Too tired or too lazy to make your own Baked Mushroom Calamari? There’s now Vegan Calamari from Sophie’s Kitchen. I found it in the frozen food section at the Cupertino Whole Foods (only select locations in Northern California have it).
I thought it was yummy, kinda chewy like calamari but not really seafoodie tasting. The texture though is very similar. Of course it doesn’t compare to the baked king oyster mushrooms. But it’s pretty good for something that’s frozen and took 10 minutes to heat up. It’s best to cook it a little longer than the 6 minutes as directed on the package, it makes it a bit more crispy.
It’s main ingredient is Konjac powder, a plant native to Asia and grown in China, Japan, Korea and India. In Japanese cuisine, it’s made into noodles. It’s also used as a vegan substitute for gelatin. And it’s the same stuff used to make vegan shrimp that you see in Chinese vegetarian restaurants sometimes or at the Asian supermarket.
The Vegan Squid Rings are basically the same as the Vegan Calamari but naked (without the breading). So it’s more of an ingredient than a heat-and-serve kind of thing. I went with an antipasto type of calamari salad – combining the flavors of marinated fresh veggies and salty olives with the chewy texture of the squid.
I liked both products well enough to get them occasionally, both were $3.99 each. Besides the calamari, Sophie’s Kitchen also has Vegan Shrimp, and Vegan Breaded Fish Fillet. I figured the shrimp is probably close to what I’ve already had before but I would like to try the fish fillet sometime.
Vegan Calamari Salad
Serves 2-4
1 package Sophie’s Kitchen Vegan Squid Rings
1/2 small red onion, thinly sliced
1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
Handful of kalamata olives, pitted and halved lengthwise
1 garlic clove, minced
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1/2 tablespoon white wine vinegar
Salt and freshly grounded pepper to taste
Flat leaf parsley to taste
Thaw the vegan squid rings according to package directions, cut into bite-sized pieces. In a large bowl, combine the garlic, oil, vinegar, salt and pepper. Add the squid pieces, onion, tomatoes, olives and parsley and toss well. Chill for 30 minutes before serving to allow the flavors to develop.
So intrigued- I’ve never tried faux fish before at all. I’m shocked at how relatively reasonably priced these are, too! I sure hope that my local Whole Foods stocks them, because they would be so interesting to try. Thanks for your thoughts!
I’ll take the mushrooms! Seriously, I’ve never had real calamari or squid so would have no means of comparison, but they look interesting. I was at a Loving Hut vegan restaurant recently and they had big chunks of nori-wrapped vegan fish for sale in their freezer. I was curious, but it didn’t have an ingredient label, and I like to know what I’m eating — at least at home.
Yes! I just tried their vegan breaded shrimp yesterday and really enjoyed it (being a former shrimp lover). I had the same thoughts – the texture is chewy and pretty close to the real thing, but the flavor is not very seafoody, which may be a good thing for some people.
I have never seen this product? So interesting and Oh so much that I could do with it!! :) :) Looks good!
Hannah – Me too! Actually the $3.99 was the sale price, regular retail price is $4.99, still not too bad.
Andrea – I’ve seen those nori-wrapped vegan fish at the Asian supermarket and I think at Whole Foods too. I don’t recall what they’re made of though.
Erin – Now I want to try the breaded shrimp ones.
Morgan – The company is based in Northern California, probably why you haven’t seen it yet. Hopefully they can expand into other areas.
That looks terrific :-)
These have recently become available at the Andover, MA Whole Foods. I enjoyed both varieties I tried, though they were a bit greasy, and found them fairly reasonably priced.
Their website has a dollar off coupon, BTW!
I saw these last night at the WF in my city, the shrimp was really good, the fish patties were not. I will definitely make the shrimp a once a month treat.
I tried the fish patties, they were ok. I’m not sure I’ll get those again. I liked the breaded shrimp a lot better.
i live in North Carolina and at leasttwo of out whole foods carry all of these products mentioned in the comments…. :) i have been waiting to try them and just got my first box of the calamari….its dinner tonight! :D
I am vegetarian and if you can give me the recipe for making vegan shrimp, I want to make myself because some of the engredients of the breaded srimp is not allowed for me so I want to make it myself.
Sorry, I don’t have a recipe for making vegan shrimp. I just buy the packaged versions from the store. :-)