This piece was written on Dharawal Land. Always was, always will be Aboriginal Land.
I find myself drawn to yet another fishy recipe - this time it comes in the form of chickpea tuna (basically crushed chickpeas with vegan mayo and other condiments), which usually is an absolute godsend for a sandwich.
I actually never liked tuna, so it’s odd that I love this replacement that tastes so similar. But again, I think it was the idea that there was something fishy going on with the industry (sorry, again) that turned me off it.
I wanna do something a little different with chickpea tuna today - these “tuna” bites are so delicious, and if you can’t be bothered with the somewhat arduous task of making them into little cakes, you can fry the rice in one pancake and spread the “tuna” and avocado on top!
This dish was inspired by a similar recipe by the incredible vegan chef @pengveganmunch on Instagram, so go check out his page for more inspiration. I adapted it to my taste but I can’t take credit for this week’s recipe!
tuna-less deliciousness
ingredients.
serves 2, generously
1 cup jasmine rice, cooked (sushi rice works too)
1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 avocado
Juice of 1/2 lemon
1 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp sweet chilli sauce
2 tbsp vegan mayo
1 tbsp mirin
1-2 large sheets nori
Serving ideas: Wakame seaweed salad, sesame roasted corn, sweet gomae (spinach salad), sesame seeds
how to.
Place cooked rice on a lined baking tray and spread out flat. Put in fridge while you prepare the rest of the dish.
In a blender, add chickpeas, nooch, lemon juice, soy sauce, mayo, sweet chilli and nori. Blend until a thick paste is formed. Season with more salt and pepper or other spices of your choosing to taste. Set aside.
Smash avo with some lemon, and a little salt and pepper, set aside.
Heat 2 tbsp neutral oil in pan on medium high heat and cut rice into square sections. Fry squares carefully, flipping after about 3-4 mins on each side or until lightly browned.
Place rice bites on top of seaweed or spinach salad. Then spread avo smash, then the chickpea tuna. Then you can add some more seaweed salad or spinach salad, roasted corn, sesame seeds or all of the above. Serve immediately!
I have no compaints about this becoming a vegan (no) fish series!! It's endearing and creative as heck - and appetizing, to boot.
this looks delicious - like you, I never really liked tuna, but I do like the chickpea version!