Savory Japanese Vegetable Pancakes

There are endless options of fillings and toppings for these vegetarian Japanese-style pancakes. Here we use a traditional trio of cabbage, carrot and bean sprouts, but you can also get creative: try corn, snow peas or shredded kale. For a hearty Japanese-style meal, serve this with a seaweed and cucumber salad dressed with rice vinegar or a bowl of hot soba noodles dressed with dark sesame oil and soy sauce. 

 

Savory Japanese Vegetable Pancakes 

 

Ingredients 

 

• 1/3 cup (3 fl. oz./80 ml) ketchup 
• 2 Tbs. vegetarian Worcestershire sauce 
• 2 tsp. soy sauce 
• 2 tsp. brown sugar 
• 2 cups (10 oz./315 g) all-purpose flour 
• 2 tsp. baking powder 
• 2 tsp. sugar 
• Sea salt and freshly ground pepper 
• 2 cups (16 fl. oz./500 ml) vegetable broth or vegetarian dashi 
• 4 eggs 
• 1/2 small head green cabbage, shredded (about 5 cups/15 oz./470 g) 
• 1 cup (5 oz./140 g) shredded carrot 
• 1 cup (1 oz./30 g) bean sprouts 
• 2 green onions, white and light green portions, thinly sliced 
• 2 Tbs. canola oil 
• 1/4 cup (2 oz./60 g) mayonnaise 

 Directions 

 

1. Preheat an oven to 200°F (95°C). To make the sauce, in a bowl, combine the ketchup, Worcestershire, soy sauce and brown sugar. Stir well and set aside.  

 

2. To make the pancakes, in a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and sugar with 1 tsp. each salt and pepper. In a small bowl, whisk together the broth and eggs. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and whisk until smooth. Add the cabbage, carrot, bean sprouts and green onions and stir to combine.  

 

3. In a large nonstick fry pan over medium-low heat, warm 1 1/2 tsp. of the oil. Ladle one-fourth of the batter into the pan to form a pancake that is about 7 inches (18 cm) in diameter. Cook until the edges are set and the bottom of the pancake is lightly browned, 4 minutes. Using a spatula, flip the pancake and cook until set in the middle, about 2 minutes. Transfer the pancake to a baking sheet and keep it warm in the oven. Repeat with the remaining oil and batter to make 3 more pancakes.  

 

4. In a small bowl, mix the mayonnaise with 2 Tbs. water. Drizzle the sauce and mayonnaise over the pancakes in a crosshatch pattern and serve immediately. Serves 4. 

 

 

 

Find more simple, healthy meals for every night of the week in our book Weeknight Vegetarian, by Ivy Manning.