Okonomiyaki is a typical Japanese dish using relatively inexpensive ingredients such as flour and green cabbage. This particular recipe is vegan and made with spelt flour for more intake of whole grain and fiber that helps to boost your health and easy digestion! It is very easy to make and tastes just as good as the traditional one!Yield: It makes four 6-inch round pancakes or two to three larger pancakes
Prep Time15 minutesmins
Cook Time1 hourhr20 minutesmins
Total Time1 hourhr35 minutesmins
Course: Snack, Lunch, Dinner
Cuisine: Japanese, Japanese Inspired, Vegan
Servings: 2
Author: Plant-Based Matters
Ingredients
Making beni-shoga (Japanese red pickled ginger)
2-inchginger knobpeeled and julienned
2tbspume plum vinegaror substitute with 2 tbsp rice vinegar + 1 tsp salt
The Batter
1cupspelt flour(I used Organic Spouted Spelt Flour from One Degree Organics) or all-purpose flour for a substitute
1 1/2cupwateruse more if using all-purpose flour *
5ozmountain yampeeled and grated (optional ingredient but highly recommended)
1tbspdulse flakes(optional but recommended)
1/2tspsalt
1green cabbagefinely chopped or shredded
The Rest
2tbsp + 2 tspneutral oil(2 tsp for 6-inch pancake)
Make beni-shoga (if you have a store bought one skip to step 2.) In a small prep bowl, combine ginger and ume plum vinegar (or rice vinegar + salt as a substitute.) Mix and let it stand for at least 20 minutes or until serving pancakes. Set aside.
Make the batter. In a large bowl, add spelt flour and pour water. Use a whisk to mix until seeing no lumps. Next, add grated mountain yam (optional), dulse flakes and salt. Mix until blended. Lastly, add cabbage to the batter. Mix again until all ingredients are combined. The batter should not be too loose nor too thick (similar to waffle batter.)
Heat up a non-stick pan or something similar at medium heat. Pour 2 tsp neutral oil and add a 1/4 of the batter. Spread out to make about 1-inch-thick round. Cook for 8-10 minutes. Watch the heat to avoid burning.
Flip the pancake. Use a pancake spatula to flat it by adding gentle pressure. Cook for another 8-10 minutes.
Flip again and pour 2 tsp soy sauce over the pancake. Remove from the heat. Repeat the process.
Serve immediately with vegan mayo, aonori, beni-shoga and shichimi pepper on top.
Notes
It’s best to eat while it’s very hot. I recommend making another one while eating one.
Any leftovers can be stored in fridge for 2-3 days. Reheat in a pan.
If you use all-purpose flour, you may increase the amount of water up to 2 cups/480 ml. Start with 1 1/2 cups and add little by little until the batter is not too thick nor too runny.
For the sauce, tamari or ponzu sauce (it adds some citrusy tanginess) can be used as a substitute to soy sauce.
Aonori is highly recommended for making it authentic. You could use shredded nori or teared nori sheet as a substitution although it does not give the same flavor.
Beni-shoga is a must ingredient for the authentic taste. If you can’t find good quality beni-shoga, it is better to make one on your own (see the recipe above.) A lot of them contains “food color #40” so make sure to check the ingredients!