Before I tell you about these vegan fish sticks, I want to share something. My British friends find it hilarious that Americans call it chicken fingers instead of chicken strips because, duh, chickens don’t have fingers. Which we all know and that’s probably what makes them so palatable. But my American friends (me too, when I first heard it) think it’s funny–for the exact same reason–that they call it fish fingers instead of fish sticks.
But when I point it out, I’m the nerd.
Anyway on to these delicious vegan fish sticks we tried out recently by Vantastic. I’m not getting paid by them, by the way. This was just the brand we chose to try because we were familiar with them from our time in Germany.
These were good for what they were, which is fried fish-scented tofu. Because I knew this would be a one and done (but if you’re interested it’s calorie friendly at 62 calories per stick), I was able to enjoy it with the nostalgia of my seven year old self, who loved fish sticks and fries with lots and lots of ketchup.
But we’re grown ups now so we fancy it up…sort of. Mostly, we had baked sweet potato fries.
The sticks were seasoned as much as you really can season something that’s pre-cooked but since we popped them in the oven, they were tossed with salt, pepper, garlic granules and smoky paprika. It helped, but not as much as the ketchup! The fries were also tossed in a spice blend with a little bit of oil and put in the oven for about 30 minutes, which I loved about this meal, it was super low key.
No muss.
No fuss.
This isn’t meant to be gourmet vegan food and that’s all right, it was a reminder of how much I loved them as a kid. I almost certainly wouldn’t buy these again but if you’re interested they are calorie and wallet friendly.
It’s not pictured but I’m pretty sure I ‘paired’ this with an ice cold dark beer.
My husband convinced me not to take any photos after I “slathered” it with ketchup, which I totally didn’t do. I created a little pile of my hot ketchup & Sriracha blend to one side and dipped the fries & sticks into it. Respectfully. Not at all like a feral child.
That’s my story and I’m sticking to it!
Have you recreated any vegan fish dishes? Drop links below!
the-spicy-spatula.com 