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[QUESTION] Vegetarian / vegan recipe that tastes "ocean-y"? (discuss.tchncs.de)
submitted 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) by cabhan@discuss.tchncs.de to c/cooking@lemmy.world
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Hi folks! On Friday, some friends are coming over to play Unfathomable, a board game set on a boat in the Cthulhu mythos, so I thought it would be fun to cook something with a bit of a seafood / ocean taste. Only catch: I'm vegetarian, so no fish.

I'm looking for inspiration for something that might have this sort of flavor. So far, I've thought about something using wakame or nori sheets, but although I do have experience cooking Chinese and Japanese dishes, I couldn't think of any sort of full dish that might have the right taste.

I'm aware that there are vegan "fake salmon" or "fake tuna" things that you can buy, but I haven't been too impressed with those so far.

Any thoughts?

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[-] makeshiftreaper@lemmy.world 8 points 2 days ago

My first thought is that making a vegan dashi should be easy. Put some dried kombu and shitake in water in the fridge overnight, then boil the mixture, strain the solids and skim any foam/particulates off the top and now you've got an seafood broth you can use for soups/pastas/etc

[-] cabhan@discuss.tchncs.de 4 points 2 days ago

I've never made a vegan dashi, but that certainly sounds like an option, and relatively straightforward. I'm then thinking what I could make with it...when I think of a fishy dashi, I'd likely end up with some sort of noodle soup. Any other thoughts?

[-] makeshiftreaper@lemmy.world 1 points 2 days ago

I also would lean towards noodle soups. I like a Korean soup called Sundubu-jjigae that uses tofu and veggies. You could also use the dashi broth to make rice and now you've got seafood rice without animal products

[-] RBWells@lemmy.world 5 points 2 days ago

Seaweed is the way to go. As others have noted, miso soup with kombucha is good, seaweed salad, maybe tofu wrapped in seaweed, nori snacks (I like the wasabi ones).

Think of the tentacles shape, too. Maybe make a dense shallow cake and cut it into tentacles shape before frosting it? I don't think it all has to taste of the sea to be thematic.

[-] Sophocles@infosec.pub 6 points 2 days ago

Vegetarian sushi comes to mind. Sometimes I even prefer it to sushi with fish when I'm in the mood; it's crisp and refreshing when done right. If you use good quality nori and rice vinegar you'll get that oceanic flavor you're looking for without any fish.

[-] lime@feddit.nl 3 points 2 days ago

Miso soup is something I make often and guests have commented that there is a seafood-like taste.

Mushrooms cooked the right way can be used to imitate mussels.

Seaweed/kelp in any form add an oceany flavor.

I haven’t tried these recipes yet, but maybe you’ll find one that you like: vegan seafood recipes.

[-] dirthawker0@lemmy.world 1 points 2 days ago

Lobster mushroom definitely does taste seafoody. Hard to find though.

[-] damnthefilibuster@lemmy.world 3 points 2 days ago

Go for some vegetarian recipes from Goa. Kokum sharbat and Kande Pohe might be a good fit.

https://themadscientistskitchen.com/category/goan-vegetarian-and-vegan-recipes/

[-] FauxPseudo@lemmy.world 2 points 2 days ago

My first thought was using seitan as a shrimp substitute.

I found this site that has it and a few other ideas for vegan themed seafood.

[-] moonshadow@slrpnk.net 2 points 2 days ago

Kelp noodles! Kelp salsa!

this post was submitted on 10 Dec 2025
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