I recently received coupons from Sophie’s Kitchen to try three of their vegan seafood products for free. These took me a long time to find, but luckily a couple weeks after receiving the coupons my local Whole Foods started selling three of the selections: prawns, calamari, and breaded shrimp.
I purchased these three, and last night I had a vegan friend over to sample these with me. I have to admit that I spent a lot of time online researching how you eat these foods. Despite having grown up on an island and having a childhood surrounded by seafood, I hated the taste and never tried many of our regional specialties. So, yes, I googled “how to eat prawns” and “what is calamari?”. The breaded shrimp didn’t need any researching, however, since it was the one kind of seafood I would eat growing up. Although, honestly, since I usually drenched them in cocktail sauce I probably couldn’t taste the shrimp.
Anyway, for the calamari and breaded shrimp, I followed the package instructions for baking. You can also deep-fry these, but I’m not a fan of cooking with that much oil, and baking is significantly easier.
The rings are the calamari (which is squid), and the crescent shapes are the breaded shrimp. They were done in just 15 minutes, which means they’d be a great side dish for when you’re busy.
For the prawns, I decided to dice them up and make risotto. Here’s what they look like straight out of the package:
I was actually a little freaked out by how real they look. Luckily though, they aren’t real, and thus require no de-pooping or other gross things. 🙂
I kept the risotto very basic. The only seasonings I used were fresh oregano, salt, and lemon juice. The rich flavor of risotto comes from the wine and fat (in this case extra-virgin olive oil and Earth Balance butter), so I like to keep everything else simple.
So, now for the most important part. How did everything taste? Although I personally wasn’t a big fan of the calamari, my friend said they were her favorite. I never tried calamari in my pre-vegan days, so I can’t attest to what it’s suppose to taste like, but I think the main reason I didn’t care for them was just the texture. My friend that liked them the best has a great palate (and in fact cooks for a living), so I would say just give them a try and see how you feel. I’m probably just really picky.
The prawns were huge, so I chopped them up to have more bites of them in the risotto. I feel like these would be great appetizers with a good dip or sauce. They were a tiny bit bland, but I’m pretty sure that’s how they’re suppose to taste. The pink color was beautiful in the risotto, and I would love to serve it to an omnivore to get their opinion. It took a few bites to get over how real they looked and felt to me, but once I did manage to convince myself of their veganness, I ate away. Next time I buy a package of these (yes, I will totally buy these again!) I plan to make a seafood salad. Their taste actually reminded me a little of the “fake crab” fish that is used to make seafood salad.
The breaded shrimp were my absolute favorite. I loved popcorn shrimp and cocktail sauce when I was a kid, so I felt like I was reliving a little bit of my childhood with these. They’re delicious, and I would serve these to meat-eaters without a second thought.
Now for the giveaway! This is the first ever contest on Ahimsa, and I’m really excited about it. Hopefully it won’t be the last. Sophie’s Kitchen has generously offered to send the winner 2 coupons to try their product for free. You have four chances to win, and leave a separate comment for each. ***Make sure you leave a valid email when you comment so that I can contact you if you win!!***
1. Visit Sophie’s Kitchen’s website and comment with what 2 products you would try.
2. Follow Sophie’s Kitchen on Twitter.
3. Like Sophie’s Kitchen on Facebook.
4. Like Ahimsa on Facebook.
I’ll randomly choose a winner on Saturday, December 31st at noon. Good luck!!!
December 27, 2011 at 12:02 pm
Yummy site!
would love shrimp and fish fillets… yum!!
December 27, 2011 at 12:03 pm
I want to try the vegan calamari and vegan shrimp – I could make a vegan paella! 🙂
December 27, 2011 at 12:03 pm
like you on FB, B. Ann
December 27, 2011 at 12:04 pm
Follow you on twitter@bevybev
December 27, 2011 at 12:04 pm
Follow your blog.. love that it’s gluten free!
December 27, 2011 at 12:09 pm
I like Sophie’s Kitchen on Facebook
December 27, 2011 at 12:09 pm
And, I like Ahimsa on Facebook
December 27, 2011 at 12:39 pm
Hi, I follow Sophie’s Kitchen on Twitter.
December 27, 2011 at 12:40 pm
I like Sophie’s Kitchen on Facebook (that’s what brought me here to this page!).
December 27, 2011 at 12:41 pm
I like Ahimsa on Facebook.
December 27, 2011 at 12:44 pm
I love the waves sound on the Sophie’s Kitchen web site. 🙂 I’ve tried the fish fillets, and they’re fabulous, but I’d love to try the breaded shrimp and the prawns.
December 27, 2011 at 1:03 pm
I would love to try the breaded shrimp and fish fillets! I follow sophies kitchen on fb and twiiter and ahimsa on fb 🙂
December 27, 2011 at 1:05 pm
I follow ahimsa on fb
December 27, 2011 at 1:05 pm
I follow sophie’s kitchen on fb
December 27, 2011 at 1:06 pm
I follow sophie’s kitchen on twitter
December 27, 2011 at 3:05 pm
I would like to try the Shrimp and the Breaded Fish Filet.
December 27, 2011 at 3:54 pm
(I am not commenting to win any coupons)
I ate the non-breaded shrimp from Sophie’s and they were okay, I am going to try some of the others, but I don’t like the fact that they look “real”, but that’s just me…. 🙂
December 28, 2011 at 10:59 am
Oh my goodness, the calamari sound delicious!
December 28, 2011 at 11:11 am
Hi! I’d like to try the vegan breaded shrimp and the prawns. Thanks for the review giveaway 🙂
December 28, 2011 at 11:12 am
I’m following Sophie’s Kitchen on twitter as @EarthSoleil
December 28, 2011 at 11:12 am
I liked Sophie’s Kitchen on facebook
December 28, 2011 at 11:13 am
and I liked Ahimsa on facebook!
December 28, 2011 at 5:10 pm
I would like to try the prawns and the shrimp (assuming I can find them in my whole foods!)
December 28, 2011 at 5:11 pm
I liked you on Facebook.
December 28, 2011 at 5:11 pm
I liked sophies kitchen on Facebook.
December 28, 2011 at 5:12 pm
I followed sophies kitchen on twitter.
December 28, 2011 at 6:28 pm
Wow! Just wow! I did not know vegan fish items existed! How exciting! I think I would start with the fish fillet and maybe try the breaded shrimp.
Thanks for sponsoring the giveaway! I just found your blog today 🙂
December 28, 2011 at 6:28 pm
I liked your blog on Facebook 🙂
December 28, 2011 at 6:58 pm
Cool! Now there’s vegan seafood too! You can have your cake or seafood and eat it too. You get good health and good food enjoyment.
December 29, 2011 at 4:27 am
Not entering the contest. Just sharing a thought: I always eat breaded ‘fried’ calamari rings by dipping them in a zesty marinara sauce. 🙂
December 29, 2011 at 7:04 pm
Breaded shrimp and breaded calamari for me!
December 29, 2011 at 7:05 pm
Liked Ahimsa on FB!
December 29, 2011 at 7:05 pm
Liked SK on FB!
December 29, 2011 at 7:05 pm
Liked SK on Twitter!
December 31, 2011 at 3:14 am
I’d like to try the prawns and the breaded fish filets!
December 31, 2011 at 11:22 am
All we have to do is comment to win? I’m down with that. I’d like to try some vegan seafood. I’m no good at making the real stuff anyway.
December 31, 2011 at 2:39 pm
I tried the breaded fillet and it was deeeeelish.
I am dying to try the shrimp and calamari!
December 31, 2011 at 4:48 pm
I’d like to try the prawns and the shrimp.