From Uwajimaya to Okonomiyaki, and a Giveaway for Japanese Cooking, Contemporary and Traditional

Psst. Okonomiyaki. Do you know about these delicious things? You should. They are savory Japanese pancakes chock full of vegetables, scattered with seaweed and sesame seeds, and served with a simple dipping sauce or a savory Worcestershire-like sauce. Here are mine. (I cut them into wedges for easier dipping.) This top photo shows how crispy they are. The photo below shows the wedges better. Do you see the little bits of green poking out?


I used Miyoko Schinner's recipe. She suggests using 4-5 cups of vegetables. I went with purple cabbage, bok choy, crimini mushrooms, scallion, tomato, broccoli, and a little pickled ginger. I went with her suggestion of serving a simple soy dipping sauce, but added in a sesame/seaweed blend and fine slices of myoga.

Miyoko has kindly given me permission to share this delicious recipe with you. You might want to have a look at her website too! She's really creative in the kitchen. You may remember seeing her recipe for vegan mozzarella di bufala on Vegansaurus!

Okonomiyaki (Japanese Cooking, Contemporary and Traditional, courtesy of Miyoko Schinner)

(Yield: 4 to 6 servings)

2 cups water
1/4 pound regular tofu
2 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour or unbleached white flour
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
4 to 5 cups thinly sliced or slivered vegetables: onions, carrot matchsticks, cabbage, broccoli, green beans, mushrooms, etc.

Puree the water and tofu in a blender until smooth. Combine the flour, salt, and baking powder in a large bowl, and mix well. Pour in the liquid mixture, and mix lightly. Add the vegetables and mix well to combine.

Cook large pancakes on a lightly oiled skillet or griddle over medium-low heat until browned on both sides. Serve while hot with soy sauce or tonkatsu sauce.

([Tonkatsu] is served with a variety of other foods, mostly fried. I find this more healthful vegan version is delicious with just soy sauce, although kids prefer the tasty "sauce".)

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Thank you so much, Miyoko!

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Can you guess what today's giveaway might be? You are right! Miyoko Schinner has graciously agreed to provide you with your very own copy of Japanese Cooking, Contemporary and Traditional! Are you in the mood for soba with grated mountain yam? Fried eggplant with miso sauce? Sukiyaki or Japanese potstickers? You are covered. This little book has seasonal menus, a glossary (at the front of the book, before you start cooking!), and it's pretty. The okonomiyaki were delicious and came together very quickly. I am a fan, and I think you will be as well.

To enter, please leave a comment below. Tell me about your favorite Japanese dish, or tell me you don't know enough about Japanese food but want to learn more, or tell me anything about anything. This giveaway is open to US residents only, but others this month will be open to everybody everywhere. The winner will be chosen by random number generator and posted tomorrow below tomorrow's giveaway. If you win a giveaway on this blog at some point this month, please be kind and don't enter further giveaways--I'd love as many people to win something as possible!

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The winner of The 30 Day Vegan Challenge is Space.Clown! Congratulations! There is no way to contact you via Blogger, so please be sure to contact me with your address via email or on the PPK if you read there! (Also if you know who Space.Clown is, send a message my way!) The email address is miso...@yahoo.com. (<---make sure to click on the . . . link for the rest of the email address. This is a spam avoidance thing.)