VEGAN: Okonomiyaki – Cabbage Carrot Pancakes

A delicious and authentic Japanese Okonomiyaki made vegan.

For those new to Okonomiyaki, it’s a Japanese savoury pancake. It’s usually made with egg but as always, all it takes is a little creativity to come up with a vegan alternative.

Fortunately this dish is delicious AND easy to make – just toss the veg and the mix into a frying pan and in around 25 minutes it’s ready to eat.

In addition to making the pancakes you’ll find instructions on making home made tonkatsu sauce – which is an absolute treat to the taste-buds. If you’ve got kids around they’ll love it.

Check out the recipe below.

Okonomiyaki – Cabbage Carrot Pancakes

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Ingredients:

Making the Pancakes:

½ head of cabbage

¾ cup carrots

½ red or green bell pepper

2 tbsp scallions

1 inch ginger, minced

2 tsp rice vinegar

1 tbsp soy sauce

½ tsp salt

¼ tsp white pepper

1 tbsp nutritional yeast

1 tsp miso (optional)

⅛ tsp Indian black salt (kala namak)- optional

2 tsp crumbled nori sheets or ½ tsp togarashi – optional

¾ cup unbleached white flour

¼ cup chickpea flour

½ tsp baking powder optional

2 to 4 tablespoons water

Homemade Tonkatsu sauce:

Ketchup – 1 tablespoon

Vegan Worcestershire sauce – 1 tablespoon

Sugar – ½ teaspoon

Water – 3-4 teaspoons

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Step-by-step guide:

  • Shred the vegetables & add to a large bowl.
  • Add the vinegar to the bowl, followed by the rest of the ingredients. Be sure to add through the nori sheets & then keep aside for 10 minutes.
  • Mix in the flours and baking powder.
  • Add a pan to the stove, add some oil and allow to warm to a medium heat.
  • While the pan is heating, add water (just a little) to the bowl until the mix has the right consistency to spread (remember that the vegetables will release water when cooked, so don’t add too much).
  • Once the pan is eated, add the contents of the bowl and spread it out evenly. The aim is to make a pancake around 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick.
  • Leave in the pan for around 5-7 minutes per side.
  • While cooking, mix all of the sauce ingredients into a small bowl until they are combined and then serve.
  • For a nice finish consider adding pickled ginger.

A very big thank you to veganricha.com for this awesome Japanese dish.

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