Vegan · Air fryer

Air Fryer Battered Tofu and Chips (Vegan Fish & Chips)

Fish and chips without the fish, and without the runny batter that always slides off tofu. The Happy Pear's trick is dead simple: press your block, dunk it in a beer and tamari mix, coat it in seaweed-spiked flour, then air fry it alongside golden chips. Done in 30 minutes.

R By Richard · Adapted from The Happy Pear · Published 10 June 2026
👁 21k source views ❤️ 815 source likes
⏱Prep 15 min
🌡Temp 200°C
⏲Air fry 25 min
🍽Serves 2
Battered Tofu and Chip / Chips in an Air Fryer | No Runny Batter! vegan fish and chips

Source video by The Happy Pear on YouTube. This recipe was adapted with strict source-fidelity rules and is marked for human review.

The Happy Pear's vegan take on classic fish and chips, cooked entirely in a dual-drawer air fryer. Tofu is sliced into rectangles, triple-dipped in a seaweed-spiked dry mix and a tamari-beer wet mix, then air fried alongside hand-cut chips that have been double-rinsed for maximum crispiness. A re-dipping trick halfway through cooking builds a thicker, more even batter coating. Served simply with peas and a wedge of lemon.

Ingredients

Chips
  • potatoes, cut into 1cm x 1cm x 8cm chips, double-rinsed in water
  • salt
  • 5 spraysoil spray
Tofu
  • firm tofu, sliced into 1cm x 5cm x 10cm rectangles
  • oil spray
Wet batter
  • 3 tbsptamari (or soy sauce)
  • 60 mlbeer (non-alcoholic or alcoholic)
Dry mix
  • 60 gplain flour
  • 30 gcornflour
  • 3 gseaweed (nori or arame), blended to a powder if using nori, or finely chopped if using arame
  • garlic powder
To serve
  • lemon wedges (add late)
  • peas, cooked (add late)

Method

  1. Chop the potatoes into chips, roughly 1cm x 1cm x 8cm lengths.

    ~5 min

  2. Soak the chips in a bowl of clear water for a minute or two, then drain in a colander and rinse. Soak again in fresh water for another minute or two and rinse again. This double-rinse method removes starch and gives a crispier chip.

    ~5 min

  3. Preheat the air fryer to 200°C.

    ~3 min

  4. Toss the drained chips with a generous pinch of salt and five sprays of oil. Tip into one air fryer drawer and cook at 200°C for about 25 minutes.

    ~25 min

  5. In one bowl, mix 3 tbsp tamari with 60ml beer to make the wet batter.

    ~1 min

  6. In a second bowl, combine 60g flour, 30g cornflour, 3g powdered or finely chopped seaweed and a couple of pinches of garlic powder for the dry mix.

    ~2 min

  7. Slice the tofu into rectangles roughly 1cm x 5cm x 10cm.

    ~3 min

  8. Coat each tofu piece by dipping it into the dry mix, then the wet, then the dry, then the wet, then the dry again, three dunks into the dry and two into the wet, building a thick coating.

    ~5 min

  9. Lay the battered tofu in the second air fryer drawer, spray lightly with oil, and cook at 200°C for around 15 minutes total.

    ~15 min

  10. Twice during the cook, carefully open the drawer and re-dip each tofu piece into the wet mix, then the dry, then the wet again, before returning to the air fryer. This layers on extra batter for a crispier finish.

    ~2 min

  11. Serve the chips and battered tofu together with peas and a wedge of lemon.

    ~1 min

Frequently asked

Do I need to press the tofu first?
The transcript does not mention pressing, but firm tofu generally benefits from a quick press with kitchen paper to remove surface moisture. This helps the dry mix stick on the first dip rather than turning gluey.
Can I use alcoholic beer instead of non-alcoholic?
Yes. The recipe specifies non-alcoholic beer of choice or alcoholic if you prefer. A light lager or pale ale gives the best lift in the batter.
What if I do not have a dual-drawer air fryer?
Cook the chips first at 200°C for around 25 minutes, hold them warm, then cook the battered tofu at 200°C for around 15 minutes with the re-dipping trick. Or do the tofu first and finish the chips with a quick blast at the end to re-crisp.
Why double-rinse the chips?
Rinsing twice in clear water washes away surface starch from the cut potato. Less starch on the outside means less stickiness in the basket and a noticeably crispier chip once air fried.
Can I swap the seaweed?
Yes. Nori sheets blended to a powder, or finely chopped arame, both work. The seaweed gives the batter its 'fishy' sea note, so do not skip it entirely if you want the fish-and-chips character.
Extraction notes (transparency): Tofu quantity not stated in transcript; left null. Potato quantity for chips not stated; left null. Garlic powder quantity described only as 'a couple of pinches'. Serving size inferred as 2 from context (family-style portion shown). Chips timing stated as both '20 minutes' and 'about 25 minutes' in the transcript; used 25 minutes as the later, final figure. | Second-pass critique flagged 1 fabricated and 6 quantified issues. See critique.issues for detail.