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~ raw, vegan, gluten-free ~
Fish Sticks…. Raw Fish Sticks…. Raw Vegan Fish Sticks…. Does it sound as funny to you as it does to me to type those words?
Lets be honest, raw fish sticks don’t sound very appetizing. Vegan Fish Sticks, well that is just an oxymoron if I ever heard one. If I say or type it enough, I am hoping it will make sense one day. hehe
Some of you may never have heard of fish sticks. I for one grew up eating them, a lot of them! Oddly enough, I never cared for fish growing up, but I loved fish sticks. The reason being… the breading and tartar sauce could make a bicycle tire taste good. So how does one make a raw dish taste like fish? Kelp my friend, kelp.
Your body, as amazing as it is, doesn’t produce iodine, nor can it store large quantities of it. It must be introduced through the foods we eat. A lack of iodine can lead to a goiter, hypothyroidism or hyperthyroidism. Iodine is a water-soluble trace element that’s rare in the earth’s crust, but fairly prevalent in its seas.
Unfortunately, due to over-planting and chemical fertilizers, the soil in most of US has virtually no iodine content. This is where kelp comes into play. Kelp is a tall, leafy plant that grows in cool water, floating vertically over the rocky ocean floor. Although tethered there by a root-like stem called a holdfast, it does not draw nutrients from the ground but rather from the water around it. This ensures that every leaf is packed with an ocean of goodness and iodine.
When I made this recipe, I used a 2 Tbsp cookie scoop. This made 19 fish sticks. You could also form them into patties if you wanted to make fish sandwiches. I am guessing that it would have made an even 20 fish sticks, but due to the taste testing, I lost one. :)
I want to quickly point out two things here. The first thing is that if you don’t want the almond skin flecks in your batter, you should remove the skins after soaking the almonds. Also, the recipe calls for 1 Tbsp + 1 tsp of kelp powder. Start with 1/2 Tbsp and build up. I have found that different brands can be stronger than others. This will allow you to tailor it to your liking and enjoyment. Other than that, knock yourself out and have fun!
These are great with my raw tartar sauce! You will have some leftover “breading,” use it for sprinkling on a salad, or you can make some avocado “fries” with it! (Bob loved these!)
Ingredients: yields 20 fish sticks
“Breading”: yields 1 1/4 cups
Shape the fish sticks and give them a dunk in the crumbs. Place on the dehydrator tray and dry.
Oh mein Gott, Amie Sue, sie haben sich wieder selbst übertroffen!
Sind noch welche da dann nehme ich den nächsten Flieger zu ihnen?! Lach, ich bin noch nie geflogen, aber dafür würde ich es machen.
Ich finde gar nicht die richtigen Worte, ich bin sprachlos es ist einfach nur genial und dann noch die Fotos I LOVE IT man möchte am Liebsten gleich zugreifen.
Bob hat so viel Glück, so eine gute roh Köchin zu haben!
Alle Rezepte die sie neu eingestellt haben sind sooo große klasse, ich liebe sie, die Rezepte.
Viele Liebe Grüße,
Jesse
Google Translated…
Oh my God, Amie Sue, they have outdone themselves again!
Which are still there then I take them to the next plane? Laughing, I’m still never flown, but I would do it.
I do not find the right words, I’m speechless, it’s just great and then the photos I LOVE IT you would most like to access the same.
Bob was so lucky to have such a good cook raw!
All the recipes that they have hired are sooo great class, I love the recipes.
Many Greetings,
Jesse
___________________________________
Thank you Jesse. You are always so kind. :) I spend entirely too much time in the kitchen… or maybe not. haha Have a wonderful weekend Jesse!
Hi Ami Sue,
I too grew up eating and loving fish sticks mainly because of the breading and tarter sauce. The “fish” sticks look delicious and I plan on making them for dinner next week. They seem fairly easy to make and I like the shorter dehydration time. Your writeup for them is great (loved the part about the bicycle tire), thanks for the recipe!
Good morning Mary,
I hope you enjoy them… I had fun making them and presenting them to non raw eaters, ooh how their noses’ would wrinkle but smooth out in delight as they took a bite. :) Have a blessed weekend and let me know how they turn out for you. amie sue
Made them!!! Yummmmmy! And pleasantly surprised they look very much like the ones in your picture!! Thanks Amie Sue
So glad that you enjoyed them Tammy. I bet there were beautiful and tasty! Have a blessed week, amie sue
Hi amie-sue
This is such an adventure. I have my fish stick batter made and my breading. Problem: My batter is to wet. It tastes perfect, but I cannot form the sticks to bread them. Is there anything I can add to soak up the moisture?
Thanks
BJ
Hi BJ, I hope I still have time to help you…. You can add a little ground chia or flax seed to help absorb the liquid. Start with 1 Tbsp… mix it in and let it sit for 15 minutes, add more if needed. amie sue
I made it late at night on the 2nd. Do you think it’s still ok? It’s been in the fridge and is very cold and covered. I’m going to do that and then if you tell me I shouldn’t eat them, at least I will know what do do next time. Thanks and Happy 4th of July!
BJ
You should be good to go BJ…. They ought to keep for 5-7 days if sealed well. Eat and be merry. hehe Happy 4th of July to you as well! amie sue
Well, Amie-Sue the Flax meal did the trick. I was able to make them successfully and they have all been eaten. Next time, I will make the tarter sauce with a little more horseradish. I’m like you, I like it to clear the sinuses and I didn’t quite get it there. Thanks for the help.
BJ
Awesome BJ! I am glad that they were a success. I LOVE horseradish… I can feel my sinuses clearing up just thinking about it. haha Have a wonderful day BJ, amie sue
Hey there,
The recipe looks good, but I would feel remiss if I didn’t point out that dehydrating at 145 degrees is actually cooking. At that temperature, all of the enzymes inherent in the ingredients will be killed. I recommend turning down the Excalibur to around 99 degrees and just extend the dehydration time another 8 hours or so. I know waiting can be a drag, but blasting the dehydrator at higher temperatures just defeats the purpose of all that soaking, sprouting and careful preparation. Patience is key.
Best regards,
Daniel
Hello Daniel,
It is good to hear from you and thank you for commenting. I have done research on this very thing and studies have been done by Excalibur (maker of dehydrators) and without going into it in detail here since I have written up a post on it already… I will just share the link. https://nouveauraw.com/raw-techniques/dehydrating-at-145-degrees-explained/.
Not all foods can handle this higher temp like I am indicating in the other post as you will read… it depends on the moisture content. So for example, I would never do kale chips with this technique. But a food that is dense and moist, I might. If a very wet/moist food sits for to long in the dehydrator, bacteria can form… and that too can negate what we are trying to achieve here.
Many blessings! amie sue
Man, I am looking forward to trying these. My family were all big fish stick fans before we got smart about our eating ways. Thanks!
I hope they enjoy them just as much Gayle. Keep me posted. :) amie sue
Making these for this month’s potluck. The group is used to being my guinea pigs. :) I am so excited to try these!
Lucky quinea pigs. hehe Please let me know how they go over with everyone. I loved these… must make again soon :) Thanks for keeping me in the loop Gayle. Have a blessed day, amie sue
Hi there, I made these fishstiks last night and they were awesome. I actually got them to look like fishsticks. That was fun!
Awesome… so happy to hear that you enjoyed the process and end result. :) Thank you for letting me know Joanne. amie sue
WOW!!! I am amazed with these! I just made them and they are delicious! Not totally like “fish”, but close enough that they MIGHT pass for a very very mild white fish! I served them with the raw tartar and a side salad and even my non-vegan hubby liked them! TY for this recipe! This one is going to be a favorite in our home for sure!
So thrilled to hear that you are enjoying them Beth. :) We sure enjoy them in our household too. Thank you for sharing Beth. Have a blessed day, amie sue
Hey Amie-Sue! :-)
This recipe looks amazing! I was wondering though how you could substitute kelp powder – never heard of it (I was thinking psyllium maybe?)
Also, could we cut on almonds in the filling? Cause with the breading, that’s a lot of nuts… Would buckwheat groats and/or oat flour be ok? Can’t wait to hear from you! And congratulations for your amazing recipes, every time I come here, I find something new to try! Will a lifetime be enough to test it all? ;-)
Good afternoon Sweet Faery
Truthfully, the kelp is what makes this recipe work. It gives it that “seafood” flavor. Psyllium is totally different, it works as a thickener / binder. So I don’t recommend making the recipe without the kelp. You could use crushed up Nori sheets if you can get those. Kelp powder can be found in health foods store and is even sold as a supplement, so that is a good place to look for it.
You could try those substitutions instead of the nuts if you wish, either one or even a combo of them.
I wish you lived closer so you could be a taste tester for me. hehe Bob has a hard time keeping up. It is truly my passion to create, create and create some more! Have a blessed evening, amie sue
Hi Amie-Sue!
Well, that’s great, because I was worried kelp was a binder in this recipe and was needed to hold everything together. So I’ll use nori sheet with maybe a pinch of chlorella. Gonna make them tonight!
Thanks a lot! :-)
You bet and keep me posted on how it goes. :) amie sue
Well, apart from the color blue lol (from the chlorella), they turned out great! Thanks for this delicious recipe! Geraldine.
Goodness, blue fish sticks. haha I don’t get that with the kelp powder but if you can overlook the color….enjoy! hehe amie sue
I am just having this now with some marinated veggies and cauliflower rice… Thanks so much for sharing. I think I will be making this one a lot!! :)
Thank you for sharing Sherry. I need to make these again… yummers! Have a glorious evening, amie sue
Hello Amie Sue,
I recently discovered your website. What EYE CANDY! Great photos! I can’t decide which recipe to try first!
I too grew up eating fish sticks and enjoyed them (as unhealthy as they are) until I realized that I couldn’t have gluten. I was wondering if, like traditional fish sticks, these “fish” sticks freeze well. For that matter, do any of the other recipes [dips, doughs, crackers, “cheese”, or soups, etc] freeze well? I look forward to your response.
Thank you for this recipe. After reading the stellar reviews, I just may start with this one!
~Misha
Hello Misha,
Welcome and thank you for the kind words. Many recipes to choose from that’s for sure. :)
These fish sticks would freeze fine but would need to be “crisped” back up in the dehydrator once frozen. As far as other recipes… it will depend. I do freeze a lot of my crackers, granolas, cereals, nut milks, cakes, breads, etc. I can’t speak for each one. Some dips can loose texture and I rarely ever freeze them so you would have to experiment. :)
Enjoy and be sure to comment on the recipes that you try. It means a lot to from those who give them a whirl. Blessings, amie sue
Hello Amie Sue! This recipe is amazing! I made lunch today and everyone enjoyed it. I live in Brazil and met the Raw Food through a new restaurant in Sao Paulo. Soon I plan to buy a food dehydrator. I’m loving your site and want to make other delicious recipes like this. Thank you!
Awesome… music to my ears Mark. So happy that you all enjoyed this recipe. It’s a keeper for sure. :) You will have a lot of fun owning a dehydrator… a whole new culinary world will open up to you. Stay in touch. Many blessings, amie sue
So I have dulse flakes, nori sheets, wakame, and kelp noodles in my kitchen… could I substitute kelp noodles for kelp powder? Or could I use any of the other seaweeds as substitutes?
Good day Brigittegoble,
Thanks for the great question. Let me see if I can help you out. First off… no, you can’t use kelp noodles instead of the kelp powder. The noodles don’t enough of a strong flavor. Plus the texture is completely opposite of the kelp powder.
I could recommend either using the dulse flakes, or ground up nori sheets. Those will work well. How much? That will depend on the flavor strength of the ones that you have.. their freshness, etc. So start with a few teaspoons and build up the taste to your preference. :) Keep me posted how it goes, blessings… amie sue
I would love to make this recipe, but can’t do almond or sunflower. Any other possibility?
Good afternoon Sherie Lynn,
You could use cashews, can you have those? Blessings, amie sue
Hello Amie Sue, I was wondering could I replace smoked paprika with liquid smoke?
Good day Lambo,
You could BUT use a tiny tiny bit. The smokiness of the paprika isn’t very strong… and liquid smoke can quickly take a dish over, so don’t measure or allow droplets from the bottle to go straight into the batter. Put it on a spoon, mix well and taste to see if more is needed. Keep me posted how it goes. Blessings, amie sue
Hi, love this recipe. Can I use the breading for pickles?
I love this recipe too Susana. Are you wanted to coat pickles and dehydrate them?
Yes
Well, that sounds interesting. I haven’t tested it but I don’t see why not. If you give it a try, please let me know. Blessings, amie sue
Thanks Amie Sue…This was my first raw recipe and it was so good! I am a big tartar sauce fan as well and am very satisfied with the taste and texture. I had some batter left over and made a “not tuna but close” wrap since the recipe was similar. I did not make the wrap this time but will in the future. Blessings to you.
Thank you :) I am so thrilled that you enjoyed the recipe. I love tartar sauce too… and the two together are just amazing. I really appreciate the feedback. I hope you have a blessed and happy day, amie sue
Hi, I am unsure about the paste texture of the processed almonds, how smooth should it be please? Could I use home made raw almond butter for this instead of raw soaked almonds please? thanks a lot.
Good morning,
I am glad that you reached out and asked. It can be challenging to explain or photograph textures.
1. After soaking the almonds and sunflower seeds, drain and rinse them. Place them in the food processor, fitted with the “S” blade. Process until they break down to a crunchy paste (but not nut-butter texture).
I’ve never used almond butter for this recipe. I would be concerned about it turning the batter into a sticky paste that would be difficult to shape and hold the structure of a “fish stick”. I would stick to whole almonds, breaking them down, if at all possible.
However, if you decide to be adventurous and try the almond butter, let me know how it goes. blessings, amie sue