You can easily make Vegan Smoked Salmon by marinating thin strips of carrot. Let me show you how.

Vegan fish substitutes

You'd be forgiven for thinking fish is difficult to replicate when you're eating a plant based diet. And when I first turned vegan I thought the same too. But after years of practising I have mastered the tips and trick you need for turning vegetables into something fishy.

How to make Vegan Smoked Salmon

There are three things to focus on when making Vegan Smoked Salmon. The first is the colour. The second is the texture. And the third is the flavour. I've got the answer to all three.

Colour

Smoked salmon usually has a really distinctive blush orange colour. This is because the salmon's diet includes carotenoids and it's the carotenoids that turn their flesh bright orange. Does the word carotenoids remind you of anything? Carrots perhaps... This humble root vegetable is also full of carotenoids which is why it too is bright orange! What a coincidence.

Texture

We don't just use carrots for colour in this recipe. Real smoked salmon is usually packaged as thin, long strips which are layered on top of each other. We can get a similar effect by cutting our carrots into long, very thin strips. This not only gives it a similar texture to smoked salmon but it also helps the carrot soak up the smokey marinade more easily.

Flavour

To get the smokey, fishy flavour of smoked salmon we need to create a marinade which we will pour over the carrot strips. We then leave the carrots for at least 3 hours to sit in the marinade and soak up all of the flavours. The longer you can let the carrots sit in the marinade is better so I recommend overnight if you can.

The marinade is made from a mix of dried seaweed flakes caper brine, lemon, white miso paste, soy sauce, vegetable oil, liquid smoke and hot water. The hot water is important because it helps the carrot soften and soak up the marinade more easily.

How to use Vegan Smoked Salmon

You could use this vegan smoked salmon to make salmon and cream cheese bagels, delicate finger sandwiches for afternoon tea or these smoked salmon blinis.

How long does vegan smoked salmon last?

You can store vegan smoked salmon in the fridge for up to a week. Make sure it's covered by the marinade and stored in an airtight container during this time.

The recipe