Updated on July 10th, 2023
You can find many options for vegan shrimp, but it’s important to know where to buy them. There are two main types of shrimp: those made from fish and those that are not. If you’re not sure which one you prefer, here are a few tips for buying them. To buy vegan shrimp, check out Health Hut and Aptos Market. These vegan markets sell a variety of essentials for the vegan diet, from vegan meat to shrimp.
What is Vegan Shrimp?
Vegan Shrimp is a type of shrimp that is free of animal products.
Vegan shrimp and other plant-based seafood lead the way for vegans and vegetarians seeking a nutritious and environmentally friendly method to supplement their diets. Furthermore, plant-based shrimp has several health benefits and is a more ethical choice when considering the fishing industry’s environmental implications.
Seafood has a distinct flavor, and I feel that it’s understandable if you’re hesitant to try a plant-based alternative.
Shrimp has a particular flavor character that is somewhat salty, semi-sweet, and slightly savory. However, we can guarantee you that the cruelty-free, vegan alternative tastes eerily similar to the real thing!
Vegan Shrimp Brands to Try
The taste and texture of these plant-based shrimps are identical to that of traditional seafood!
This one’s for you, vegan seafood fans! These plant-based crustaceans will make you fall in love with shrimp. These seafood replacements, made with vegetable-based starches and flavored with seaweed-derived substances, have the taste and feel of real shrimp. Are you ready to try these cruelty-free aquatic creatures? Get cooking with our selection of the finest vegan shrimp brands.
All Vegetarian
All Vegetarian has a large selection of plant-based meat, poultry, and seafood selections, including cruelty-free shrimp. Modified starch, pea and seaweed extracts, and brown sugar are used to make the bite-sized seafood replacements. With this shrimp recipe, the possibilities for at-home shrimp recipes are unlimited! Consider vegan shrimp lo mein and velvety, plant-based shrimp Alfredo.
Sophie’s Kitchen
This vegan seafood brand is delectable (as fish). Sophie’s Kitchen is where to go if you want crispy, golden vegan shrimp. This product uses rice flakes, potato starch, agave nectar, and seaweed alginate for its shrimpy texture and flavor. Serve these battered shrimp on top of vegetable tacos or with plant-based tartar sauce and french fries.
Plant-Based Seafood Co.’s
Mind Blown Coconut Shrimp is a new product from Plant-Based Seafood Co. This new product, coupled with a sweet, orange dipping sauce, makes for a unique weekend appetizer. This nostalgic, vegan-friendly coconut shrimp has a firm, shrimpy texture and a sweet and salty flavor thanks to konjac powder, vegetable root starch, and a sweet coconut coating.
BeLeaf
BeLeaf’s vegan shrimp has such a natural shrimp flavor and texture that you won’t believe it’s not the real thing. Aside from the culinary puns, this plant-based seafood replacement is ideal for homemade sushi, grilled shrimp skewers, and fried rice. Stock up on these low-calorie shrimps since they’re really versatile.
Hut of Loving
Loving Hut’s Fresh Ocean Shrimp uses mushroom extract, non-GMO soy protein, and vegan marine flavor for a genuine, shrimp-like product. This seafood substitute is great in stir-fries, shrimp scampi pasta dishes, creamy deli salads, etc. You can even deep-fry these vegetable shrimps at home! Serve the cocktail sauce on the side.
Vegan Zester
Vegan seafood has been perfected by Vegan Zeastar, a Dutch business. Vegan Shrimp come in three flavors: original, flavored, and crunchy. Vegan sashimi from the company has become increasingly popular in the United States, but shrimp are still in short supply. Vegan Zeastar goods can be available in a few restaurants and stores in New York and California. Keep a watch out for these vegan shrimp alternatives to become more widely available.
Prawns from May Wah
May Wah, a vegetarian market in New York’s Chinatown, marketed imitation duck, eel, and squid to ethical diners decades before “plant-based” meals were a thing.
With frozen aisles stocked with plant-based chicken wings, pork belly, spot prawns, and shrimp, the almost twenty-year-old grocery store with brilliant green awning is an unassuming institution in New York.
Mushrooms, soybeans, and konjac make May Wah’s famous vegan shrimp. Due to its adaptability and high-quality component molded and tasted to imitate animal protein, the May Wah shrimp is a true game-changer.
Is Vegan Shrimp Good for you?
When we learn about a new vegan alternative to animal products, our first thought is, “Is it healthy?” While the answer varies depending on the product, vegan shrimp replacements provide several health advantages.
So, if you’re worried about indulging your shrimp need by eating highly processed meals, today is your lucky day!
It’s easier to imitate the flavor of seafood than it is to imitate the flavor of beef or chicken. The reason for this is that the vegan shrimp’s combination of natural ingredients helps recreate the taste and feel of fresh shrimp. Konjac and fenugreek, two popular flavoring agents with significant health advantages, are the two essential components.
Inositol, biotin, vitamin A and D, B vitamins, and iron are all abundant in both components.
Cholesterol levels in fresh shrimp and traditional seafood products are typically high. Switching to plant-based seafood is healthier for you, but it is also more sustainable and environmentally friendly.
So, Which Vegan Shrimp Should you Buy?
Seafood is a delicacy that many can’t seem to get enough of. Fortunately, our innovation and commitment to finding plant-based seafood alternatives allow us to please both our stomachs and our consciences simultaneously.
We can re-enrich our palates with the wide range of vegan-friendly shrimp options available! So, go to the supermarket or look on the internet to satisfy your sushi or shrimp skewer needs.
How to Cook Vegan Shrimp?
The Flow of the Process
Weighing: Powdered compound: Weigh the sample in this ratio: water: starch = 1: 22-25: 2-5.
Chopping: Preheat the chopping machine to medium-low speed, then add the compound powder evenly to the chopping machine with 5-8°C ice water, chopping for 4-5 minutes until the slurry is sticky, then add the starch and chop it evenly.
Pouring the slurry into the mold: Using a pump, inject the slurry into the mold and then expel it; the goal is to create a slurry with no air holes.
Cooking: Steam until fully cooked in a steamer at 80-95°C.
Remove the sample from the mold and paint the color on the surface of the vegetarian shrimp once it has been removed.
Quick-freezing: Freeze the vegetarian shrimp using a quick-freeze line or quick-freeze storage (central temperature -18 °C), and the sensory performance will be frozen firm.
Consumption Method
Thawed frozen pre-packaged food for home or restaurant consumption, steamed or fried, seasonings added, and deliciousness enjoyed.
What to Use with Vegan Shrimp?
Use your “shrimp” in any recipe that calls for shrimp. Make vegan shrimp scampi, vegan alfredo, creamy pesto pasta, tomato basil pasta, lemony spinach orzo, or vegan alfredo.
Make vegan fried rice, Thai coconut rice, or red Thai curry with your faux shrimp.
They’re also great in summer rolls and soups like Tom Yum and Tom Kha.
My favorite way to prepare vegan shrimp is to coat it and cook it in a basket, as in the classic vegan fried shrimp recipe.
How to Deep Fry Vegan Shrimp?
Beneficial instruments
It’s much easier with a deep fryer, but it’s not required. Only a saucepan deep enough to hold about an inch or two of oil is required.
Instructions:
Get the shrimp ready
In a small amount of vegan butter, sauté vegan shrimp of your choosing. (You may use store-bought shrimp or my vegan king mushroom shrimp.)
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Prepare the batter.
Arrange three bowls in a row.
Stir together 1/2 cup plant-based milk and 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar in the first bowl. (Your milk will curdle and thicken after a few minutes.)
In the second bowl, whisk together 1/4 cup flour, 2 tablespoons corn starch, and 1/4 teaspoon salt.
Combine panko bread crumbs and 1/2 teaspoon cajun seasoning mix, such as Tony Chachere’s creole seasoning, in a third bowl (or Old Bay seasoning.)
After the Shrimp has been fried
Preheat a saucepan with about 2 inches of cooking oil to 370° F (or use a deep fryer to 370° F).
Coat your cooked “shrimp” thoroughly in the thickened milk. Then, using the flour mixture, coat it.
Quickly re-dip the flour-coated “shrimp” into the milk, then coat it in breadcrumbs.
When you have 5-6 shrimp ready, carefully drop them into the oil.
Allow them to fry for approximately 2-3 minutes, or until golden brown. If they are floating on one side, you may wish to flip them using tongs.
Remove with tongs or a skimmer basket from the oil and serve immediately with a dipping sauce.
Advice from the experts
Just get the shrimp moist for a second when you dip it in the milk for the second time. The flour coating will flake off if you leave it in the milk too long.
To make the breaded shrimp crispy, heat the oil to 370° F before adding it. It will soak up oil and become soggy if you cook it at a lower temperature. This is why I like to deep-fried them rather than pan-fry them.
Test a shrimp first to determine if your oil is hot enough if you don’t have a deep fryer or thermometer. It should sizzle and bubble vigorously after around 2-3 minutes, turning golden brown.
How to Store Leftover Vegan Shrimps and a Note About Deep Frying?
A word of caution about deep frying
Just because you’re frying the shrimp in a lot of oil doesn’t mean you’re eating a lot of oil. Deep-frying cooks food faster and uses less oil than pan-frying. Food cooked in heated oil above 325° F becomes crispy without absorbing nearly as much oil as if pan-fried. That’s why I cook deep-fried tofu and deep-fried cauliflower regularly. In this post by Jessica Gavin, you can learn more about deep frying.
Reheating and storing
It’s better to eat these while they’re still hot and fresh, and I recommend cooking only as much as you can consume in one sitting. Extras can be kept in the fridge for three days, but they will lose their crispness and freshness.
What are the Vegan Shrimp Ingredients?
The vegan shrimp ingredients, also known as vegetarian shrimp compound thickeners, are made out of hydrocolloids like konjac gum or sodium alginate and additional ingredients specifically designed for vegetarian seafood, particularly shrimp.
Konjac System Vegan Shrimp Ingredients
Simply put, konjac gum is the major ingredient.
Sodium Alginate System for Vegan Shrimp Ingredients
Because sodium alginate can produce thermally irreversible gels, it can also be utilized as a vegetarian shrimp raw material.
Conclusion
Fish, shrimp, shellfish, squid, and other mollusks are all types of seafood. After cooking, most seafood products have a Q-tip and fresh flavor.
Vegan shrimp are created from Konjac, a seaweed-based hydrocolloid that has a similar appearance, mouthfeel, and taste to actual shrimp.
Konjac is a good raw material for replicating the texture of seafood. When combined with a hydrocolloid mix, it can generate a texture similar to squid rolls or shrimp. Fish is a little more challenging; to restore the sensitive texture of the fish, soybean protein or other legume proteins must be added.
