Vegetarian Okonomiyaki Recipe

Konnichiwa (hello in Japanese)! Okonomiyaki is a Japanese savory pancake that I can’t get enough of. And with this vegetarian okonomiyaki recipe, you can also make these delicious Japanese pancakes.

During my travels to Japan, I regularly ate vegetarian okonomiyaki, and once I got home, I really wanted to make it myself. And guess what? It’s not at all difficult to make these Japanese cabbage pancakes, and they’re also super tasty.

Okonomiyaki means ‘fried/grilled as you like,’ and that’s exactly the intention! There are endless possibilities for making okonomiyaki, such as different toppings and sauces, so do what you like. Okonomiyaki sauce is a must, in my opinion! And, of course, shredded cabbage too.

Making okonomiyaki may sound very difficult, but fortunately it is not at all.

Enjoy this vegetarian okonomiyaki recipe. I also share how you can make your own okonomiyaki sauce in this recipe. Keep on reading!

What is Okonomiyaki?

As I explained earlier, okonomiyaki is a savory pancake from Japan. You can also call it a Japanese vegetable pancake.

The two most popular ways to make these vegetable pancakes are the Kansai and Hiroshima okonomiyaki styles.

In the Kansai (also called Osaka okonomiyaki style) okonomiyaki pancakes, all the ingredients are mixed together in the batter, while the ingredients are stacked on top of each other in layers in the Hiroshima style. Also, noodles are often added in the Hiroshima style.

In this vegetarian okonomiyaki recipe, we mix all the ingredients together in the batter, just like in the Osaka style. And then you have delicious Japanese savory pancakes on the table in no time.

Looking for more vegetarian recipes? Make sure to also make this poke bowl, broccoli goat cheese quiche, stuffed bell peppers, and nasi goreng recipe!

Okonomiyaki Recipe

What do you need for this okonomiyaki recipe? Get the following okonomiyaki ingredients: 100 grams of flour, mushroom broth, 100 grams of shredded cabbage, 2 eggs, 3 spring onions, 1 small potato, and 100 grams of white mushrooms.

Chestnut mushrooms or shiitakes can also be used instead of white mushrooms in this vegetarian okonomiyaki recipe—whatever you prefer!

You also need oil and salt.

This okonomiyaki recipe serves 2 people. If you want to share these Japanese savory pancakes with more people, you can easily double the ingredients.

I also definitely recommend eating okonomiyaki sauce with these Japanese pancakes. This thick sauce is packed with flavor and is perfect with the savory, sweet, and spicy flavors of okonomiyaki. You can often buy okonomiyaki sauce at the Asian store. A well-known brand is Otafuku, for example.

But making okonomiyaki sauce yourself is not difficult and is very tasty. You need the following ingredients to make this sauce: 4 tablespoons of ketchup, 1/2 tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce, 1/4 teaspoon of Dijon mustard, 2 tablespoons of mirin, 1 tablespoon of sugar, and 1 teaspoon of light soy sauce.

It’s good to know that Worcestershire sauce isn’t always vegetarian, as some brands contain anchovies. So pay attention!

If you can’t find vegetarian Worceshire sauce, you can replace the sauce with 1 extra teaspoon of soy sauce and 1 teaspoon of Tabasco.

How to Make Okonomiyaki?

Once you have all the okonomiyaki ingredients, it is time to make the vegetarian okonomiyaki! This savory Japanese pancake is traditionally made on a grill plate, but you can also make it at home in a frying pan.

Fortunately, making okonomiyaki yourself is not difficult with this okonomiyaki recipe. Make sure that the pancake is crispy outside and soft inside, that way, the okonomiyaki is the tastiest!

The first step of this okonomiyaki recipe is to prepare 100 milliliters of mushroom broth in a pan. Then chop the cabbage into small pieces, peel and grate the potato, cut the spring onions into small pieces, and slice the mushrooms.

Beat the eggs in a bowl and add the okonomiyaki flour and mushroom stock. Then stir in the shredded cabbage, grated potato, and chopped spring onion (keep a little spring onion for garnish) and add a pinch of salt.

You should now have a nice pancake batter. If the batter is still a bit too thick, add a bit more mushroom broth. You can also always add more flour to the batter if you want the consistency to be a bit ticker.

Then heat a frying pan on medium heat and add oil. Pour the okonomiyaki batter in a circle in the pan. So make sure the batter is evenly distributed. The pancake will remain quite thick (1.5 to 2 centimeters).

Place sliced ​​mushrooms on the pancake batter in the pan and cover the pan with a lid. Let it cook for about three minutes, until the pancake starts to turn golden brown on the bottom.

Then turn the okonomiyaki in the pan. Let it cook for another 3 minutes on the other side, until that side is also golden brown and crispy. Then the okonomiyaki pancake is ready!

In the meantime, prepare the okonomiyaki sauce in a saucepan (more about okonomiyaki sauce in the next section).

Place the pancake on a plate and spread the okonomiyaki sauce and Japanese mayonnaise over it (more about okonomiyaki toppings later). Finish with some spring onion!

Okonomiyaki Sauce

Of course, okonomiyaki comes with okonomiyaki sauce! This thick sauce is a characteristic of okonomiyaki and is served with it as standard.

The sauce is packed with flavor and is perfect with okonomiyaki’s savory, sweet, and spicy flavors. You can often buy okonomiyaki sauce at an Asian store. A well-known brand is Otafuku, for example.

But making okonomiyaki sauce yourself is not difficult and very tasty. So I definitely recommend this.

In a pan, mix 4 tablespoons of ketchup, 1/2 tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce, 1/4 teaspoon of Dijon mustard, 2 tablespoons of mirin, 1 tablespoon of sugar, and 1 teaspoon of light soy sauce. Stir everything together and bring to the boil.

Then turn the heat down and let it simmer gently for 3 minutes.

It’s good to know that Worcestershire sauce isn’t always vegetarian, as some brands contain anchovies. So pay attention!

If you can’t find vegetarian Worceshire sauce, you can replace the sauce with 1 extra teaspoon of soy sauce and 1 teaspoon of Tabasco.

Japanese Okonomiyaki Toppings

Okonomiyaki sauce, Japanese mayonnaise, and spring onions are essential as okonomiyaki toppings. But you can get creative and add toppings to your okonomiyaki pancake that you like!

Here are some examples:

• Dried seaweed
• Sushi ginger
• Shichimi togarashi
• Bean sprouts
• Noodles
• Cheese
• Corn
• Fried egg
• Various types of mushrooms
• Finely ground nori sheet
• Grated carrot
• Bonito flakes (if you eat fish)
• Breakfast bacon (if you eat meat)
• Sriracha sauce

Vegetarian Okonomiyaki

This is a vegetarian okonomiyaki recipe! Often, bonito flakes are added to okonomiyaki. These are shavings of a fermented and dried type of tuna. And sometimes, bacon is also added. But then this wouldn’t be a vegetarian okonomiyaki recipe.

Make sure to make these delicious recipes as well: rainbow Buddha bowl, vegan cauliflower wings, Boursin pasta, and portobello burger!

How To Store Okonomiyaki

Do you want to store the okonomiyaki? It is best to store the Japanese savory pancakes without toppings and sauce. Store these separately.

You can then store the okonomiyaki pancakes in the refrigerator for 3 days. You can then heat them up in the pan, microwave, or oven.

Enjoy this vegetarian okonomiyaki recipe! And enjoy your meal. Be sure to let me know in the comments how the Japanese pancakes turned out for you!

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