Vegan Fish for Sushi

With more and more people turning to vegan diets around the world, the food industry has begun the hunt for animal-product-free alternatives that taste just as delicious as their originals. While Asian cuisine is not known for being a great option for vegans or vegetarians, the search for such food has reached food producers in Japan, with Tokyo-based food wholesaler, Nishimoto, preparing to create a range of ‘vegan fish’.

As an island nation, Japanese food tends to heavily rely on fish and seafood products, with fish sushi and sashimi renowned popular options. Making a vegan alternative to one of the nation’s staple foods was a natural choice when taking the first steps to cater to the vegan demand. So far, two of the most popular fish choices in Japan, tuna and eel, are being produced.

The vegan tuna alternative, known as Ahimi, is made from tomato, sugar, soy sauce, sesame oil and water. Ahimi is said to have a texture similar to that of real tuna, making it a good substitute to use with sushi. Whole Foods Market in America has already begun to stock Ahimi around the US, where 6% of the population follow a vegan diet. They hope to take the product to the UK, Europe and Eastern Asia.

While still in development, Nishimoto are also producing an eel alternative, which they are calling Unami. Unami is made from aubergine, which can make quite a convincing eel substitute in terms of appearance!

With around 40% of people saying that they try to cut down the amount of meat and dairy they are having in their diet, swapping the animal-products for plant-based items, it seems that these ‘vegan fish’ may well take off over here too!

While we may not be seeing vegan fish in the UK for a while, you can make some tasty Japanese-inspired vegan dishes using oriental noodles or rice and plenty of yummy fresh vegetables and tofu!Image Credit: oceanhuggerfoods | Instagram