It's 2017. You can get milk made from peas, and you can get vegan tuna made from plants. That's right— Whole Foods Market (recently acquired by Amazon) is launching the first-ever sushi rolls with a vegan alternative to raw tuna.
While vegan sushi has been around for years, most existing options lack the taste and texture of raw fish that so many sushi-lovers crave. Whole Foods hopes to change this with their new tuna-free tuna rolls.
Called 'Ahimi,' this plant-based, certified vegan tuna product is made of tomatoes and savory umami flavors, carefully crafted to mimic the taste and mouthful of raw tuna, down to the flesh-like bite.
The fish-free product is produced by vegan seafood specialist Ocean Hugger Foods, and can be used in sashimi, sushi, nigiri, poke, ceviche, and other dishes that typically call for raw fish.
Founder Chef Corwell, one of the only 60 Certified Master Chefs in the US, was inspired to create Ahimi after visiting a fish market in Tokyo, where he saw "two football-field sized warehouses full of tuna sold in one morning."
Chef Corwell grew concerned about the sustainability of the fishing industry, and began looking for ways to make a difference and began working on plant-based versions of fish products to help alleviate this issue
This lead him to create Ahimi, and the company has plans to release eel, salmon, and other fish-free meats in the near future.
Ahimi will be featured in several rolls at select in-store sushi venues at Whole Foods Markets in New York and Los Angeles, starting Nov. 1.
Look for the Ahimi Nigiri, the Ahimi California and the Roll Combo and give it a try. It's sure to have you saying "fish are friends, not food."