Fiercely competing with Sushi for the honour of Japan’s Greatest Gift to the World is the almighty Okonomiyaki. Japan’s savoury ‘pancake’ is impossible not to love, made of shredded cabbage (or other veg!), smothered in sauces and loaded with fresh toppings to your heart’s content.
You will need
Serves 2
- 35 grams flaxseed (linseed) meal
- 110 ml aquafaba or water
- 600 grams cabbage, finely shredded*
- 1 potato, grated
- 4 spring onions (scallions), finely chopped
- 40 grams fried shallots
- 300 grams (2 cups) plain (all-purpose) flour
- 340 ml (1 1/3 cups) vegetable stock
- Canola oil, for cooking
For okonomiyaki sauce:
- 110 ml tomato ketchup
- 75 ml vegan Worcestershire sauce
- 2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
To serve:
- Spring onion, sliced
- Fried shallots
- Japanese mayonnaise
- Pickled sushi ginger
- Shredded nori
Recipe: Zacchary Bird
Directions
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Step 1
Combine the flaxseed meal and aquafaba or water in a bowl. Set aside to thicken for at least 5 minutes.
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Step 2
In a separate bowl, combine the cabbage, potato, spring onion and fried shallots.
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Step 3
Add in flour and vegetable stock to your prepared flaxseed mixture and stir, before pouring the mixture over the vegetables.
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Step 4
Using your hands, mix together well and set aside for 15 minutes.
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Step 5
In a pan on medium-low heat, add 2 tablespoons of canola oil.
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Step 6
Once the oil has heated, spoon one-quarter of the vegetable mixture into the pan and using a spatula, press the mixture to the edge of the pan to form a pancake. Cook for 5 minutes or until the bottom is golden brown then flip over, adding a little extra oil if needed.
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Step 7
Once both sides of the pancake are golden, remove from the pan and repeat until your all your pancakes are fried.
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Step 8
To make the okonomiyaki sauce, whisk the ingredients in a bowl and set aside.
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Step 9
Drizzle a little of the okonomiyaki sauce over each pancake, along with some Japanese mayo. Scatter over pickled sushi ginger, shredded nori, and fried shallots to serve, and garnish with spring onion.
Variation
*If you’ve got some carrots, yams, beetroots, or other veggies you need to use up (or you just want to mix it up for fun) you can replace some of the cabbage filling with another shredded veggie!
Recipe: Zacchary Bird
