm in diameter and it's a bit thicker compared to others, so I dip mine in room temperature water and rotate a few more times to make sure the paper has no dry spot. Basically, the paper should still be firm and it will soften over time. Place a portion of filling to the lower third of the nori. Spread it out a little. Then similar to wrapping a spring roll, roll it up making sure that you leave some gap in between each roll because the filling will actually expand when you're frying it and will burst open if it's too tight. When you slide the rolls into the hot oil, leave a gap in between because the rolls are sticky at this point without a crust. Shallow pan fry them until you see white crust forms on all sides. Look at how the rice paper looks after they're fried. It actually gives it a crispy texture too. When it's cool to handle, slice each roll into three or four sections. And now to create a more crispy layer, simply dust the tofu side with cornstarch and then pan fry these sides until golden brown. This additional step actually keeps the filling intact and less messy when you toss it with the sauce. Now let's make the simple and easy sweet and sour sauce. This sauce recipe is similar to my vegan sweet and sour pork that you can get the recipe from the link above. And when making the sauce, use the back of the spatula to break the ketchup so it will blend easily with the rest of the ingredients. Then slowly add in the cornstarch slurry until it thickens to your desired consistency. Once you fold in the cucumbers and tomatoes, toss for about 30 seconds until the flavors melt. I actually remove my cucumber skin just to make sure that there are no added bitterness in the sauce. Finally, add in the vegan fish. Toss it gently and let it cook until the vegan fish absorbs all this delicious sauce. Look at that! Delicious vegan fish in tangy sauce. What a great combination for an appetizing meal, right? Try some with me. Thanks for watching. Don't forget to like and subscribe. Have a beautiful day. Bye!