From what I gathered Okonomiyaki originated in Osaka and has grown into a popular street food staple with many variations across Japan, with and without meat or seafood.
However you like it seems to be the rule and in this case, the Shojin Okonomiyaki pancake recipe by Nancy Singleton Hachisu is a vegan recipe adapted from her JAPAN: THE VEGETARIAN COOKBOOK (Phaidon, US $54.95, 2023) with photography by: Aya Brackett.
SHOJIN OKONOMIYAKI
Preparation time: 25 minutes
Cooking times: 15 minutes
Serves: 4
Vegan, Dairy-free, Nut-free
The beauty of this recipe is that you can use little bits and pieces of vegetables or pickles you have stashed in your fridge or hanging around on your counter as you cook. Also be sure to save the fried crumbs of tempura batter (tenkasu) after preparing any of the tempura dishes in this book. They keep well, stored in the freezer in an airtight container. While tenkasu is available commercially, it is almost impossible to find without MSG and other food additives. And although there is a recipe for making your own Takuan (page 316) in this book, this semidried daikon pickle is also available in health food stores and Japanese grocery stores.
INGREDIENTS
• 2 1⁄4 inches (6 cm) medium mountain yam (3 1⁄2 oz/100 g), scrubbed
• 4 large cabbage leaves (9 oz/250 g), coarsely diced
• 3 inches (8 cm) takuan (51⁄4 oz/150 g), diced
• 1 1⁄2 cups (123/4 fl oz/375 ml) soy milk
• 7 oz (200 g) all-purpose (plain) flour, whisked
• 4 tablespoons tenkasu (see recipe introduction), optional
• 2 tablespoons canola (rapeseed) or unroasted sesame oil
• Shoyu, for serving
• Green nori powder (aonori, see page 349), for serving
DIRECTIONS
Peel and finely grate the mountain yam on a sharp-toothed ceramic grater (oroshiki, see page 354) or metal grating plate (oroshigane, see page 354) and scrape into a medium bowl. Add the cabbage, takuan, soy milk, flour, and tenkasu (if using) and toss lightly until the ingredients are well distributed.
Working with 2 large nonstick frying pans set over low heat, heat 1 tablespoon oil in each pan. Ladle in the batter to make 4 pancakes in each pan. Cook slowly for about 10 minutes, covered. Uncover every 3 minutes or so, wipe the water beaded up on the top, and press down the pancakes with the back of a spatula to compress. Flip and cook for 5 more minutes on the other side, pressing down once with the back of a spatula, until both sides are golden and the pancakes are well set.
Place 2 pancakes, overlapping, on each of four small plates. Drizzle with shoyu, sprinkle with green nori, and serve hot.
Vegan Pancakes for Tokyo Thursdays # 331
(* Excerpted from Japan: The Vegetarian Cookbook © by Nancy Singleton Hachisu. Photography © by Aya Brackett. Reproduced by permission of Phaidon. All rights reserved.)
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